The English Language

by Robert W. Burchfield

Book Overview

Here, Robert Burchfield, editor of the four-volume Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, offers a brief survey on the development of English. He expertly stresses the flexibility of the English language, tracing its ever-changing face from the 5th century AD to the present day. Burchfield describes the resilience of the language--from the days of runes to the origins of printing, through social, religious, political and industrial change in the eighteenth century, through the rise of the British Empire and the development of world English, right up to the enormous changes in the English language that have taken place in the twentieth-century. In a stirring Afterword, John Simpson looks at what the historical details of the English Language tell us about the world of its speakers, and how ideas about what constitutes the English Language have changed over the past decades. Wonderfully informative and a delight to read, The English Language is an essential guide for anyone interested in the early days of our language and how it has transformed over the years into its modern form.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198604033
• ISBN13: 9780198604037
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.49 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Extremely informative book

Extremely informative brief introduction on the development of the English language, particularly emphasising its flexibility. For the most part, enjoyable read: there were parts where I felt my attention slip, and some hard slogs through some paragraphs, but all-in-all an entertaining, informative and thought-provoking [leaves you wanting more...] book. The Afterword -- which looks at what a language can tell us about its speakers, about culture, and furthermore how language is being studied and analysed today -- is well worth the read also.