Customer Reviews

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is essentially a "twofer" review - everything I say about this book also applies to Crystal's "Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language."

I fell in love with language long ago, so pounced on this book when it first appeared on my horizon several years ago. Since then, I have learned to keep it close by - it migrates from the coffee table to my night table to the bathroom to the breakfast table - I need it handy. I refer to it constantly, and often find myself opening it at random and immediately being hooked by whatever subject comes up.

It's a tremendous compendium of easily accessible information on all aspects of the English language, and there are nuggets of value throughout. It is well-written in a lively, non-pedantic style, and has plenty of illustrations to reinforce understanding and make it more interesting. It's appropriate for most ages except very young children, and is a terrific way to introduce anyone to the wonders and mysteries of our language.

The same remarks hold true for Crystal's "Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language." That work is presented in the same way, but with much a broader scope - it covers all aspects of human language. I like to browse in it and then get greater detail from the English Language book - they work very well together.

I'm in awe of Crystal's ability to present such huge subjects so coherently and in such a comprehensive and fascinating way.

I strongly recommend both books, for you or for anyone you care about.

David Crystal impresses me with his combination of elegant erudition, intellectual open-mindedness, and conciseness. In writing this book, he imposed a harsh constraint upon his writing: every topic had to fit into a two-page spread. The result is insidiously like potato chips: it's such an easy read, you can't help but reading "just one more spread".
The breadth of knowledge that he brings to bear on the subject is astounding; his bibiography reads like a catalog of Western intellectual history. Time and again, I found myself marking a point with a note to delve into the matter more deeply.
Intellectual integrity is another impressive component of his writing. He cheerfully acknowledges difficult issues and treats linguistic variation with respect, yet never descends into cover-your-ass academic frippery. The effect is to provoke deeper contemplation in the mind of the reader; language truly is endlessly complex!
A confession is in order here: I did find the last few score pages rather tedious. Perhaps it was merely the fatigue arising from my breathless rush through the first 400 pages; more likely the subject matter does not suit my tastes. But in a grand parade of ideas of this size, I cannot complain if a few floats or marching bands fail to excite me; there's more than enough here to keep anybody dazzled.
The greatest tribute to this book that I can offer is the revelation that I have been too reluctant to shelve this book in my library; it remains on my desk, bedstand, or next to the computer, ready for a quick re-read of some random topic.

Betcha can't read just one spread!

I have truly enjoyed reading this book, and recommend it highly to anyone interested in learning about the English language. It is easy to read, clear, and authoritative. The only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that Mr. Crystal seems to hold the subtly snobbish attitude toward American literature and language still prevalent among the educated class in Britain. He gives due credit to Benjamin Franklin, Noah Webster, Edgar Allen Poe, and H.L. Mencken, but dismisses Mark Twain as being simply a humorist with vaguely racist tendencies, and fails to even mention Hawthorne, Melville, or Longfellow, the leaders of the 19th century American Renaissance, who succeeded in creating a distinctive American literature, separate from the English tradition. He also fails to mention Stephen Crane and Ernest Hemingway, but includes Burton Raffles, Peter Sellers (twice), and John Le Carre.

At the same time, I sometimes have the feeling that we Americans have merely borrowed the English language, and don't understand it, love it, and use it the way the English do. For us, English is handy tool, but if something better came along we would abandon it without a second thought, whereas the English will always speak English. And Hawthorne, Melville, and Longfellow may be more widely read in the UK these days than they are in their own country. Mr. Crystal obviously loves the English language, and writes about it with lucidity and affection. So my complaint is a back-handed compliment, in a way, and I would not discourage anyone from buying and reading this book from cover to cover.

Crystal's _The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language_ is not really the type of book I would use for reference. There are much more appropriate books when I want to learn about the proper use of a gerund. This is, however, an absolutely fascinating and addictive book! It is the type of book I pick up to read and get so involved I lose track of time. It is also a beautiful book. The color, illustrations, and publishing quality are magnificent!

The focus of this book is not American English. The flavor is cosmopolitan. Questions are answered like how the variations of English in New Zealand and the Caribbean affect road signs. If you ever wanted to know how morphological, lexical, syntactic, and discourse humor compare and contrast, this book is for you. This encyclopedia also features a brilliantly edited collection of poems interspersed in the pages. _The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language_ will remain one of my favorite books.

I first found this book in my high school library. When I stumbled upon it in my local bookstore, I couldn't resist. Its graphic richness makes it a great coffee table book (and conversation starter--see section on linguistic pet peeves), yet the continuous accompanying text makes for a good (if not exhausting) straight read-through. Well researched, organized, and selected material--there is little in this book that is less than fascinating.

As a graduate student in Linguistics, this book is a true gem. Especially wonderful is the history of every letter of the English alphabet

We use English everyday. We even studied spelling and grammar in school (maybe not as much as we should have studied). However, most of us do not know the origins of the language, how it has changed over the centuries, or its variants around the globe. Today, English is used by more people in India than in the United Kingdom and the United States combined. So, whose English is authoritative and why? I am not saying it is not the Queen's English that is not the standard of our language, I am just pointing out that there is room for discussion and reconsideration.

David Crystal has provided an amply illustrated journey through English that begins with considerations of what a model of English might look like and then takes us through a fascinating history of our language from the Old English through today's World English. Part II provides five chapters on the vocabulary and lexicon of English. Part III tackles the knotty problem of English grammar. Part IV discusses spoken and written English, Part V talks about the varieties of using English by region, societal variation, and even personal variation. Part VI talks about learning and studying English. The appendices are full of useful information such as a glossary, references, further reading list, index, and so forth.

The book is worth having just for the concise history it provides the English language, but the other discussions are worth knowing about and considering the various points of view the author provides us. As always, it is not necessary to agree with everything provided by a scholar to benefit from what he provides us. Just wrestling with the ideas and clarifying why you disagree with this or that point, or digging deeper to gain a richer understanding than the author provides are certainly worthwhile benefits to be gained.

An excellent read and reference for your bookshelf.

Buy the 1st Edition and save yourself thirty bucks.

It's got the same cover (but a different color), the same number of pages (506 pages) and is as far as I can tell, the exact same book. I'm tired of "edition inflation." Buy the first edition and save yourself a lot of money.

I'm a student of the Department of English Studies in Poland and I found the book a great help; everything's explained accurately and clearly, and the general layout is so neat that it's a pleasure to read the book! Of course, the book will be extremely helpful mostly for people really interestd in the English linguistics and similar topics closely connected with English language. Personally, I find the book just GREAT; it met my expectations and it's one of the most precious books in my whole library! RECOMMENDED!!!!

A lengthy, comprehensive, and interestingly detailed look at the evolution and current state of the English language. Such terms and concepts such as Hyponymic Hierarchies, Hypernyms, and semantic changes are given in laymen terms and explained with real-life examples. There is tons and tons of factual information presented, based upon applied linguistic research and the historical growth and transformations of the English language, from its' origins to Old, Middle, and New. There are many charts, colorful pictures, and graphs to present this information. Crystal provides one of the rare mixes of erudition and hipness that is appreciated.

One of the hundreds of interesting tid-bits here are, for example, Top Ten First Names dating from the year 1700.

This book doesn't have to be read front to back, and one can dart to and from different areas that one wants to ingest. Helpful for folks into history, applied linguistics, the English language, TEFL, and those who want to know why we speak the way we do today.