- Paperback: 336 pages
- Publisher: Delta (May 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0385340842
- ISBN-13: 978-0385340847
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 1.9 x 18.9 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,095,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Welcome to the illogical, idiosyncratic, outrageous linguistic phenomenon known as the English language. The story of how this ragtag collection of words evolved is a winding tale replete with intriguing accidents and bizarre twists of fate. In this eye-opening, fabulously entertaining book, James Essinger unlocks the mysteries that have confounded linguists and scholars for millennia.
From the sophisticated writing systems of the ancient Sumerians through the tongue twisters of Middle English, the popular National Spelling Bee, and the mobile phone text-messaging of today, Spellbound chronicles the fascinating history of English spelling, including insights about the vast number of words English has borrowed from other languages (“orange,” “vanilla,” and “ketchup,” to name a few), and how their meanings differ from country to country. Featuring a lively cast of characters ranging from the fictional to the historically noteworthy (Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, Shakespeare, Bill Gates), this affectionate tribute to English spelling shows why our whimsical, capricious common language continues to hold us spellbound.
From the sophisticated writing systems of the ancient Sumerians through the tongue twisters of Middle English, the popular National Spelling Bee, and the mobile phone text-messaging of today, Spellbound chronicles the fascinating history of English spelling, including insights about the vast number of words English has borrowed from other languages (“orange,” “vanilla,” and “ketchup,” to name a few), and how their meanings differ from country to country. Featuring a lively cast of characters ranging from the fictional to the historically noteworthy (Chaucer, Samuel Johnson, Noah Webster, Shakespeare, Bill Gates), this affectionate tribute to English spelling shows why our whimsical, capricious common language continues to hold us spellbound.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
"Spellbound" is a very interesting read indeed. For lovers of the English language and its history, you will be intrigued. The focus is, of course, on its quirky and inconsistent spelling, explaining why. The book is easy to read, not technical or condescending. It is chatty and humorous at times.
The waves of influence creating modern English are discussed, namely the founders of English (the Anglo-Saxons themselves), the Vikings, the Norman Invaders of 1066 and later medieval Latinists. They all left their footprint on our words and how we spell.
A fascinating story of our language via its spelling.
The waves of influence creating modern English are discussed, namely the founders of English (the Anglo-Saxons themselves), the Vikings, the Norman Invaders of 1066 and later medieval Latinists. They all left their footprint on our words and how we spell.
A fascinating story of our language via its spelling.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
11 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Superficial
24 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
In my opinion, this book cannot compete with more careful and serious works on the same subject. If you are interested in this topic, my recommendation would be to read Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World or Speak: A Short History of Languages. You can (and in fact should) then safely skip this one.
My overall impression is that Essinger (not a scholar and not an expert on the subject) hastily read a few popular books on the subject and then added his own effort. A first piece of evidence is the bibliography, which is amazingly short and contains very few serious works. More to the point, throughout the book Essinger has the annoying habit of using his prejudices and his extremely vivid imagination to fill gaps in our historical knowledge. The results are usually absurd.
Some examples: The Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain are "smelly." (That seems to change later with Alfred the Great, when the Anglo-Saxons become the good guys and their body odor no longer merits Essinger's attention.)
The Norman conquerors, on the other hand, get a more sympathetic treatment right away: they were not oppressors (Essinger writes). This point is forcefully driven home a few paragraphs later by pointing out that they disowned and/or killed the local aristocracy.
While serious scholars are puzzled by the fact that the Germanic conquerors kept their language in Britain but nowhere else in the Roman empire, Essinger knows the answer: continental Celts and Romans had nowhere to hide, so they decided to teach the Germans Latin, while their British counterparts ran away (or were killed, Essinger isn't very clear here and generally cares little about consistency).
My overall impression is that Essinger (not a scholar and not an expert on the subject) hastily read a few popular books on the subject and then added his own effort. A first piece of evidence is the bibliography, which is amazingly short and contains very few serious works. More to the point, throughout the book Essinger has the annoying habit of using his prejudices and his extremely vivid imagination to fill gaps in our historical knowledge. The results are usually absurd.
Some examples: The Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain are "smelly." (That seems to change later with Alfred the Great, when the Anglo-Saxons become the good guys and their body odor no longer merits Essinger's attention.)
The Norman conquerors, on the other hand, get a more sympathetic treatment right away: they were not oppressors (Essinger writes). This point is forcefully driven home a few paragraphs later by pointing out that they disowned and/or killed the local aristocracy.
While serious scholars are puzzled by the fact that the Germanic conquerors kept their language in Britain but nowhere else in the Roman empire, Essinger knows the answer: continental Celts and Romans had nowhere to hide, so they decided to teach the Germans Latin, while their British counterparts ran away (or were killed, Essinger isn't very clear here and generally cares little about consistency).
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
English language spelling is charming? Absolutely!
22 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback
The English language, in particular its spelling, is a strange and wonderful beast. Essinger gets to the heart of it in Spellbound. There are many facts that won't be a surprise to most reading the book, such as much of the language being influenced by the mix of Anglo-Saxon with Norman French or the borrowing of words from other cultures as they are encountered. It's the information beyond the facts, which have obviously been well-researched, that gives the book its flavor.
Yes, it is a book about spelling, and if anything ever was a bane of school children, it could be that. Essinger approaches it with a delight and joy that is contagious. As I read the book, there were points in it where I literally laughed out loud because of the wit and humor in the pages. At other times, I felt awe and wonder that the English language ever came to be. Something that many people think is a dry subject comes alive in the book. As the author writes in the Introduction, it becomes magical.
The book achieves what the author wanted to do in making something accessible to the general public, not just academics. It is neither pompous or boring. Instead, it's interesting and fun. In short... very highly recommended.
Yes, it is a book about spelling, and if anything ever was a bane of school children, it could be that. Essinger approaches it with a delight and joy that is contagious. As I read the book, there were points in it where I literally laughed out loud because of the wit and humor in the pages. At other times, I felt awe and wonder that the English language ever came to be. Something that many people think is a dry subject comes alive in the book. As the author writes in the Introduction, it becomes magical.
The book achieves what the author wanted to do in making something accessible to the general public, not just academics. It is neither pompous or boring. Instead, it's interesting and fun. In short... very highly recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Superficial but Popularly Written Study of a Scholarly Topic
20 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback
Essinger has given a serious linguistic subject a popular treatment that is in many ways quite superficial. While he can do no great harm with the book and may actually help some to become better spellers, he has made several glaring errors as well. For example, he says that the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were speakers of Old High German when, in fact, they spoke a Low German language, just as the people of that region of Germany and Denmark from which they came still do in their local dialects. Essinger also oversimplifies Modern English as a Creole of Norman French and Anglo-Saxon to explain why inflection has largely been lost from Modern English. While that may be partly true, it is also true that English underwent sound shifts other than the Great Vowel Shift to which this inflection loss can also be attributed. If you know nothing about the subject, you may enjoy this book. Serious students of English language history need not bother.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
