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The Story Of English In 100 Words by David Crystal (view source)
Revision as of 13:45, 15 April 2018
, 13:45, 15 April 2018no edit summary
{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=The Story Of English In 100 Words
|sort=Story of English In 100 Words
|publisher=Profile Books
|date=October 2011
|summary=100 carefully selected words that tell us an awful lot about the English we speak today, this is a fun and fascinating book that would make a great gift too.
|cover=1846684285
|aznuk=1846684285
|aznus=1846684285
}}
David Crystal is a god when it comes to language. I’ve known that since I was quoting him during English A Level, since my university studies, since my TEFL days when students ask 'Why?' and you need an answer other than 'Because'. This is his new book, but you don’t need a degree in linguistics to find it fascinating, and in addition to the intriguing revelations and chummy writing style, it looks just lovely and would make a fab Christmas present.
Pegged as ''a unique history of the English language via the rude, the obscure and the downright surprising'' it certainly delivers on its promises. Focusing on 100 starter words (numbered so you don’t feel obliged to count them to check they’ve not made a mistake), you can trace the development of the language from the 5th century to present day in neat chronological order. I say ‘starter’ words because although each entry is titled singularly as ''roe'' or ''pork'' or ''dilly-dally'', the descriptions and explanations expand to take in many other words associated with, or in some way derived from, said starter words. So, in the chapter entitled ''Debt'', we segue into other words with mismatched spelling and pronunciation such as ''doubt'' and ''subtle'', have a neat reference to Shakespeare, and conclude with evidence of a time when ''fault'' rhymed with ''thought''.