Status
Available
Call number
Publication
London : Sceptre, 2004.
Description
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.… (more)
Media reviews
Bragg sees the English Language as a living organism, with hopes, fears, courage and determination all of its own. Its history is an epic tale of breaking free from the confines of mainland Europe, leaping into the wide expanse of the British Isles, heroic resistance to the onslaught of the
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Vikings, then cruel defeat by the Normans, dark years of oppression as it gazes upon looming extinction. Then, just when all seems lost, comes triumph over its enemies, a glorious blooming, a bursting forth to take on the world and win the prize of Top Language, as it has always felt its destiny to be. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member Niecierpek
A delightful, erudite and informative read, even though I happened to spend a whole term studying the history of the English language before. It discusses English of the British Isles with a special place for Welsh and Scottish varieties, of America, Wild West, India, West Indies and Australia. A
‘An adventure should have an ending but there is no conclusion to the astounding and moving journey of the English language, from its small spring to rivers of thought and poetry and science, into oceans of religions and politics, industry and finance and technology, those oceans swept by storms that poured English on to the willing and unwilling alike. It is a language that other languages take on, bend, adapt and grow from, just as English itself from its slow fierce forging in these islands has taken on and been tested by and absorbed many languages. Still it grows.’
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wonderful book to be read many times, with the following conclusion: ‘An adventure should have an ending but there is no conclusion to the astounding and moving journey of the English language, from its small spring to rivers of thought and poetry and science, into oceans of religions and politics, industry and finance and technology, those oceans swept by storms that poured English on to the willing and unwilling alike. It is a language that other languages take on, bend, adapt and grow from, just as English itself from its slow fierce forging in these islands has taken on and been tested by and absorbed many languages. Still it grows.’
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LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
This man makes me sick! Each week upon Radio 4, he discusses an esoteric subject which somehow turns out to be absolutely fascinating. Surrounded by experts, Bragg stays in control of the conversation and, in this book, he takes on the history of the English language.
Now, let us be honest, there
Why can someone not conjoin the two styles and write an entertaining AND informative book? The answer is because few people have that amount of talent: Bragg does.
This is, by far, the best book that I have read this year - and I have perused a few good 'uns. The history is faultless and I learned an enormous amount. If I were to be critical, it would be the final chapter when Bragg looks to the future and tries to guess where English will go next. He accurately picks up upon the variation which is coming into English from its presence in many varied countries but, fails to mention the conjoining of the youth of these countries via the internet.
This is a minor flaw, if flaw it is, in a work that more than accomplishes its main goal. I want a sixth (and probably a seventh) star in the ratings box.
Now, let us be honest, there
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are only two ways to do this subject: firstly, one could take the boring but educative line. This would lead to three hundred pages of tediously presented knowledge. The second method is the chatty,friendly version; a lot of fun to read but, at the end has one learned anything? Probably not.Why can someone not conjoin the two styles and write an entertaining AND informative book? The answer is because few people have that amount of talent: Bragg does.
This is, by far, the best book that I have read this year - and I have perused a few good 'uns. The history is faultless and I learned an enormous amount. If I were to be critical, it would be the final chapter when Bragg looks to the future and tries to guess where English will go next. He accurately picks up upon the variation which is coming into English from its presence in many varied countries but, fails to mention the conjoining of the youth of these countries via the internet.
This is a minor flaw, if flaw it is, in a work that more than accomplishes its main goal. I want a sixth (and probably a seventh) star in the ratings box.
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LibraryThing member GoofyOcean110
Interminable... I've just had to put it down so many times... I've read several other books in the interim.
I've just felt that The Adventures of English was so all over the place.. and every so often there would just be these lists... of words..... There's no way I will remember any of these.
He
I've just felt that The Adventures of English was so all over the place.. and every so often there would just be these lists... of words..... There's no way I will remember any of these.
He
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goes on about all the heroic actions the language has accomplished and about how its fought battles with nations and the church and so on.... No it hasn't! The author (too often) ineffectually used this anthropomorphism to exaggerate the accomplishments of a language, when in fact, sight is lost of the obvious fact that it was the people speaking the language who did all the adventuring. They could have accomplished the same thing speaking Sanskrit. Show Less
LibraryThing member dianne50
I am no linguist, but found this book absolutely fascinating. Bragg manages to treat the English language as an entity which goes on the most amazing adventure. All English teachers should have a copy and children should be encouraged to read this at school. The language is accessible, easy to read
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and very exciting. I love the way that Melvyn Bragg brings what would appear to be difficult subjects into the realm of the average lay person. A great a piece of writing. Show Less
LibraryThing member astrologerjenny
I enjoyed this quite a lot. History comes alive when you can actually hear the people speaking, and that’s what this book does. It tells us where all the words come from, the words that run through the minds of all of us English speakers. It shows the relationship between the language and the
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other languages around it, where walls were built and where walls were penetrated. Treating the language as a living entity works beautifully; we can really feel its muscle. Show Less
LibraryThing member idie33
Overall I thought this book was interesting. I mainly read it traveling on planes and that helped get me through some chapters where I felt it dragged.
LibraryThing member DanoWins
A wonderful read. This book is extremely informative and, as far as histories of languages go, quite exciting! The research is very thorough and the presentation is excellent. Though the book was purchased out of a general and fairly scholarly interest, it turned out to be one of my favorite reads.
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Not only is the history very thorough, but the inclusion of anecdotal gems gives the book a feel of true adventure. The subject is not often one that can be called "adventurous" or "exciting", but Bragg does wonders in turning his wealth of information into a very interesting book. Show Less
LibraryThing member ireed110
I listened to this book in audio form. The reader, Robert Powell, did a great job with the multiple languages, dialects, and accents encountered throughout the book. I am certain that this made for a better experience than reading it might have been.
Okay, so I'm going to admit it wasn't exactly
All in all, I recommend this bookto pretty much anyone. It's not the stuffy tome you might expect (there is even a section on "curse" words, though none that I found offensive). There's history, sociology, linguistics, and trivia. It's not a beach read, and it's not terribly suspenseful, but good solid information well presented.
Okay, so I'm going to admit it wasn't exactly
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riveting. The very beginning of the book was good, and then I lost interest until we got to Chaucer's Middle English. The best parts were the forays into and the legitimization of the various modern dialects such as Creole, Gullah, and Jamaican Patois, and the origins of words like khaki, mustard, and kangaroo. When I got to the part about "text" (C U L8TR) - I was psyched because I knew then that the book was written recently enough to include a discussion of ebonics -- but it never came! I think this was a grave oversight in a work that is otherwise exhaustive.All in all, I recommend this bookto pretty much anyone. It's not the stuffy tome you might expect (there is even a section on "curse" words, though none that I found offensive). There's history, sociology, linguistics, and trivia. It's not a beach read, and it's not terribly suspenseful, but good solid information well presented.
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LibraryThing member jaygheiser
I'm a fiend for facts about language, and I normally enjoy books like this. Although I did learn many interesting things about the nature and history of our mongrel language, I found the book less than totally engaging. I spent about a month picking away at it, and finally finished it during a 3am
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battle with insomnia. I didn't dog ear a single page, and I never felt the need to pick up a highlighter, which means nothing in here really captured my imagination. Show Less
LibraryThing member KayCliff
In scholarly and lively fashion, Bragg traces the development of the English language from the first arrival here of Germanic tribes, and Anglo-Saxon scripts, to `coca-colonisation' and texting, taking in on the way literature, dialects. accents, bowdlerisation, class, international influences,
Some apposite quotes are irresistible. As Norman French came to dominate the language in the 13th century `There was, however, a fifth column: English women (through intermarriage); in the 16th century `Poetry became the benchmark for English'; with the rise of Jane Austen, `An unofficial academy of language was developed through the novel'; `Mrs Beeton could not bring herself to write the word "trousers"'. There are beautiful illustrations, from early manuscripts to phorographs of jazz, jitterbugging and Singaporean comics.
A long and fascinating read for lovers of the language.
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industry, sci/tech, the internet. Some apposite quotes are irresistible. As Norman French came to dominate the language in the 13th century `There was, however, a fifth column: English women (through intermarriage); in the 16th century `Poetry became the benchmark for English'; with the rise of Jane Austen, `An unofficial academy of language was developed through the novel'; `Mrs Beeton could not bring herself to write the word "trousers"'. There are beautiful illustrations, from early manuscripts to phorographs of jazz, jitterbugging and Singaporean comics.
A long and fascinating read for lovers of the language.
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LibraryThing member missmath144
Fascinating! It is truly a biography of the English language, tracing it from its first beginnings, through invasions that threatened to end the language, to modern-day English. It is very detailed, with more examples than the ordinary reader probably needs or wants, but you can always skip over
It will take me forever to finish, as I need to read it slowly to take it all in. Plus I'll probably read dozens of fiction books while still reading this one. I am savoring it. It's fantastic!
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some of the examples. It will take me forever to finish, as I need to read it slowly to take it all in. Plus I'll probably read dozens of fiction books while still reading this one. I am savoring it. It's fantastic!
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LibraryThing member soylentgreen23
Even though I teach English as a foreign language, I don't know a great amount about my own language - how old it is, from where it sprang, how it has evolved. This book goes a long way to remedying my lack of knowledge.
For instance, I had always imagined English to be a language most heavily
Bragg's writing is clear and intellectual. He includes lists of new words, and lays out the evolution of the English language very neatly. I shall certainly be keeping it handy as a reference for teaching.
For instance, I had always imagined English to be a language most heavily
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informed by Latin, but really it is French that gave us the majority of our loan words, and the Danes our grammar. Latin was only poached a thousand years after the Romans left, during an enlightened, classical period when everything Latin suddenly became fresh and interesting.Bragg's writing is clear and intellectual. He includes lists of new words, and lays out the evolution of the English language very neatly. I shall certainly be keeping it handy as a reference for teaching.
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LibraryThing member astrologerjenny
I enjoyed this quite a lot. History comes alive when you can actually hear the people speaking, and that’s what this book does. It tells us where all the words come from, the words that run through the minds of all of us English speakers. It shows the relationship between the language and the
Show More
other languages around it, where walls were built and where walls were penetrated. Treating the language as a living entity works beautifully; we can really feel its muscle. Show Less
LibraryThing member mbmackay
Good coverage of the origins of English and the slow transition to the current language. Seems to lack analysis - such as the importance of printing in anchoring spelling and usage, or in the impact of the internet and world media as latter day anchors giving us a consistent world English, in spite
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of the localised Englishes developing regionally. But, I liked it. Read September 2010. Show Less
LibraryThing member pierthinker
This is aimed at the general reader and attempts to cover the development of the English language from its origins in Frisian through to today's global common language and foundation for the technical language we are all expected to speak - the web world. Bragg focuses on the development of
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vocabulary and the introduction of words into English from other languages. The main point he makes is that English is very good at stealing words rather than inventing new ones and at re-purposing old words to new meanings. This, he argues, is what makes English so flexible and adaptable, and what makes English a strong contender for a global common language. This is an entertaining read and the bibliography is strong enough for anyone wanting to dive deeper into the subject. Show Less
LibraryThing member sageness
Started this several years ago and adored it but somehow never finished it.
LibraryThing member robeik
I wonder if a book like this could be written about any other language than English; perhaps so. But for English speakers this is a great "adventure" story about the most commonly spoken language in the world. English that begins as an import from Fresia across the channel, picks up bits and pieces
Bragg's thesis is that English will continue to change, adapt, and borrow, and that all attempts to formalise or codify it will be a waste of time.
It's ironic that the former owner of my copy of this book saw fit to 'correct' the text a half dozen times.
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from invaders, resists the French invasion, and becomes (somewhat) standardised through key events, but continued and still continues to change and grow.Bragg's thesis is that English will continue to change, adapt, and borrow, and that all attempts to formalise or codify it will be a waste of time.
It's ironic that the former owner of my copy of this book saw fit to 'correct' the text a half dozen times.
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LibraryThing member MiaCulpa
The rise of the English language from an obscure Germanic dialogue to the most influential language in the world has been a long and difficult journey. It spent years underground as the unofficial language of Britain during the French occupation and slowly built itself up to be the language of the
Bragg covers the history of the English language well and argues that English will continue to adapt to fit the zeitgeist. Mandarin might be the most widely spoken language in the world but English is still the most influential, and won’t give up that title without a fight.
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largest Empire the world has seen. Bragg covers the history of the English language well and argues that English will continue to adapt to fit the zeitgeist. Mandarin might be the most widely spoken language in the world but English is still the most influential, and won’t give up that title without a fight.
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LibraryThing member deusvitae
An exploration of the development of the English language.
Bragg is well known for his work on BBC4; he writes the book as an extremely endangered species, the passionate and well-informed non-specialist. His rhetoric is over the top on not a few occasions, and his writing can get bombastic, but the
The author works the thesis of English's adaptability as facilitating its survival at certain dire moments, and then leading to its flexibility and dominance. He notes the overall limited number of Celtic words imported into the language of the Anglo-Saxons, and then how that English was able to withstand the Norman invasion and its effects. Once English re-establishes itself as the language of state, the narrative goes on to expound upon how it developed and adapted in different environments, in England and abroad.
A worthwhile read to help understand why English is the way it is.
Bragg is well known for his work on BBC4; he writes the book as an extremely endangered species, the passionate and well-informed non-specialist. His rhetoric is over the top on not a few occasions, and his writing can get bombastic, but the
Show More
passion for the project comes through.The author works the thesis of English's adaptability as facilitating its survival at certain dire moments, and then leading to its flexibility and dominance. He notes the overall limited number of Celtic words imported into the language of the Anglo-Saxons, and then how that English was able to withstand the Norman invasion and its effects. Once English re-establishes itself as the language of state, the narrative goes on to expound upon how it developed and adapted in different environments, in England and abroad.
A worthwhile read to help understand why English is the way it is.
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LibraryThing member majackson
The Adventures of English by Melvyn Bragg
This is the book I was expecting when I read Bill Bryson’s book “Mother Tongue”. Yes, there are lists of words, detailing when they entered the English language. But Bragg gives you the context of and behind the words so that you can understand the why
“…a word, at its simplest, is a window” he writes. And THAT is what I find most intriguing. Consider the difference between the English “ask” and “demand”. When the Normans took control of England and introduced French as the ruling language “to ask” and “demander” were translations of each other, in 1066 as they are now. However, the emotional differences between the two English words today reveals something about the social interactions of then. When the ruler “asks” you to do something he generally doesn’t say please. The result is that the English words “ask” and “demand” have very different emotional associations today.
In 1350 we have the Black Plague destroying up to one third of the entire population of England and virtually eliminating Latin as a cultural influence on the written English—and at the same time giving the remaining peasantry some push-back power over the nobility to better their condition in life...and language. And with the wars in France over the French patrimony of the Norman conquerors we have the French rulers in England addressing the people in English in order to persuade them to follow and fight for him in France.
This is what I read these books to learn. Why did we adopt a particular word from a particular language at a particular time? Why did particular words totally replace the original English word? And why others were added to and thus enriched the current verbiage…and increased our ability to communicate an increasing number of conceptual/emotional subtleties?
Why do we have so many words that are spelled the same but have different meanings? And why do we have so many words that are spelled so differently and yet carry nearly the same meaning? Think about it: why are most of our nautical words of Dutch origin? And, while the animal names are Germanic, why are the cooked versions of these animals described with French words? And why are the acts and physical realities of sex crudely labeled in Germanic while romantic/poetic words and phrases are reserved for an “elevated” treatment?
How did Chaucer herald the transition from Old to Middle English? And Shakespeare later sweep us up from Middle to Modern English? It’s not just a list of the new words that interests me, it’s the “why” of the new words at THAT time? Chaucer was trying to evoke the styles (accents?) that would be encountered in and around London of his time. Shakespeare did much the same. But what they both did, so much better and more prolifically than other writers, is use whatever sound-fabrications they could think of to convey an emotional concept that had never been expressed before in so simple a way.
The one thing that I wish Bragg had done…although I can accept that it might have otherwise expanded the book more than was practical...there seems to be no accepted explanation of the Great Vowel Shift.
“In the years between Chaucer’s birth and Shakespeare’s death, English went through a process now known as the Great Vowel Shift.”
While the printing press “fixed” word spelling before the GVS started, such that English words are now spelled consistently around the world, it is because of the GVS that many of the written words are often disconnected from the way they are pronounced. Read poetry from that era and you can see that many of the words no longer rhyme; e.g. “prove” and “love” rhymed for Shakespeare.
And then there were the early dictionaries that established (determined?!) “official” spelling.
“The relationship between sound and spelling in English is a nightmare. Our writing system is not phonetic to the point of being anti-phonetic.”
Why do we have so many ways of spelling the same sound? And why so many ways to pronounce individual letters? And not just vowels but consonants are also distorted for our convenience. We used to have different letters to differentiate between “t” and “th”. [See for a listing of the English letters that didn’t survive into the modern age.]
Braggs also points out the vagaries of Victorian prudishness in “tormenting the language into shapes and sounds which reflect strait-laced manners, class prejudice and competing moralities”. Add to that the “arrogance” of the dictionary writers who took it upon themselves to dictate the way words should be spelled merely to indicate some information about the ultimate source of the word that only the people who already knew these facts cared about and saddled us with “deBt" and “douBt" and “ofTen" and “cloTHes”.
To sum up: Bragg didn’t give me everything I would have liked, but he gave a good deal of what I wanted and I heartily recommend this book for a first taste of the linguistic history of English. Truly, the history of English is the history of the English people.
This is the book I was expecting when I read Bill Bryson’s book “Mother Tongue”. Yes, there are lists of words, detailing when they entered the English language. But Bragg gives you the context of and behind the words so that you can understand the why
Show More
of the new word—as much as possible, anyway. In this book we are exposed to language as if it were a living animal species surviving and fighting the attacks of other languages and eating and assimilating other languages and evolving over time, much as any animal species is.“…a word, at its simplest, is a window” he writes. And THAT is what I find most intriguing. Consider the difference between the English “ask” and “demand”. When the Normans took control of England and introduced French as the ruling language “to ask” and “demander” were translations of each other, in 1066 as they are now. However, the emotional differences between the two English words today reveals something about the social interactions of then. When the ruler “asks” you to do something he generally doesn’t say please. The result is that the English words “ask” and “demand” have very different emotional associations today.
In 1350 we have the Black Plague destroying up to one third of the entire population of England and virtually eliminating Latin as a cultural influence on the written English—and at the same time giving the remaining peasantry some push-back power over the nobility to better their condition in life...and language. And with the wars in France over the French patrimony of the Norman conquerors we have the French rulers in England addressing the people in English in order to persuade them to follow and fight for him in France.
This is what I read these books to learn. Why did we adopt a particular word from a particular language at a particular time? Why did particular words totally replace the original English word? And why others were added to and thus enriched the current verbiage…and increased our ability to communicate an increasing number of conceptual/emotional subtleties?
Why do we have so many words that are spelled the same but have different meanings? And why do we have so many words that are spelled so differently and yet carry nearly the same meaning? Think about it: why are most of our nautical words of Dutch origin? And, while the animal names are Germanic, why are the cooked versions of these animals described with French words? And why are the acts and physical realities of sex crudely labeled in Germanic while romantic/poetic words and phrases are reserved for an “elevated” treatment?
How did Chaucer herald the transition from Old to Middle English? And Shakespeare later sweep us up from Middle to Modern English? It’s not just a list of the new words that interests me, it’s the “why” of the new words at THAT time? Chaucer was trying to evoke the styles (accents?) that would be encountered in and around London of his time. Shakespeare did much the same. But what they both did, so much better and more prolifically than other writers, is use whatever sound-fabrications they could think of to convey an emotional concept that had never been expressed before in so simple a way.
The one thing that I wish Bragg had done…although I can accept that it might have otherwise expanded the book more than was practical...there seems to be no accepted explanation of the Great Vowel Shift.
“In the years between Chaucer’s birth and Shakespeare’s death, English went through a process now known as the Great Vowel Shift.”
While the printing press “fixed” word spelling before the GVS started, such that English words are now spelled consistently around the world, it is because of the GVS that many of the written words are often disconnected from the way they are pronounced. Read poetry from that era and you can see that many of the words no longer rhyme; e.g. “prove” and “love” rhymed for Shakespeare.
And then there were the early dictionaries that established (determined?!) “official” spelling.
“The relationship between sound and spelling in English is a nightmare. Our writing system is not phonetic to the point of being anti-phonetic.”
Why do we have so many ways of spelling the same sound? And why so many ways to pronounce individual letters? And not just vowels but consonants are also distorted for our convenience. We used to have different letters to differentiate between “t” and “th”. [See for a listing of the English letters that didn’t survive into the modern age.]
Braggs also points out the vagaries of Victorian prudishness in “tormenting the language into shapes and sounds which reflect strait-laced manners, class prejudice and competing moralities”. Add to that the “arrogance” of the dictionary writers who took it upon themselves to dictate the way words should be spelled merely to indicate some information about the ultimate source of the word that only the people who already knew these facts cared about and saddled us with “deBt" and “douBt" and “ofTen" and “cloTHes”.
To sum up: Bragg didn’t give me everything I would have liked, but he gave a good deal of what I wanted and I heartily recommend this book for a first taste of the linguistic history of English. Truly, the history of English is the history of the English people.
Show Less
LibraryThing member camelot2302
Billions of people, including myself, speak English every day but we never really think about where the language comes from. What influenced it? What changes did it go through? What challenges did English face throughout the ages? Who were its friends and its enemies? Melvyn Bragg covers all these
Bragg tells us how English is mainly made up of French, Latin, Dutch (Frisian) and even some Arabic. We begin with the years leading up to 1066AD, with the Vikings, the Celts and other foreign invaders who attempted to impose their language upon the lands which are now the British Isles. We begin to see the first signs of English breaking through, despite the iron grip which Latin & French seems to have in everyday life. Latin is dominant in the Church and with educated intellectuals, while French controls the Monarchy and everyday government affairs. Then we start to see what would become "Old English" and throughout the centuries, a variety of influences would shape English into what it is today, thanks to contributions from stalwarts such as Shakespeare & Chaucer.
English then goes over the water into the "New World", the Pilgrims landing in America with their strict religious views and their determination to make English the dominant language in America, despite their being other nationalities in America - again the French, the Dutch, the Portugese even. But eventually English wins the day and takes its rightful place in the world.
After reading this book, you will develop a new appreciation for the English language and the battles it had to go through to get to where it is today. Complete with illustrations, this book is probably the best book available on the history of the English language. Easy to read, a joy to read, and a fountain of information and knowledge. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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areas and a whole lot more.Bragg tells us how English is mainly made up of French, Latin, Dutch (Frisian) and even some Arabic. We begin with the years leading up to 1066AD, with the Vikings, the Celts and other foreign invaders who attempted to impose their language upon the lands which are now the British Isles. We begin to see the first signs of English breaking through, despite the iron grip which Latin & French seems to have in everyday life. Latin is dominant in the Church and with educated intellectuals, while French controls the Monarchy and everyday government affairs. Then we start to see what would become "Old English" and throughout the centuries, a variety of influences would shape English into what it is today, thanks to contributions from stalwarts such as Shakespeare & Chaucer.
English then goes over the water into the "New World", the Pilgrims landing in America with their strict religious views and their determination to make English the dominant language in America, despite their being other nationalities in America - again the French, the Dutch, the Portugese even. But eventually English wins the day and takes its rightful place in the world.
After reading this book, you will develop a new appreciation for the English language and the battles it had to go through to get to where it is today. Complete with illustrations, this book is probably the best book available on the history of the English language. Easy to read, a joy to read, and a fountain of information and knowledge. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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LibraryThing member Paul_S
Appears that the author had a bit too much fun writing this book. Still enough content left to keep it interesting.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
xii, 354 p.; 19.7 cm
ISBN
0340829931 / 9780340829936