— Founded MMXXVI · Convening for America 250 —

The American Language Academy

An institution founded to settle, by democratic process and institutional referee, the question of what American shall be.

— The Standardization Contest —

Two Traditions. One Standard.

The Academy hosts a structured contest between the prescriptive Webster tradition and the descriptive Mencken tradition. The public adjudicates. The standard so produced is published on July 4, 2026.

— The Prescriptive Camp —

Webster Standard

"What American should be."

Inheriting Noah Webster's 1828 project of standardization through codification. Holds that a standard exists to be taught, that consistency serves literacy, and that the standard answers the question of what American ought to be in its formal register.

Publishes a position on every contested point of usage, drawn from precedent, internal logic, and pedagogical clarity.

Visit Webster Standard →
vs.

— The Descriptive Camp —

Mencken Standard

"What American is."

Inheriting H. L. Mencken's 1919 project of documentation through observation. Holds that a standard records what speakers actually do, that authority follows usage, and that the standard answers the question of what American is in its living form.

Publishes a position on every contested point of usage, drawn from corpus evidence, observed frequency, and the prosody of spoken American.

Visit Mencken Standard →

— How the Standard Is Made —

The Process

i.

The Contested Points Are Published

The Academy compiles the list of disputed standardization questions — spelling, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, punctuation. Both camps publish their positions on each.

ii.

The Public Adjudicates

Registered citizens of the Academy vote on each contested point. Linguistic scholars submit briefs. Both forms of input are weighted and recorded.

iii.

The Academy Certifies

The Academy publishes the running standard as votes are certified. Disputed points may be re-opened if substantial new evidence is presented before the deadline.

iv.

Standard American 250 Is Published

On July 4, 2026, the Academy publishes the inaugural certified standard. The contest continues thereafter as the ongoing institutional process by which American is maintained.

— Founding Charter —

Principles of the Academy

  • I. The Academy holds that American is a language, on the grounds set forth in the Language Declaration.
  • II. The Academy holds no position between the Webster and Mencken traditions. Its role is to host the contest, certify the votes, and publish the result.
  • III. The standard so produced is offered to the public, to publishers, to educators, and to government, as the inaugural codified standard of the American language.
  • IV. The Academy recognizes the disproportionate contribution of Black American speech to the distinctiveness of American, and structures its contests so that this contribution is neither erased by prescription nor exoticized by description.
  • V. The Academy is independent of government, party, and commercial interest. Its sole obligation is to the integrity of the process by which the standard is produced.
  • VI. The Academy's charge is limited to the public contest, certification, and publication of Standard American 250.

— Become a Citizen of the Academy —

Three Ways to Participate

— Voter —

Register to vote on each contested point of standardization.

— Scholar —

Submit briefs on points within your linguistic expertise.

— Signatory —

Add your name to the Language Declaration as a founding citizen.