Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices - Softcover

David Crystal

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0712350985 ISBN 13: 9780712350983

Publisher: The British Library Publishing Division, 2010

Synopsis

English is spoken or written today by a third of the world's population - an unprecedented achievement for a language. How has this situation come about? And what happens to a language when it is used by so many? In this illustrated history David Crystal charts the development of the language from the earliest runic inscriptions in Old English, through the emergence of a standard variety of English between 1400 and 1800, to the most modern forms of the language in 'concrete' and 'text' poetry. In telling the story he draws on examples from English in its various guises and uses - from our everyday English to English in the workplace and English used as a medium of playful and literary expression. The regional and international varieties of English are also considered. This book shows us where language is now, where it has been, and - perhaps most important of all - where it is heading, for the new varieties of the language appearing in world literature and on the Internet show that this is a story which is by no means over.

About this title

About the Author:

David Crystal is a writer, lecturer and broadcaster on language and linguistics. He is the author of many books including The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (CUP, 1995), The Stories of English (Penguin, 2005), By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English (HarperPress, 2007) and Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 (OUP, 2008).

About this edition

• Publisher: The British Library Publishing Division
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0712350985
• ISBN 13: 9780712350983
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160