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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Trust me on this one,
By A Customer
This review is from: Origins of the English Language (Paperback)
Out of the sheer horror that someone recommended this book over Baugh and Cable's A History of the English Language and several other wonderful histories available, I find myself writing my first review. I was unlucky enough to have this book as an undergrad a number of years ago, and along with a general dislike of it that I've always carried, I specifically remember that the exercises were impenetrable. Now that I am getting a PhD in the history of the English language, I can safely say that I am achieving this goal despite this book. It is adequate in some ways but nowhere near as good as some of the other options. The only real bonus I can see is that the price is good.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Origins of the English Language,
By Erik (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of the English Language (Paperback)
Joseph Williams's Origins of the English Language: A Social & Linguistic History accurately highlights the history of the English language from the evolution of man clear through to Modern English that we speak today, providing enough knowledge for anyone to completely understand the origin of English. Intended for use as a textbook in college-level English history classes, Williams style is one that is conservative yet informative when he touches on many of the major aspects of the evolution of English, backing each up with references that make for a quite impressive bibliography with over 200 references. By reinforcing the facts that he mentions, Williams's style is one that is hard to misinterpret yet very informational and easy to follow. Some of this may be due, in part, to the assistance that Williams received from various university professors while writing this piece. Although at times Williams repeats his theories and arguments, he warns of this in his preface so that the reader is aware that this repetition is only to emphasize major points. Overall, I feel that this book is one of the most indepth yet comprehensible books on the history of the English language.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
When some people argue that histories should tell the truth, they usually mean by truth the straightforward, unadorned facts of what happened. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
encyclopedic meaning, inflected genitive, phonetic symbolism, geographical dialect, prestige dialect, low back vowels, dialect areas, object deletion, signal cries, little round balls, grammatical change Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle English, Old English, Norman French, Modern English, American English, New England, United States, Black English, British English, Old French, Norman Conquest, East Midland, Great Lakes, Black Death, London English, West Saxon, Great Britain, Great Vowel Shift, Noah Webster, Oxford English Dictionary, West Germanic, Close Rolls, King John, Late Latin, Parisian French New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
When some people argue that histories should tell the truth, they usually mean by truth the straightforward, unadorned facts of what happened. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
encyclopedic meaning, inflected genitive, phonetic symbolism, geographical dialect, prestige dialect, low back vowels, dialect areas, object deletion, signal cries, little round balls, grammatical change Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Middle English, Old English, Norman French, Modern English, American English, New England, United States, Black English, British English, Old French, Norman Conquest, East Midland, Great Lakes, Black Death, London English, West Saxon, Great Britain, Great Vowel Shift, Noah Webster, Oxford English Dictionary, West Germanic, Close Rolls, King John, Late Latin, Parisian French New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
13
books
cite this book:
See all 13 books citing this book
- English Choral Practice, 1400-1650 (Cambridge Studies in Performance Practice) by John Morehen on page 77, and page 78
- Language: The Basics by Trask in Back Matter
- The Book and the Magic of Reading in the Middle Ages (Garland Medieval Casebooks) by Albrecht Classen on page 114
- The Germanic Languages (Cambridge Language Surveys) by Wayne Harbert in Back Matter
- Mastering the Language of Literature (Palgrave Master Series) by Malcolm Hebron on page 169
See all 13 books citing this book
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