When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'?
This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied language of today.
| ISBN: | 9780141015934 |
| Publication date: | 5th May 2005 |
| Author: | David Crystal |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 584 pages |
| Genres: |
Language: history and general works |
When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'?
This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied language of today.
The Stories of English features in the following genres: Language: history and general works
The Stories of English is available in Paperback
The Stories of English was written by David Crystal and published by Penguin Books an imprint of Penguin Books Ltd
The Stories of English has 584 pages
£15.29