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The Adventure of English (Paperback)

by Melvyn Bragg (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
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Customers buy this book with Mother Tongue: The Story of the English Language by Bill Bryson

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Sceptre; New Ed edition (1 Sep 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340829931
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340829936
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.2 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5,848 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Historical & Comparative Linguistics
    #2 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Reference

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Product Description

Review

'Melvyn Bragg's superb new history of the English language is told as an adventure story, and rightly so. There is much splendid intellectual firepower in this book.' (Andrew Roberts, Spectator )

'Concise as well as learned...Melvyn Bragg takes the high road and strides confidently through the origins and growth of English. It gives us an impressive and sage view of the big picture.' (Robert Winder, New Statesman )

'Bragg is an expert translator in areas that academics find difficult to popularise...he produces a pithy, accessible narrative.' (Guardian )

'This breathless tale of the English language is one of struggle, resilience and triumph' (Irish Times )

'Beautifully clear and, indeed, thrilling' (Waterstone's Books Quarterly )

'Bragg's approachable account gleams with little gems. It has power and clarity...rewarding.' (Sunday Herald )

'Always readable, often thought-provoking, and consistently entertaining.' (Independent )

'This is a highly readable, jargon-free treatise on a notoriously prickly subject. Bragg's affection for his subject is infectious. In this he successfully joins a long tradition of gentleman enthusiasts from peppery Dr Johnson to genial James Murray.' (Observer )

Irish Times

'This breathless tale of the English language is one of struggle, resilience and triumph'
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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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The Adventure of English
88% buy the item featured on this page:
The Adventure of English 4.4 out of 5 stars (26)
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In Our Time
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In Our Time 4.0 out of 5 stars (4)
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The Stories of English
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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (11)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
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1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars a great read, 12 Feb 2004
This review is from: The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language (Hardcover)
If you are interested in the history of the English Language, word derivations and English generally I strongly recommend this book. I would have given it 5 stars but knocked one off because at times, especially in the first few chapters, Bragg can get a bit tedious. His writing style is very odd too. I'm not saying it's bad, just odd. It's as if he is slightly off-kilter with the world. Also some of his sentences go on for ever with little punctuation, which struck me as peculiar given that Bragg is a consummate intellectual and is writing about English!
Nit-picking aside the book is a great read. It is full of interesting history and, especially in the latter half of the book, full of fascinating facts you always wanted to know about words but couldn't be bothered finding out. Such as the reason for expressions such as 'the Real McKoy' and 'Maverick'. Why Americans pronounce every syllable while us Brits tend to clip vowels as in 'Cem-e-ter-y'(US) and 'ceme-try'(England). How Kangaroo, supposedly, wasn't actually the name of the animal but the aboriginal for 'I don't know what you're talking about' when a native was asked for it's name in English. etc etc
If it's quick fire facts about the English language you're after I would recommend Bill Bryson's 'Mother Tongue'. It is an easier read and has more humour. Bragg's book goes into much more depth charting the progress of English from it's very beginning up to present day America and Australia. Not as readable as Bryson, his style more lecture hall than matey, but definitely worth it.
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29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars More plots twists and dark Catholic deeds than Dan Brown, 4 May 2005
By J. Potter "johniebg" (Berkshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This book has more plots twists and dark Catholic deeds than a Dan Brown blockbuster and its all based on fact!

The best implemented sections are those that cover the language from the 4th century through to 17th century, and encompassed the repeated invasions during the first millenium by anyone on mainland europe with a boat and an axe, the Norman invasion and subsequant 300 year occupation, the plague, the catholic strangle hold of the 15th and 16th century, attempts to translate the latin bible to english for all to read, catholic attempts to stop this, the origins of Protestantism, the formalising of the language away from its regional spellings and dialect into a singular language, the work of the tamperers in making the language more difficult to learn thru the first official publication of the English Bible by King James 1.

Pros: Its all great stuff and additionally provides a real taste for the history that has shaped much of this country as it stands today.

CONS: It does lose its impact as it takes onboard the modern forms of english; American, Jamiacan etc but that might be because these hold little interest for me at this time.

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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Read, 1 Jan 2004
By Scott Hart (Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
  
This review is from: The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language (Hardcover)
This is a truly excellent book. Anyone interested in language, reading and all things wordy will find much of interest. The book is based on the TV series but deals with matters in more depth and you'll be carried along with Bragg's sense of enthusiasm and vivid writing style. Bragg uses history, art, music, cinema and much more to illustrate and explain the development of English. He writes with genuine authority but at no point does he lose the reader - indeed, he leads you into a world of fascinating ideas and information. This is the first book by Melvyn Bragg that I've read but it will not be the last!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Boys-own adventure story
Melvyn Bragg succeeds in creating a story that lives up to it title. This is a true swash-buckling adventure, full of invasions, rebellions, skulduggery and blossoming new... Read more
Published 4 months ago by John Holland

4.0 out of 5 stars Real history
This is a fine history of English. It dates from before the Norman Conquest which was in danger of making French our national tongue. Read more
Published 12 months ago by G. J. Weeks

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Adventure
Having a copy of the King James Bible and copy of the William Tyndale version of the New Testament, I was very interested to find out where the English language as we know it came... Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. C. W. Collins

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating - nearly excellent
The evolution of our language is a fascinating story, well told by Melvyn Bragg.

My only very slight complaint is that it's obviously a book aimed at adults, and the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Jools

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't be put off...
...by the title. This is not a specialist work for the linguist. Any intelligent reader will enjoy it.
Published 23 months ago by Mr. A. D. Garner

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book - fades towards end
This excellently written book takes a backwards look at the 'success' of English as a language both for the English and now for much of the world. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2007 by Mist of Time

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
One can always rely on Melvyn Bragg for quality, no matter what the medium, and he lives up to his reputation here. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2007 by Dr. D. Fraser

2.0 out of 5 stars The Triumphalism of English
As a one-stop history of the English language I didn't think this was all that good. There are, after all, a lot of books like this out there, and to add another you need... Read more
Published on 13 May 2007 by Karl Davis

5.0 out of 5 stars A joy to read - informative and surprisingly moving
1500 years of linguistic history, spanning every continent, crammed into 300 joyful pages. From its Friesian ancestors one and a half centuries ago through to its global... Read more
Published on 12 July 2006 by D. McCLELLAND

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book
The Adventure of English, by Melvyn Bragg, is a fascinating biography of the English language (the author claims that English can be viewed as a living organism - thus the term... Read more
Published on 19 April 2006 by Claudia

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