Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Viking Adult (1986), Edition: Media Tie In, 384 pages
Description
Library Journal: A tie-in for a nine-part television series to be broadcast over PBS beginning in September, this is a wide-ranging account of the travels and changes of the English tongue from its beginnings to tomorrow, from England to America to Australia to Africa and India and the Pacific. Despite an occasionally perceptible British bias, the authors have tried hard to paint a colorful, vivid picture of the many faces and varieties of English. The text is never dull, but is enlivened by innumerable examples and by interviews with representative individuals: a minister in Scotland, a couple from the Appalachians, a storekeeper in Newfoundland, a Philadelphia shoeshine man, a cockney fruitseller, an Australian farm family, the president of Sierra Leone, a writing professor in India. A readable book that all public libraries should have. BOMC alternate. Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY, Stony Brook.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Gord.Barker
I don't have any particular skill in languages, the entire french department went to the principal of my school and said 'find something else for him to do'. But if you have ever traveled in Canad and the US and have had any ear for the variations in language, this book will fascinate you. For
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example, it traces the Texan drawl back through the southern states, up through Boston bouncing off Newfoundland back to the "Scot-Irish" area of Brittan. Definitely worth the read Show Less
LibraryThing member Cecrow
Predominately a history of the English language, as the title promises, it also offers a fine selection of world history and provided me with some great tips on literature to pursue. I count myself lucky to have found and read a copy of the first edition from the mid-1980s. Later editions are of
Chapter One of the first edition describes the 'current' state of English in the world, now a thirty-year-old snapshot. This is the chapter that was most in need of updating as it predates the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It amounts to a pep rally and contains some hubris: the argument that "my language gobbled up and absorbed elements of yours, while yours is infected with influence from mine" is entirely circular and a game of adjectives. It was interesting however to read about the use of English outside of traditionally English-speaking countries, and the context of that use.
Chapter Two is a very good overview of the successive waves of early influence on development of the language: Celts, Anglo Saxons, Christianity, Vikings and the French Normans. Essentially serves as an early history of England. Chaucer is introduced as the first major artist of Middle English after it evolved from Old English. I learned some interesting facts about common surname origins.
Chapter Three puts focus on the Elizabethan age, a golden age for English as it featured Shakespeare and the first English settlements in America. American English received a lot of early influence from other languages: French, native American, and especially Spanish.
Chapter Four corrected my naive misconception that Scots was its own language rather than a dialect. Tucked into this chapter is the story of the first English dictionaries. There's interesting contrast between Scots voluntarily giving way to standard English and what happened in the prior chapter, when English refused to give way to Norman French.
Chapter Five was the Irish story, a sadder one where the native language Irish Gaelic was overcome by English, and not because the Irish wished for it. The good news was that Irish brought much positive influence to English and this melding provided for heralded writers such as Keats and Joyce. Interesting to read about Newfoundland being a lasting haven for Irish Gaelic; I'd known their speech was unique in Canada but not made this connection.
Chapter Six addresses the influence of African languages on English, via pidgin/creole tongues. It follows the thesis that black English influenced white culture, but presents this as controversial in the American south. It was accomplished in large part through music. What I can't get past is the horrible choice of frontispiece - where it should be Frederick Douglas, James Baldwin, or some other heralded writer as was done for previous chapters and those to come, in the first edition we get the propagation of a racist caricature.
Chapter Seven taught me that Noah Webster is largely to blame for the nuisance differences in British/American English. There's an interesting section on Canadian English I didn't entirely agree with, or perhaps it's just that old. The California gold rush lent itself to the surprising uniformity to American English during that country's rapid westward expansion.
Chapter Eight explores the cockney speech of east London, England and how this may have contributed to the modern English spoken in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Chapter Nine is a study of what new languages might possibly be born from English and how this could happen, taking examples from Jamaica, Sierra Leone, India and Singapore.
The epilogue is a nice wrap-up, highlighting modern journalists who continue to decry the manipulation and mutation of the language as they lay claim to some pure standard, in contrast with the book's thesis that language must evolve if it is to survive and no single clear standard for English really exists or can be objectively ranked superior. If I come across a later edition I think I would like to read this portion to see what different summation it makes in light of the electronic communications revolution, during which the medium has evolved even faster than the message.
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course more up-to-date (mine has never heard of the Internet), but only my original features the large number of colour photos and maps, etc. I found it very engaging in small doses: I'd read a chapter, read something else, then return. Sometimes it is clear this was published as a tie-in to a televised version, when there's a profile of a person, place or event that is really a digression but must have lent something visual to the program. Chapter One of the first edition describes the 'current' state of English in the world, now a thirty-year-old snapshot. This is the chapter that was most in need of updating as it predates the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It amounts to a pep rally and contains some hubris: the argument that "my language gobbled up and absorbed elements of yours, while yours is infected with influence from mine" is entirely circular and a game of adjectives. It was interesting however to read about the use of English outside of traditionally English-speaking countries, and the context of that use.
Chapter Two is a very good overview of the successive waves of early influence on development of the language: Celts, Anglo Saxons, Christianity, Vikings and the French Normans. Essentially serves as an early history of England. Chaucer is introduced as the first major artist of Middle English after it evolved from Old English. I learned some interesting facts about common surname origins.
Chapter Three puts focus on the Elizabethan age, a golden age for English as it featured Shakespeare and the first English settlements in America. American English received a lot of early influence from other languages: French, native American, and especially Spanish.
Chapter Four corrected my naive misconception that Scots was its own language rather than a dialect. Tucked into this chapter is the story of the first English dictionaries. There's interesting contrast between Scots voluntarily giving way to standard English and what happened in the prior chapter, when English refused to give way to Norman French.
Chapter Five was the Irish story, a sadder one where the native language Irish Gaelic was overcome by English, and not because the Irish wished for it. The good news was that Irish brought much positive influence to English and this melding provided for heralded writers such as Keats and Joyce. Interesting to read about Newfoundland being a lasting haven for Irish Gaelic; I'd known their speech was unique in Canada but not made this connection.
Chapter Six addresses the influence of African languages on English, via pidgin/creole tongues. It follows the thesis that black English influenced white culture, but presents this as controversial in the American south. It was accomplished in large part through music. What I can't get past is the horrible choice of frontispiece - where it should be Frederick Douglas, James Baldwin, or some other heralded writer as was done for previous chapters and those to come, in the first edition we get the propagation of a racist caricature.
Chapter Seven taught me that Noah Webster is largely to blame for the nuisance differences in British/American English. There's an interesting section on Canadian English I didn't entirely agree with, or perhaps it's just that old. The California gold rush lent itself to the surprising uniformity to American English during that country's rapid westward expansion.
Chapter Eight explores the cockney speech of east London, England and how this may have contributed to the modern English spoken in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Chapter Nine is a study of what new languages might possibly be born from English and how this could happen, taking examples from Jamaica, Sierra Leone, India and Singapore.
The epilogue is a nice wrap-up, highlighting modern journalists who continue to decry the manipulation and mutation of the language as they lay claim to some pure standard, in contrast with the book's thesis that language must evolve if it is to survive and no single clear standard for English really exists or can be objectively ranked superior. If I come across a later edition I think I would like to read this portion to see what different summation it makes in light of the electronic communications revolution, during which the medium has evolved even faster than the message.
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LibraryThing member Meggo
A fascinating book about the evolution of the English language - past, present and future. Specific focus on regional variations and donor words, although too little focus on the diversity that is Canadian English, in my opinion. New Zealanders probably also feel they've received short shrift in
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this book. Fascinating, educational and eye-opening, this book is well worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
The authors do their best to make the history of the formation of Modern English interesting and exciting. For the most part, they accomplish their goal. And what they lack in intensity, they make up for in information. It is an exceptionable goal to contain the language in a single volume, and
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they’ve needed two revisions to do it. That there is not a third is testament to their achievement. A solid book with little flaw. Show Less
LibraryThing member hailelib
A fun and informative book. This book would make a good introduction for someone who wants to know how English came to be English and what the many varieties of English actually are, as well as something about their relation to one another. However the book was published over twenty years ago and
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so would be less reliable in a discussion of the state of English today and the future of English. I'm glad I finally read it. Show Less
LibraryThing member breeks
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it took a while to work through it. The authors offer a very detailed account of the history and development of the English language.
Because languages are always in a state of flux, especially English, the book has become dated. Since being published in
However, I would still recommend this book to anyone who appreciates the finer points of this language and who are interested where many of the words we use today came from.
Because languages are always in a state of flux, especially English, the book has become dated. Since being published in
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1986 a whole new development of the language has occurred with the inception of computers and cell phones. E-mail, social pages, like Facebook, text messaging, tweeting, twittering, and so on, the English language has been faced with a whole new type and style, not always in its favour. However, I would still recommend this book to anyone who appreciates the finer points of this language and who are interested where many of the words we use today came from.
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LibraryThing member annbury
A highly readable overview of the history of the language, and of the way in which it has developed in various English speaking countries. Based on a PBS series, this has lots of nice maps and pictures, which is fun. As a history of the language, however, it is not nearly as compelling as several
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other works -- including Crystal's "The Stories of English". Show Less
LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
This is an enjoyable survey of the English language from the mid 1980s. It starts with the birth of the language--how the events of the history of the people of Britain (especially all the invasions) served to create a unique branch of the Germanic languages. As the story progresses, the authors
--J.
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then show the modern results of these historical influences, not only in England, but also in all the places where the English people have settled and/or conquered. As this is a companion book to a television program, the book is amply illustrated and fairly easy to read. There are many points when I could visualize (auralize?) how the TV series must have presented the same information. It would be interesting to read/see an update, to see if there have been any noteworthy developments in the past 25 years.--J.
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LibraryThing member nandadevi
Read the book, see the television series. No actually, skip the book and just see the thing on television. It's not bad..but for a story about the English language it could have been written more engagingly..
LibraryThing member gmicksmith
This is a fascinating and interesting examination of how English can be presented as story.
LibraryThing member lizziemc
Some inconstincies
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
Fascinating book, fascinating series. I check it out from the library every year.
LibraryThing member kslade
Very interesting book on how English developed over the years. The PBS series is also good.
Subjects
Awards
Ambassador Book Award (Winner — Special Citation — 1987)
501 Must-Read Books (Emma Beare, 2006) (History)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1986
1992 (2nd ed.)
2003 (3rd ed.)
2011 (4th ed.)
Physical description
384 p.; 20 inches
ISBN
0670804673 / 9780670804672
Local notes
TMK