The English Language (Folio Society Edition) Book

It is almost inconceivable that the sounds uttered by illiterate Frisian tribesmen, as they stumbled onto British shores in the 5th century, belong to the same language now spoken by a fifth of the world's population. The British Empire rose and fell. The English language continues to spread across the globe.

As a former Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, Robert Burchfield is uniquely qualified to explore the fascinating appeal and history of English - its resilience and flexibility, how its spoken and written forms evolved and mirrored the development of its mother country. The pace and eclectic nature of change is astonishing: Chaucer's poetry is a foreign language to us; Shakespeare's so different that many readers can only gradually appreciate his meaning and beauty. Our very vocabulary, as well as style, has changed - as the English conquered distant shores, so their language expanded with new additions, though often not to their liking. In 1579 Edmund Spenser, author of The Faerie Queene, thought 'our English tongue a gallimaufry or hodgepodge of all other speeches' while in the 19th century new American words arrived 'like many a piece of driftwood'. Yet our language continues to be immeasurably enriched by this contact with other languages and nations. Even today's slang - a 'dustbin language' - pumps new blood through our newspapers, novels and dictionaries.

'The English language is like a fleet of juggernaut trucks that goes on regardless'. From Beowulf to The Book of Common Prayer, from the Great Vowel Shift to the worldwide web, it has been a long road, full of unexpected diversions, which continues to snake into the horizon. No guide could map the journey in a more entertaining style than Robert Burchfield.

Introduced by Robert McCrum.

Quarter-bound in buckram with metallic paper sides printed with a phonetic-based design.

Set in Imprint.

Frontispiece and 12 pages of colour plates.

Book size: 10" x 7¼".