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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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Books Ltd
      Published 5 May 2005
      ISBN-13 9780141015934
      978-0141015934
      ISBN-10 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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