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The Adventure of English
 
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The Adventure of English (Paperback)

by Melvyn Bragg (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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The Adventure of English + Mother Tongue: The English Language
Price For Both: £13.43

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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 (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,881 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Historical & Comparative Linguistics
    #7 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Linguistics > Reference

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Product Description

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

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 )

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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
28 of 29 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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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative!, 28 Feb 2005
By M. Goulden (Gtr, Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I watched an episode or two of the accompanying TV series and found it to be extremely interesting, if slightly dull in places. Maybe I just didn't like Melvyn Bragg the presenter? Melvyn Bragg the writer, on the other hand, I found to be quite enjoyable.
This is a wonderful trek through history, presented smartly, deftly, but most of all, simply. Bragg never professes to be a true expert, but he clearly knows enough, and his enthusiam for the subject drips from every page. The early chapters are the better ones, but the information keeps on coming right the way through the book and after 300 pages I was just as hooked as I was after 50.
The story of the English language is truly an adventure, and when you consider that this story contains such characters as Chaucer, Shakespeare and Mark Twain, it's a very good adventure story at that. I highly recommend it.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars How English survived to become an international language, 9 Jan 2005
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

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 5 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 11 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 15 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 16 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 21 months ago 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 22 months ago 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 Jul 2006 by D. McCLELLAND

4.0 out of 5 stars An unexpected delight
A fascinating book describing the evolution of the English language. It is a very interesting subject (even more interesting than I had thought before I bought the book)... Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2005 by J. E. Davidson

5.0 out of 5 stars Melvin Bragg's history of our mother tongue
One of the most entertaining and enjoyable books I have ever read. When I finished it, I read it through again. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2005 by Mr. P. T. Mcmahon

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