The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language

Few can doubt the impact that English presently has on the world. English is the language of business, technology, finance and, perhaps most importantly, the internet.Yet while English has now assumed a paramount position as the world's language, this was not always the case. After the fall of the Roman Empire there was great doubt as to whether English would even survive. In this regard, it owes much to the efforts of Alfred the Great who was able to withstand the Danes and find a toehold in which English could flourish. But having withstood this early treat, English was once again placed in jeopardy following the Norman invasion in 1066. It was only the fact that the common people were able use it amongst themselves that it sustained the impact of a Francophone ruling class. The English fight back came with the arrival of bubonic plague. With so many priests succumbing to the disease, common English language preachers were required to fill the gap. In so doing, English was given unexpected impetus.What followed was the arrival of Chaucer and then Shakespeare. English proceeded to snatch words from other languages and, indeed, this has been its strength. Unlike other languages, French being the best example, it has not been ossified by an overarching academy seeking to dictate rules and words. English is wonderfully flexible.Melvyn Bragg does a superb job in bringing vitality to the story of English. It is a language with an exciting history and he tells the story well. The book is the companion to an eight part television series that is equally magnificent."The Adventure of English" is a book that I can highly recommend. It should be read by anyone interested in knowing how this all powerful language came to its pre-eminent position.

Language feels innate. It flows almost effortlessly, giving voice to our innermost aspects that can often feel entirely untranslatable. For native speakers, English is the miraculous software that came installed with the hardware. Melvyn Bragg's THE ADVENTURES OF ENGLISH is not a textbook larded with wonk, it's a professional word lover's exploration of English's history - from Anglo-Saxon, to Latin, to French, to the Internet - that has produced the energetic, evolving argot now employed around the world. THE ADVENTURES OF ENGLISH is a quality overview, even if the author admits his lack of true expertise, while peppering the book with his layman's interpretation of academic research.Studying the origins of any language offers ample opportunity for boring material. It's a territory populated with etymologists, philologists, and archaeological grammatologists - not exactly the most lively bunch. Bragg avoids these hazards. He tells a story, touching on all the key moments in the evolution of English. The arrival of the Saxons, the Danes, the Normans, and the Americans - all of it carrying the story forward. As we read, we watch the language become more familiar with each passing century, words and syntax added as English advances. A weakness shows itself when Bragg simply fills his pages with lists - e.g. a list of common words derived from foreign sources. It's filler and easy to skip over.The book's strength centers on the author's true passion for how this unique, malleable technology called English came into being. He's is not a dogmatic prescriptivist. Bragg welcomes contributions from all comers - give me your tired, poor, and huddled lingos. He entirely avoids any disparagement of American contributions to the language (a rare act of graciousness from an erudite Brit), and he never once suggests that things have taken a step back. To understand English is to understand that there is no such thing as True English, and there never will be. It's a growing organism with branches grafted from sources as antipodal as India and Los Angeles.This is a user-friendly introduction to a dense, complex subject. Bragg's anecdotes and clarity of thought create an entry point for any reader looking to learn more about the lingua franca of everyone from William Shakespeare to Jay-Z.

This is an outstanding, must-read book, that cleverly, wittily and clearlty, traces the salient landmarks of English history and the English language. It starts in 410AD, when Rome was sacked by the Visigoths and was forced to pull its legionaires from England. This opened England to the Angle and Saxon invasion of England and started the beginning of the English language. The Normans conquest in 1066 and made French the official language of state, justice and education. By the end of the 100 Years war, the Kings began to speak English, which was by then half French, half Anglo Saxon, and schools first opened in the English language. The author then, with beveity, traces English's progression and addition of vocabulary from the bitterly contested translation of the bible to English, to development of lterature by Shakespears (he injected 1000s of expressions still widedly used), to the new language of the American wild west, to the formal decision by America to spell our language as it's spoken, to our swear words from the sailors travels, to vocabulary aquiredfrom English empire. I marvelled at the mosaic of our history and language. And it's easy to read.

The media could not be loaded.  Livro indispensável para todos aqueles que querem conhecer pontos essenciais da língua inglesa, bem como, como ela adquiriu certos aspectos nos dias atuais - livro essencial para estudantes de Licenciatura em Letras Inglês.

Fue un regalo para mi mamá y le encantó

Bought for my husband who is a hobby historian. He keeps telling me how good the book is. He thinks it’s really interesting in that the author covers historical facts.

I knew English was a merger of other languages, but this is a fascinating story of how that came to be, and how our language changed and developed over a long period. I wish I had learnt this when I did my "O" levels many, many years ago!

It is a really good read, very interesting and well written, I do recommend.