Latin Alive: The Survival of Latin in English and Romance Languages Book

Warning: for etymology geeks only! This book is an absolute tour-de-force, because it provides far more than a "hey, would you look at that?" It's a coherent and systematic exploration of language change as applied to Latin, touching on every single aspect of syntax, morphology, and phonology, as well as tracing the historical peculiarities that explain where it was that French became French, and Spanish became Spanish. Also brilliant are the illustrations of the concept of a linguistic "matrix," where commonly used phrases might become stand-ins for shorter concepts, morphing into new words completely different from the original Latin. These situations also provide an engaging window into cultural practices and their often zany impact on language. If you care why "liver" is "iecur" in classical Latin, and "foie" in French, this book is for you.

Also nice but not even necessary is the exposition on English. Though the story of English grammar is more a Germanic one, we learn how the unbelievable richness of the word stock came from English's unique exposure to three or four waves of Romance influence, leaving us with the never-ending pleasure of scratching our heads at curiosities of spelling and vocabulary.