Chapter 11.2 Summary

In his final chapter, the author mentions one specific kind of slang - war slang. He explains by example and by quoting how the English army had more slang words and slang that was ore expressive, while the American army, "slow in manufacturing words," had little slang. Further, he notes, the French army was most prolific of all: they instigated what have now become dictionaries full of French slang. He adds that one does not have to look far to understand the "American backwardness" when it came to slang invention and use during the war. The Americans arrived late; the British were already there with "ready-made" slang by the dozens; and having little contact with the French, the Americans merely borrowed a little bit of the British slang. Therefore, Mencken concludes, the war-slang of the English, French, and Germans was "enormously richer" that...