The English LanguageThe English language, in its earliest period, was spoken by a few thousand people, most of whom were illiterate. Today, more than 300 million people speak and write English as their first language. In this book, Robert Burchfield takes us on a brief tour of our ever-changing language as he surveys its history and development and assesses its current state. An eloquent guide, Burchfield examines the complexities of English, as well as its amazing resilience and flexibility. From vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation, to an analysis of the role of literature and the English Bible in shaping the language, Burchfield infuses all his discussions with his fascination with the mystery of language and his confidence that English "can be used at the present time as in the past, with majesty and power, free of all fault." |
Contents
From Runes to Printing | 7 |
1776 to the Present Day | 34 |
Literature Ritualistic Works and Language | 58 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
Introducing English Language: A Resource Book for Students Louise Mullany,Peter Stockwell Limited preview - 2010 |
Common terms and phrases
adjectives adverbs alphabet American English ancient Anglo-Saxon period Aslef Australian Australian English Beowulf Bible Book of Common Britain British English called Common Prayer dialect Dr Johnson edition eighteenth century elements English Dictionary English grammar English language English words especially etymology example expressions foreign forms of English French genitive grammarians Greek H. C. Wyld Ibid John kind less letter lexicographers linguistic literary loanwords London meaning Middle English modE modern English modF Noah Webster normal nouns numerous Old English origin Oxford Dictionary patterns phonetic poem predicate prefix prepositions present century printed pronounced pronunciation prose Randolph Quirk recorded regional rocketing rocketry rote rules Saxon scholars scribes Semantics sense sentences seventeenth century slang slum social sound speakers speech spelling split infinitive spoken standard stress survived syllable syntax tense Thomas thou traditional variation varieties of English verb versions Virginia Woolf vocabulary vowel writers written