Description

Book Synopsis

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.

Crystal D Stories of English

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A Paperback / softback by David Crystal

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    View other formats and editions of Crystal D Stories of English by David Crystal

    Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
    Publication Date: 05/05/2005
    ISBN13: 9780141015934, 978-0141015934
    ISBN10: 0141015934
    Also in:
    Dictionaries, Reference & Language Historical and comparative linguistics

    Description

    Book Synopsis

    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.

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