Description
Book SynopsisEnglish Begins at Jamestown explores how people tell and have told the story of English, from its Indo-European origins to its present-day status as a global language. It shows that there are better, worse, and wrong ways to relate the language's history, even if there cannot necessarily be one correct way.
Trade ReviewTim Machan's book is a much-needed exploration of the stories that we tell ourselves about the history of the English language. Fascinating, engaging, and original, this work ranges across centuries of the linguistic past, providing important historiographical analysis and inviting us to think in new ways about the field and practices of English language history. * Colette Moore, University of Washington *
English Begins at Jamestown is an original and thought-provoking take on how to write the history of English. With wit and verve it explores the often unspoken intellectual underpinnings of the enterprise and it should be required reading for all those interested in the history of any language. * Paul Russell, University of Cambridge *
English Begins at Jamestown will be an excellent supplement to histories of English, and it is a must-read for historians of English...Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *
