EN 3351 / EN 7335 - History of the English Language

500 Years of New Words takes you on an exciting journey through the English language from the days before Shakespeare to the first decade of the 21st century. All the main entries are arranged not alphabetically but in chronological order based on the earliest known year that each word was printed or written down. Beginning with "America" in 1507 and spanning the centuries to "Marsiphobiphiliac" in 2004 (a person who would love to go to Mars but is afraid of being marooned there), this book can be opened at any page and the reader will discover a dazzling array of linguistic delights. In other words, this book is unputdownable (the main entry for 1947). If Shakespeare were alive today, he would buy this book.

The English Language is spoken by more than a billion people throughout the world. But where did English come from? And how has it evolved into the language used today? Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements, or evidence of slipping standards. What is the future for the English Language? Will Standard English continue to hold sway, or are we witnessing its replacement by newly emerging Englishes?

Each concise chapter illuminates a moment of invention-a time when people discovered a new form of expression or changed the way they spoke or wrote.

Lynda Mugglestone's hugely popular The Oxford History of English is republished in a reset and revised edition featuring David Crystal's new take on the future of English. With impeccable and approachable scholarship, it describes the changing sounds, words, and meanings of English. A book for everyone interested in the language.