Description
Book SynopsisWho formed and shaped the English language? David and Hilary Crystal take us on a journey through Britain to discover the people who gave our language its colour and character; Saxon invaders, medieval scholars, poets, reformers, dictionary writers. Part travelogue, part history, this beautifully illustrated book is full of unexpected delights.
Trade ReviewWhat makes this book stand out is Crystals narrative which is chatty and colloquial... I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have an interest in language and history, so this ticked all the boxes for me, but it reaches across a range of interests meaning that geographers, historians, linguists, archaeologists and those with an interest in the origins of the country would get a lot out of it. * Sonya Lipczynska, Reference Reviews *
An absorbing read * The Good Book Guide *
an attractive and digestible book * Shropshire Star, Toby Neal *
An original idea, enjoyably realised, this is an entertaining, handsomely illustrated guide * Independent, Christopher Hirst *
sparkling new book * The Press (York) *
Table of Contents1. Pegwell Bay: arrival ; 2. Caistor St Edmund: the earliest known English word ; 3. Undley Common: the first recorded English sentence ; 4. Jarrow: Bede and the origins of English ; 5. Lindisfarne: glossaries and translations ; 6. Ruthwell: the finest runic inscription ; 7. Stourton and Edington: King Alfred and the birth of English ; 8. Maldon: the ultimate warrior wordsmith ; 9. Winchester: the first standard English ; 10. Cerne Abbas: Aelfric and the first English conversation ; 11. Ely: Wulfstan and Old English style ; 12. Peterborough: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle ; 13. Battle and Normans Bay: the French connection ; 14. Bourne: Orrm and English spelling ; 15. Areley Kings: Layamon's English Chronicle ; 16. Chester and Berkeley: Higden, Trevisa, and the rise of English ; 17. Rhuddlan: the English language in Wales ; 18. Manorbier: little England beyond Wales ; 19. Dunfermline: the birth of Scots English ; 20. Talbot Yard, London SE1: Chaucer and Middle English ; 21. Canterbury: from ancient to modern ; 22. Cursitor Street, London EC4: Chancery and standard English ; 23. Tothill Street, London SW1: Caxton and printing English ; 24. St Albans: Juliana Berners and collective nouns ; 25. Paston: a family of letters ; 26. Lutterworth: John Wycliffe and Bible translation ; 27. North Nibley: William Tyndale and the English Bible ; 28. Chichester: William Bullokar and the first English grammar ; 29. Suffolk Lane and St Paul's, London EC4: Richard Mulcaster and the status of English ; 30. Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare and English idiom ; 31. Park Street, London SE1: Shakespeare and linguistic innovation ; 32. Oakham: Robert Cawdrey and the first dictionary ; 33. Willoughby: John Smith and new Englishes ; 34. East India Dock, London E14: the East India Company and global English ; 35. Hampton Court Palace: King James and his Bible ; 36. Black Notley: John Ray and English proverbs ; 37. Aldwincle: John Dryden and an English Academy ; 38. Old Broad Street, London EC2: the Royal Society and scientific English ; 39. Rochdale: Tim Bobbin and local dialect ; 40. Lichfield: Johnson and the dictionary ; 41. Old St Pancras Church, London NW1: John Walker and pronunciation ; 42. York: Lindley Murray and English grammar ; 43. Alloway: Robert Burns and Scots ; 44. Peebles and Edinburgh: the Chambers brothers and encyclopedic English ; 45. Grasmere: William Wordsworth and poetic language ; 46. West Malvern: Roget and the thesaurus ; 47. Bath: Isaac Pitman and English shorthand ; 48. Oxford: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary ; 49. Winterborne Came: William Barnes and speech-craft ; 50. Higher Bockhampton: Thomas Hardy and Wessex dialect ; 51. Saltaire: Joseph Wright and English dialects ; 52. Hinton St George: Henry Fowler and English usage ; 53. Ayot St Lawrence: George Bernard Shaw and spelling reform ; 54. Laugharne: Dylan Thomas and Welsh English ; 55. Tilbury: the Empire Windrush and new dialects ; 56. University College, London WC1: Daniel Jones and English phonetics ; 57. University College, London WC1: the Survey of English Usage ; Regional Grouping ; Index of Places ; General Index
