The Stories of English
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
The Stories of English
By (Author) David Crystal
Penguin Books Ltd
Penguin Books Ltd
2nd August 2005
5th May 2005
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
420.9
Short-listed for British Academy Book Prize 2005
Physical Properties
Paperback
592
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 25mm
404g
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.
Reviews
"This new history of the English language in all its manifestations is among the best ever written, and is both entertaining and informative."
Author Bio
David Crystal is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. He has published over 90 books and was awarded the OBE for services to the English language in 1995. He is the editor of the Penguin Encyclopedia and the New Penguin Factfinder.
