Product Description

English is the collective work of millions of people throughout the ages. It is democratic, ever-changing and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. English runs through the heart of world finance, medicine and the Internet, and it is understood by around two thousand million people across the world. Yet it was very nearly wiped out in its early years.
In this book Melvyn Bragg shows us the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH is not only an enthralling story of power, religion and trade, but also the story of people, and how their day-to-day lives shaped and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11057 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Guardian
'Bragg is an expert translator in areas that academics find difficult to popularise...he produces a pithy, accessible narrative.'

Review
'Melvyn Bragg's superb new history of the English language is told as an adventure story, and rightly so. There is much splendid intellectual firepower in this book.' (Andrew Roberts, Spectator )

'Concise as well as learned...Melvyn Bragg takes the high road and strides confidently through the origins and growth of English. It gives us an impressive and sage view of the big picture.' (Robert Winder, New Statesman )

'Bragg is an expert translator in areas that academics find difficult to popularise...he produces a pithy, accessible narrative.' (Guardian )

'This breathless tale of the English language is one of struggle, resilience and triumph' (Irish Times )

'Beautifully clear and, indeed, thrilling' (Waterstone's Books Quarterly )

'Bragg's approachable account gleams with little gems. It has power and clarity...rewarding.' (Sunday Herald )

'Always readable, often thought-provoking, and consistently entertaining.' (Independent )

'This is a highly readable, jargon-free treatise on a notoriously prickly subject. Bragg's affection for his subject is infectious. In this he successfully joins a long tradition of gentleman enthusiasts from peppery Dr Johnson to genial James Murray.' (Observer )

Waterstone's Books Quarterly
'Beautifully clear and, indeed, thrilling'

Customer Reviews

a great read
If you are interested in the history of the English Language, word derivations and English generally I strongly recommend this book. I would have given it 5 stars but knocked one off because at times, especially in the first few chapters, Bragg can get a bit tedious. His writing style is very odd too. I'm not saying it's bad, just odd. It's as if he is slightly off-kilter with the world. Also some of his sentences go on for ever with little punctuation, which struck me as peculiar given that Bragg is a consummate intellectual and is writing about English!
Nit-picking aside the book is a great read. It is full of interesting history and, especially in the latter half of the book, full of fascinating facts you always wanted to know about words but couldn't be bothered finding out. Such as the reason for expressions such as 'the Real McKoy' and 'Maverick'. Why Americans pronounce every syllable while us Brits tend to clip vowels as in 'Cem-e-ter-y'(US) and 'ceme-try'(England). How Kangaroo, supposedly, wasn't actually the name of the animal but the aboriginal for 'I don't know what you're talking about' when a native was asked for it's name in English. etc etc
If it's quick fire facts about the English language you're after I would recommend Bill Bryson's 'Mother Tongue'. It is an easier read and has more humour. Bragg's book goes into much more depth charting the progress of English from it's very beginning up to present day America and Australia. Not as readable as Bryson, his style more lecture hall than matey, but definitely worth it.

More plots twists and dark Catholic deeds than Dan Brown
This book has more plots twists and dark Catholic deeds than a Dan Brown blockbuster and its all based on fact!

The best implemented sections are those that cover the language from the 4th century through to 17th century, and encompassed the repeated invasions during the first millenium by anyone on mainland europe with a boat and an axe, the Norman invasion and subsequant 300 year occupation, the plague, the catholic strangle hold of the 15th and 16th century, attempts to translate the latin bible to english for all to read, catholic attempts to stop this, the origins of Protestantism, the formalising of the language away from its regional spellings and dialect into a singular language, the work of the tamperers in making the language more difficult to learn thru the first official publication of the English Bible by King James 1.

Pros: Its all great stuff and additionally provides a real taste for the history that has shaped much of this country as it stands today.

CONS: It does lose its impact as it takes onboard the modern forms of english; American, Jamiacan etc but that might be because these hold little interest for me at this time.

An Inspiring Read
This is a truly excellent book. Anyone interested in language, reading and all things wordy will find much of interest. The book is based on the TV series but deals with matters in more depth and you'll be carried along with Bragg's sense of enthusiasm and vivid writing style. Bragg uses history, art, music, cinema and much more to illustrate and explain the development of English. He writes with genuine authority but at no point does he lose the reader - indeed, he leads you into a world of fascinating ideas and information. This is the first book by Melvyn Bragg that I've read but it will not be the last!