Have you ever wondered how grammar and vocabulary have evolved over time? This book is for those (like me) who wish to understand the history of the English language. This textbook is perhaps the greatest work of its kind. It covers the evolution from Old English to Middle English, from the Renaissance to modern usage worldwide.
Baugh and Cable’s tale is not simple, but then again, neither is English’s. The language, rooted in the British isles, borrowed heavily from French after the Norman Invasion in 1066. Under the influence of academic scholarship in conversation with the European continent, it also borrowed heavily from Latin. More recently, worldwide, post-colonial use in far-flung places like America, India, and Egypt have decentralized use so that each region borrows from the other. (In other words, there is currently no one group, even in England, that can claim to hold “true English” usage.)
There are several nuggets that I found interesting in this book. Many of the regional differences in American pronunciation stem from where in England colonists immigrated from. English dialects vary more dramatically from region to region than do American dialects – presumably because Americans interact with each other more and migrate more often. Spelling reforms continued until into the twentieth century and were seen as a form of efficiency. English is known for having a liberal policy towards vocabulary but conservative towards grammar. No matter how much they are hated, language purists seem to haunt every age in every region.
Because it is written as a critical historical examination, this work is most used pedagogically as a textbook in classrooms. Only the occasional lifelong student would read this book cover-to-cover for mere self-education. Nonetheless, it reads well and breaks down the subject matter into short numbered sections in each chapter. This work has helped me make sense of the diverse world that the English language provides to us in literature and over the Internet.
A History of the English Language
by Albert C. Baugh and Thomas Cable
Fifth Edition
Copyright (c) 2002, 1993, 1978, 1957, 1935
Prentice Hall
ISBN13 9780415280990
Page Count: 447
Genre: Language, Linguistics
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