The Story of English: How the English Language Conquered the World
Type
Book
Authors
ISBN 10
1847242723
ISBN 13
9781847242723
Category
English Language
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Publication Year
2009
Publisher
Pages
224
Tags
Description
Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern English from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to become the linguistic equivalent of a superpower, and is now sometimes described as the world's lingua franca.
Worldwide some 380 million speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be learning it. English is the premier international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment and diplomacy, and also on the Internet. It has been one of the official languages of the United Nations since its founding in 1945. It is considered by many good judges to be well on the way to becoming the world's first universal language.
Philip Gooden tells the story of the English language in all its richness and variety. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'beserk', 'curfew', 'cabal', and 'pow-pow', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare, and concluding with a fascinating discussion of the ever shifting nature of buzzwords, taboo words, political correctness and the future of the English language in the 21st century.
The Story of English is a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, and one that is accessibly and authoritatively told by an author in perfect command of his material.
Philip Gooden writes both fiction and non-fiction. His historical crime novels include the Nick Revill series, beginning with Sleep of Death and using Shakespeare's Globe theatre as a setting. Philip Gooden also writes books on language, including Who's Whose? and Faux Pas?, which won the English Speaking Union award for the best English Language book of 2006. He was the chairman of the Crime Writers' Association in 2007-08.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Worldwide some 380 million speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be learning it. English is the premier international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment and diplomacy, and also on the Internet. It has been one of the official languages of the United Nations since its founding in 1945. It is considered by many good judges to be well on the way to becoming the world's first universal language.
Philip Gooden tells the story of the English language in all its richness and variety. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'beserk', 'curfew', 'cabal', and 'pow-pow', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare, and concluding with a fascinating discussion of the ever shifting nature of buzzwords, taboo words, political correctness and the future of the English language in the 21st century.
The Story of English is a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, and one that is accessibly and authoritatively told by an author in perfect command of his material.
Philip Gooden writes both fiction and non-fiction. His historical crime novels include the Nick Revill series, beginning with Sleep of Death and using Shakespeare's Globe theatre as a setting. Philip Gooden also writes books on language, including Who's Whose? and Faux Pas?, which won the English Speaking Union award for the best English Language book of 2006. He was the chairman of the Crime Writers' Association in 2007-08.
Taken from the inside flaps.
Number of Copies
1
