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The Stories of English
 
 
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The Stories of English (Hardcover)

by David Crystal (Author) "There was variety from the very beginning ..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 592 pages
  • Publisher: Allen Lane (27 May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0713997524
  • ISBN-13: 978-0713997521
  • Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.4 x 5.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 281,233 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Financial Times Magazine, June 26, 2004
'learned but lively'

The Scotsman, June 19, 2004
'It should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in language'

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
There was variety from the very beginning. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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80 of 84 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece, 24 Jan 2005
By jfp2006 (PARIS/France) - See all my reviews
David Crystal is quite probably the best authority there is on the English language past and present, and in "The Stories of English" he has visibly excelled himself. From "Beowulf" and the earliest documents in Old English right up to the specific features of text-messaging, and looking beyond to the twenty-first-century English-speaking world of his grandchildren, here is an impeccably researched history of the language.
The title gives an immediate clue to the originality of this book, throughout which Professor Crystal is at pains to show that, alongside "standard English", there are all the other varieties of the language which, in the name of a purism which he skilfully shows to be misplaced, have most often been either denigrated or ignored by other historical works of this kind.
Perhaps David Crystal's major achievement is that he succeeds in being scholarly without ever being pedantic. His attention to detailed research is impressive, and yet the reader never once gets bogged down in theoretical linguistics. The writer's approach is resolutely of a sociolinguistic nature, and he constantly draws attention to the links between language and society and the way in which the evolution of one is always conditioned by the evolution of the other. He is particularly good on the language of Shakespeare, and unsparing in his criticism of the "absolute rubbish" propagated on the subject of the bard by "enthusiastic linguistic amateurs".
But David Crystal's book really makes its major point in the way in which prescriptive norms are demonstrated to be arbitrary - however necessary they may also be. The book sets out an unanswerable counter-argument to all those who earnestly equate "good" English with good behaviour, and even with morality. The writer points out, with wonderful deadpan humour, that "some of the most respectable people I know speak nonstandard grammar; and conversely, there are several villains around whose standard grammar is impeccable."
Professor Crystal's book reads like a novel, and in a sense it is both an adventure story and a love story. The hardback is a work of art, with an index and very complete bibliographical sources. And, as far as I could see, not a single printing mistake. And not a syllable out of place, either.
If you're interested in the history of the English language, don't wait for the paperback, splash out £25 and get this. It's worth every penny.
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56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, 27 Jul 2004
By The Fisher Price King "Straight from the gut" (London) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
In this authoritative history of the English language, David Crystal tells two different stories: one is about the development of standard English, and the other is about all its fascinating variant forms (dialects, slangs, the sociolects of particular groups - e.g. Internet users and hobbits!). The value of this is that so-called non-standard forms of English aren't demonized, as they have been in many other histories of the language. Yet at the same time Crystal explains why there are virtues in a standard version of English. This is a well-written book, covering a huge amount of material in pleasingly manageable chunks, with some great asides and interludes (Father Ted, anybody?). It beats the competition hands down.
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24 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read!, 2 Jun 2005
By A Customer
This review is from: The Stories of English (Paperback)
This book is really helping me with my A2 English Language module on the development and change of language. It is really factual but easy to read - I am remembering and learning so much through reading the book! If you are interested in our language then no doubt you'll treasure it forever!
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