The Stories Of English

When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'?

This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied language of today.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Author:David Crystal - Дэвид Кристал

Publisher:Penguin

Language:English

Publication Date:2005

Format:Paperback

Width:129 mm / 5,1'

Height:198 mm / 7,8'

Weight:404 g

ISBN:9780141015934