Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices: An Illustrated History of the English Language - Brossura

Crystal, David

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0712350985 ISBN 13: 9780712350983

Casa editrice: British Library Board, 2010

Riassunto

One-third of the world’s population can speak or write in English, which is an unprecedented achievement for a language. How did this enormous reach come about? And what happens to a language when it is used by so many? InEvolving English, David Crystal, the leading authority on the development of the English language, answers these questions and more.

Unlike other histories of the English language, Evolving English is a fully illustrated history, charting the development of the language through images, from the earliest runic inscriptions in Old English and the emergence of a standard variety of English between 1400 and 1800 to the most modern forms of the language, as seen in concrete and text poetry. In telling the story of the language’s growth and change, Crystal draws on examples from English in its various guises and uses—including everyday English, English in the workplace, regional and international varieties, and English in playful and literary expression.

Crystal’s accessible and lively linguistic history shows where language is now, where it has been, and—perhaps most important of all—where it is heading. Crystal is not afraid to address the new varieties of the language appearing in world literature, on the Internet, and in cell phone text messages. Both topical and readable, Evolving English shows that the story of the world’s most common language is as diverse and interesting as those words that comprise it.

Su questo libro

L'autore:

David Crystal is the Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. His previous books includeThe Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, English as a Global Language,A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, Language Death, and Words on Words, the last published by the University of Chicago Press.

Product Description:

Book by Crystal David

Su questa edizione

• Editore: British Library Board
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0712350985
• ISBN 13: 9780712350983
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 159