About this title: This text examines the origins and development of the English language. 2000 years ago, English was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the shores of north-west Europe. Today, in one form or another, it is spoken by a billion people around the world, of whom 350 million use it as their mother tongue. More widely scattered, written and spoken than any other language in history, English has become a global phenomenon. Based on the award-winning BBC TV series of the same name, this book tells the story of the English language, combining social history, literature and linguistics.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: American ed.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780670804672ISBN:0670804673
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Edition: American ed.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780670804672ISBN:0670804673
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Edition: American ed.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Books
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780670804672ISBN:0670804673
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. Previous Owner's Inscription. read more
Edition: First edition. First American Edition
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Elizabeth Sifton Books, Viking
Date Published: 1986
ISBN-13:9780670804672ISBN:0670804673
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean pages, no marks or tears, mild reading & shelf wear, corners turned up slightly, binding corners dinged, tight binding. 384 p. Includes: illustrations, index. read more
"A helpful overview of the history of the English language, which helps to explain the oddities of English - lack of noun genders, simplified word endings, mishmash of language origins, non-phonetic spellings. Alot had to do with the waves of England's invaders - the Anglos & Saxons, the Vikings, and the Normans. The Normans never took to writing in English and the common folks never took to speaking French, so the language was strictly verbal for the hundreds of years of the Norman rule. Chauver was a big because he was one of the first to start writing stories in English.
The book includes the variations of English in former colonies which was interesting as well."
"This was a thorough, informative and entertaining view of how the English language developed. It is still very current in its info. It is amazing to realize how very differently people speak this language, even in the USA."
"It took some time to finish reading this book, mixed in with our moving. The book is a companion to the PBS series of the same name that was on TV in the 80's, I think. Easy to read and informative about how the English Language will adopt any word from anywhere. Words such as Jazz to shiskabob or kindergarten. I would recommend this book. It isn't a fun read but very informative about our language."
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