The Story of EnglishLibrary Journal: A tie-in for a nine-part television series to be broadcast over PBS beginning in September, this is a wide-ranging account of the travels and changes of the English tongue from its beginnings to tomorrow, from England to America to Australia to Africa and India and the Pacific. Despite an occasionally perceptible British bias, the authors have tried hard to paint a colorful, vivid picture of the many faces and varieties of English. The text is never dull, but is enlivened by innumerable examples and by interviews with representative individuals: a minister in Scotland, a couple from the Appalachians, a storekeeper in Newfoundland, a Philadelphia shoeshine man, a cockney fruitseller, an Australian farm family, the president of Sierra Leone, a writing professor in India. A readable book that all public libraries should have. BOMC alternate. Catherine V. von Schon, SUNY, Stony Brook. |
Contents
Table of Illustrations | 8 |
An EnglishSpeaking World | 19 |
The Echoes of an English Voice | 271 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal accent Africa Afrikaans American English Anglo-Saxon Australian English became become Bible Black English borrowed Britain British English called Canadian English Caribbean Caribbean English Celtic Cockney colony creole culture dialect Dictionary distinctive Dublin East Elizabethan England English language expression famous French German Gullah H. L. Mencken Highland immigrants Indian English influence Ireland Irish English Irish Gaelic island Jamaican Jamaican creole Jamaican English James John known Krio land Latin linguistic living London meaning million mother tongue native nineteenth century North Old English Oxford perhaps phrases pidgin English plantations poet political Professor pronunciation Saxon Scotland Scots Scots-Irish Scottish settlement settlers Shakespeare Singapore Singlish slang slave society sound South Southern Spanish speak speakers spelling spoken Standard English story talk television tradition translation Twain Ulster United variety of English vocabulary voice Welsh West White William words writing wrote York Zealand Zealand English