In this book the author examines how a language 'treated for centuries as the inadequate and second-rate tongue of peasants' has now become to undisputed global language (more people learn English in China than live in the USA). He explains how the words such as shampoo, sofa, slogan, OK and rowdy (and others drawn from over 50 languages) got into our dictionaries, and how the major dictionaries were created.
He explores the countless varieties of English--from American to Australian, from Creole to Cockney rhyming slang. With entertaining sections on the oddities of swearing and spelling, spoonerisms, and Scrabble, and a consideration of what we mean by 'good english'. This is now of the most stimulating books yet written on this endlessly engrossing subject.
Contents:
Acknowledgements
1. The World's Language
2. The Dawn of Language
3. Global Language
4. The First Thousand Years
5. Where Words Come From
6. Pronunciation
7. Varieties of English
8. Spelling
9. Good English and Bad
10. Order Out of Chaos
11. Old World, New World
12. English as a World Language
13. Names
14. Swearing
15. Wordplay
16. The Future of English
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
Review:The sort of linguistics I like, anecdotal, full of revelations, and with not one dull paragraph - Ruth Rendell, Sunday Times
A delightful, amusing and provoking survey, a joyful celebration of our wonderful language, which is packed with curiosities and enlightenment on every page' - Graham Lord, Sunday Express
