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| The Stories of English | Hardcoverby David Crystal (Author)
| List Price: | $35.00 | | Price: | $24.26 | | You Save: | $10.74 (31%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Overlook Hardcover | | Page Count: | 608 Pages | | Publication Date: | September 09, 2004 | | Sales Rank: | 738,996th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
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. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 16 reviews)
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Packed full of interesting stuff by Dr. Steven J. Smith (Brisbane, Australia)  4 Stars
August 27, 2009
David Crystal provides a well-researched, authoritative account of the stories of English other than Standard English - the dialects and differences. It is so dense (or so am I ) that I am still reading it, in small sections before going to sleep.
Each time, I find fascinating new thoughts and insights into the English language and its development to the present time. Fantastic stuff.
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Order was 10 days late from Amazon by Butterfly Man (Colorado)  5 Stars
June 13, 2009
I ordered 3 books on April 18, 2009. I received the books 18 days later. Not very good performance from Amazon.
The book "The Stories of English" is fascinating reading. It details the evolution of the English language from its inception (16th century). It includes the influences from other languages and the people who played a large part in its development. Both vocabulary and grammer development are considered. An entirely new and different perspective on English as we know it today and how it has evolved into our current American English.
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Long...but I still wanted more! by I. Holder (Sydney, Australia) 5 Stars
March 07, 2009
Another great book by David Crystal on the history, or histories rather, of the English language. Readable, informative and entertaining. David Crystal can certainly write well and explain concepts in an entertaining and informative manner.
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Good analysis. by a reader in America 4 Stars
August 06, 2007
I have a minor in linguistics and love this subject, so it's a book I pick up from time to time and just read bits and pieces. It's wonderfully well-written and the scholarship is great. If you think you know all there is to know about the history of English, think again: I've learned so much and I haven't even finished it yet!
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Interesting and informative by Solomon (Colorado) 4 Stars
April 10, 2007
I have spoken English all my life, but I did not know much about its history and evolution. This book provided answers to most of my questions and did so in a most entertaining manner. It covers English, from its Anglo-Saxon roots, through Middle English, to Standard English and beyond.
I was a bit surprised not to see any reference to the author's background on the book cover or inside of the book. It was therefore a leap of faith to start a 500+ page book without this information. A brief Internet search revealed that the author is a University professor in Wales, the author of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language and has produced TV programs on English in Great Britain. I guess he is so well know "over the pond" so as not to require any biography on the book cover. (Among the things that I learned was that it is perfectly OK to use "over the pond", even without the quotation marks).
Professor Crystal makes a strong case for non-standard English existing alongside Standard English (whose origin he explains). He covers the many different standards, both those such as American English, which has been accepted as a standard and varieties such as Indian English which are only just beginning to become standards in their own right.
The book covers the development of English, its spelling, grammar and pronunciation. In my opinion the greatest benefit of this book is to counter some of the ridged proscriptive rules, thereby allowing a writer to become more comfortable getting their point across, instead of being hobbled by arcane and illogical rules. My only criticism is than too little space is devoted to the evolution of the other forms of English, i.e., American, Australian, South African, Caribbean, African, etc. and the variations within each of these. The topic of the other English's is covered, but not to the degree that I would have liked to have seen. Perhaps, there will be another book, something along the lines of "The Stories of Other English's".
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
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"Lexicography is not just an exercise in linguistic accounting," writes preeminent English language scholar David Crystal in this exceptionally lively and erudite little book. "It is a voyage of lexical exploration and discovery."
In Words, Words, Words, Crystal takes readers on a fascinating linguistic adventure, exploring the English language in all its oddity, complexity, and ever-changing beauty. Traveling from word origins and word evolution to wordgangs, wordrisks, wordplay,...
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With a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, a narrative history written explicitly for a young audience, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language deserves retelling.
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Why is there such a striking difference between English spelling and English pronunciation? How did our seemingly relatively simple grammar rules develop? What are the origins of regional dialect, literary language, and everyday speech, and what do they have to do with you? Seth Lerer's Inventing English is a masterful, engaging history of the English language from the age of Beowulf to the rap of Eminem. Many have written about the evolution of our grammar, pronunciation, and...
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| The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
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Rarely has a book so packed with accurate and well researched factual information been so widely read and popularly acclaimed. This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language has been fully revised for a new generation of language-lovers. The book is longer and includes extensive new material on world English and Internet English, in addition to completely updated statistics, further reading suggestions and other references. First Edition Hb (1995): 0-521-40179-8 ...
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