The Adventure of English : The Biography of a Language (Paperback)

from camelot2302

Billions of people, including myself, speak English every day but we never really think about where the language comes from. What influenced it? What changes did it go through? What challenges did English face throughout the ages? Who were its friends and its enemies? Melvyn Bragg covers all thes...

from the.ken.petersen

This man makes me sick! Each week upon Radio 4, he discusses an esoteric subject which somehow turns out to be absolutely fascinating. Surrounded by experts, Bragg stays in control of the conversation and, in this book, he takes on the history of the English language. Now, let us be honest, there...

from missmath144

Fascinating! It is truly a biography of the English language, tracing it from its first beginnings, through invasions that threatened to end the language, to modern-day English. It is very detailed, with more examples than the ordinary reader probably needs or wants, but you can always skip over ...

from dianne50

I am no linguist, but found this book absolutely fascinating. Bragg manages to treat the English language as an entity which goes on the most amazing adventure. All English teachers should have a copy and children should be encouraged to read this at school. The language is accessible, easy to re...

from Niecierpek

A delightful, erudite and informative read, even though I happened to spend a whole term studying the history of the English language before. It discusses English of the British Isles with a special place for Welsh and Scottish varieties, of America, Wild West, India, West Indies and Australia. A...