Book description
Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the
Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman
French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern English
from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to become the
linguistic equivalent of a superpower. Worldwide some 380 million people
speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second
language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be learning
it. English is the premier international language in communications,
science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy, and also on
the Internet and is thought by many to be well on the way to becoming
the world s first universal language. Philip Gooden tells the story of
the English language in all its richness and variety. From the
intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as OK ,
beserk , curfew , cabal and pow-wow , to the massive transformations
wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon
and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The
Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare, right up to the profound
and surprising effect electronic media, and in particular the Internet,
has had on its development. The Story of English is a fascinating tale
of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, told accessibly and
authoritatively. Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain
of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by
Norman French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern
English from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to
become the linguistic equivalent of a superpower. Worldwide some 380
million people speak English as a first language and some 600 million as
a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be
learning it. English is the premier international language in
communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and
diplomacy, and also on the Internet and is thought by many to be well on
the way to becoming the world s first universal language. Philip Gooden
tells the story of the English language in all its richness and variety.
From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words
such as OK , beserk , curfew , cabal and pow-wow , to the massive
transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language
by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of
Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare, right up to
the profound and surprising effect electronic media, and in particular
the Internet, has had on its development. The Story of English is a
fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, told
accessibly and authoritatively.
