The first edition of this book has been several times reprinted with
only the correction of typographical errors. I am grateful for the gen-
erous reception which it has had and which has made possible the
present revision. The original plan and purpose have not been altered.
The revisions now embodied are intended to bring the treatment up
to date with respect to both fact and scholarly opinion, and many new
references are incorporated in the footnotes and bibliographies. In
view of the historical treatment employed it has seemed wisest not to.
attempt a phonemic analysis of the successive stages of the language;
for the earlier periods such an analysis, in the present state of our
knowledge, would be premature even if it fell within the scope of the
book. Since the book was first published much important work has
been done on the American dialects. The pages concerned with the
dialect areas in the United States have been entirely rewritten, and a
new map has been drawn to accompany the discussion.

I have profited by the reviews of the first edition, especially those
of Professor Kent( Language, XII. 72-5) and Professor Ekwall( Studia
Neophilologica, X. 189-92). I have also been helped by a number of
individual notes and observations communicated to me privately. I
wish especially to thank Professor K. W. Dykema of Youngstown Uni-
versity and Dr. Robert Halsband of Hunter College for detailed an-
notations, and I have gladly accepted a number of their suggestions.
Dr. Donald W. Lee of the staff of the Merriam-Webster dictionaries
called my attention to two duplications in my citation of loan-words.
Professor Hans Kurath, with his usual generosity, took the time to copy
off two unpublished maps recording the distribution of certain pro-
nunciation variants in the eastern states. My thanks can add little to a
warm friendship. To my colleagues who have graciously responded
to my appeals for help on various points I can only pay general tribute,
but I should like to record more particularly my indebtedness to Pro-
fessor Harold S. Stine for his willingness at any time to share with me
his linguistic knowledge and judgment. Finally, it is a pleasure once
more to acknowledge my debt to my wife for valuable help with the
proofs.

A. C. B.

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