The Story of English: Third Revised EditionNow revised, The Story of English is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language. Originally paired with a major PBS miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written English—from its Anglo-Saxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when English is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one billion English speakers around the world. From Cockney, Scouse, and Scots to Gulla, Singlish, Franglais, and the latest African American slang, this sweeping history of the English language is the essential introduction for anyone who wants to know more about our common tongue. |
Contents
Speaking of English I | 1 |
An EnglishSpeaking World | 9 |
The Mother Tongue | 46 |
Copyright | |
37 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
The Story of English: Third Revised Edition Robert McCrum,Robert Macneil,William Cran No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal accent Africa American English American speech Anglo-Saxon Australian English became become Bible Black English borrowed Britain British called Canadian English Caribbean Caribbean English Celtic Cockney colony culture described dialect Dictionary distinctive Dublin East eighteenth century Elizabethan England English language English-speaking European expressed famous French German Gullah Hiberno-English Highland Indian English influence Ireland Irish English Irish Gaelic island Jamaican creole Jamaican English John king known Krio land Latin linguistic living London meaning mother tongue native nineteenth century North Old English Oxford perhaps phrases pidgin English place-names plantations poet political pronunciation Saxons Scotland Scots Scots-Irish Scottish settlement settlers Shakespeare Singapore Singlish slang slave society sound South Southern Spanish speak speakers spelling spoken Standard English story talk tradition translation Twain Ulster United variety of English vocabulary voice West White William writing wrote York Zealand Zealand English