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The stories of English
- Author / Creator
- Available as
- Physical
- Summary
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"The Stories of English is a history of the language by David Crystal. Crystal turns the history of English on its head and provides an original view of where the richness, creativity, and diversit...
"The Stories of English is a history of the language by David Crystal. Crystal turns the history of English on its head and provides an original view of where the richness, creativity, and diversity of the language truly lies - in the accents and dialects of nonstandard English users all over the world. Whatever their regional, social, or ethnic background, each group has a story worth telling, whether it is in Scotland or Canada, South Africa or the United States - and Crystal relates the fascinating and sometimes arcane details." "Interwoven throughout the central chronological story are accounts of uses of dialect around the world, as well as in classics from The Canterbury Tales to The Lord of the Rings. For the first time, regional speech and writing is placed center stage, giving a sense of the social realities behind the development of the English language. This shift in perspective enables the reader to understand, for the first time, the importance of everyday, previously marginalized voices in our language and provides an argument for the way English should be taught in the future."--BOOK JACKET.
Details
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- Creator
- David Crystal
- Format
- Books
- Language
- English
- Publication
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- Woodstock : Overlook Press, 2004
- Physical Details
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- vi, 584 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
- ISBNs
- 9781585676019, 1585676012
- OCLC
- ocm55729974
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [551]-560) and indexes.
- Ch. 1. The origins of Old English -- Ch. 2. The old English dialects -- Ch. 3. Early lexical diversity -- Ch. 4. Stylistic variation in Old English -- Ch. 5. The transition to Middle English -- Ch. 6. A trilingual nation -- Ch. 7. Lexical invasions -- Ch. 8. Evolving variation -- Ch. 9. A dialect age -- Ch. 10. The emerging standard -- Ch. 11. Printing and its consequences -- Ch. 12. Early modern English preoccupations -- Ch. 13. Linguistic daring -- Ch. 14. Dialect fallout -- Ch. 15. Stabilizing disorder -- Ch. 16. Standard rules -- Ch. 17. New horizons -- Ch. 18. Linguistic life goes on -- Ch. 19. And dialect life goes on -- Ch. 20. Times a-changin' -- App. The location of the towns and counties of England referred to in this book
Subjects
- English language -- Variation.
- English language -- Variation -- English-speaking countries.
- English language -- Dialects -- English-speaking countries.
- English language -- English-speaking countries.
- English language -- Variation -- Great Britain.
- English language -- Dialects -- Great Britain.
- English language -- Great Britain.
- English language -- Dialects.
- English language -- History.