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The Adventure of English [Paperback]

Melvyn Bragg (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 1 Sep 2004 | ISBN-10: 0340829931 | ISBN-13: 978-0340829936 | Edition: New Ed
English is the collective work of millions of people throughout the ages. It is democratic, ever-changing and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures. English runs through the heart of world finance, medicine and the Internet, and it is understood by around two thousand million people across the world. Yet it was very nearly wiped out in its early years.

In this book Melvyn Bragg shows us the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH is not only an enthralling story of power, religion and trade, but also the story of people, and how their day-to-day lives shaped and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.

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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: 13 x 2.5 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 20,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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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 )

About the Author

Melvyn Bragg's first novel, For Want of a Nail, was published in 1965 and since then his novels have included The Hired Man, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award, Without a City Wall, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Credo, The Maid of Buttermere and The Soldier's Return, which was published to huge critical acclaim in 1999 and won the WHSmith Literary Award. He has also written several works of non-fiction including Speak for England, an oral history of the twentieth century, Rich, a biography of Richard Burton and On Giants' Shoulders, a history of science based on his BBC radio series. He was born in 1939 and educated at Wigton's Nelson Tomlinson Shool and at Oxford where he read history. He is controller of Arts at LWT and President of the National Campaign for the Arts, and in 1998 he was made a life peer. He lives in London and Cumbria.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 94 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars a great read 12 Feb 2004
By groundhog
Format: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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39 of 41 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 TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
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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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars How English survived to become an international language 9 Jan 2005
By "cc3647"
Format:Paperback
The English language comes alive in Melvyn Bragg's hands, an acquisitive, adaptable and cunning baron accumulating a "word-hoard" culled from every language the English-speakers encounter. Always engaging, he traces the language from Britain's Frisian invaders through its darkest hours of domination by Danish, Norman and French to its emergence into the sunlight of Shakespeare and beyond. The ordinary people are the heroes, affirmed as the repositories of the language, resisting and eventually overcoming suppression by French and Latin elites.

While making no claims to be academic the book is linguistically well-informed and packed with endless (and often surprising) examples of borrowings from other languages throughout its 1500 year history. Bragg sees this facility for borrowing as the key to the current global domination of English, resisting in doing so even its home-grown grammarians, lexicographers and other guardians of stagnation. The English dialects are part of that rich pattern and Bragg has no difficulty in celebrating their survival or the continuing resistance to standardised pronunciation.

While fundamentally Anglo-centric, the development and contribution of American English is discussed reasonably fully, along with his understanding of its centrality in the emergence of English as the world's second language. Those who want a comprehensive discussion of the other international versions of English will have to look elsewhere as all get a mention but in superficial detail. This is not to say he is dismissive of them as he sees creoles such as Jamaican patois as no less a part of the language as the English dialects. Ultimately he sees English as diverging into a variety of subsidiary languages in the way that Latin did.

Bragg's style is engaging and compelling despite the extensive historical and linguistic detail, with his love for his language and its earthy roots shining through.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars a most interesting read
I believe anyone who has an interest in language and history will obtain considerable pleasure from this book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by john
5.0 out of 5 stars And an advenure it is
I have always seen the English language as an adventure. It's history, openness, ability to absorb from other languages; it's an ever-changing path which leads to communication.
Published 1 month ago by Timothy Sampson
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but a bit self indulgent
Bought the e book, initially read with enthusiasm, and there is much interesting information, but found it hard work about half way through. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gino
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Written in Melvyn Bragg's lovely style, this is a great addition to my collection. A really interesting read for anyone interestd in the English language
Published 2 months ago by S Palin
3.0 out of 5 stars THE ADVENTURE OF ENGLISH
bought it for my father for christmas and he said it wasn't one of the best he had ever written
Published 4 months ago by Prue Patterson
5.0 out of 5 stars so interesting
i was a bit wary of this book before i started it, it is melvyn bragg, and i thought it would be too high brow for me. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars The Adventure of English
I bought this book years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I regard it as such a good summary of how English has developed that I recently sent a copy to a friend overseas who is... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Richard T Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars a lot to Bragg about
This is such an entertaining read, and provided a lot more depth of knowledge about the language than I had known before. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Fly
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting 'voyage': good on breadth instead of depth
This book is a companion to a TV series and I found it to be a fascinating topic and something that I hadn't really thought much about before. I'm now much more aware of e.g. Read more
Published 6 months ago by LXIX
4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy contender
There are many books on the history and nature of English available, but this is worthy to stand amongst the best of them. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Byron Geoffrey Farrow
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