Here is the riveting story of the English language, from its humble beginnings as a regional dialect to its current preeminence as the one global language, spoken by more than two billion people worldwide. In this groundbreaking book, Melvyn Bragg shows how English conquered the world. It is a magnificent adventure, full of jealousy, intrigue, and war-against a hoard of invaders, all armed with their own conquering languages, which bit by bit, the...

Discusses how Anglo-American has become the language of the world, and describes the changes that English has brought to far-away cultures in distant places.

This is the story of the English language in all its richness and variety, a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'berserk', 'curfew', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works...

Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, author McWhorter distills hundreds of years of lore into one lively history. Covering the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during...