Product Description

When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'? This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied language of today.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2430 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Financial Times Magazine, June 26, 2004
'learned but lively'

The Scotsman, June 19, 2004
'It should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in language'

Synopsis
When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'? This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied language of today.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book
I have come late to English having only just scraped a pass at O level 35 years ago. I was sitting on a plane and saw someone on the seat opposite the aisle reading this book. From the little I could see it looked interesting and at the end of the flight when he stopped reading, I fortunately glimpsed the cover as he put it away. I was then straight onto Amazon and located it.

This is a wonderful book, incredibly illuminating and authoritative but at the same time straightforward and attention gripping. However it's not for the faint-hearted having many, many pages of small text. It took me several months to read cover to cover - but I'm glad I did...

Excellent Read
Another excellent book by the Language Expert, David Crystal. This was on the recommended reading list for a module of my English degree course, and found it both a fascinating and useful read. Would recommend to anyone studying Linguistics or for anyone who has a general interest in the English Language.

Interesting read!
This book is really helping me with my A2 English Language module on the development and change of language. It is really factual but easy to read - I am remembering and learning so much through reading the book! If you are interested in our language then no doubt you'll treasure it forever!