Publisher's Synopsis
KEY BENFIT: Comprehensive and balanced, this classic exploration of the history of the English language combines internal linguistic history and external cultural history--from the Middle Ages to the present. Readers will develop an understanding of present-day English and an enlightened attitude toward questions affecting the language today.
KEY TOPICS: New-Chapter 12, "English in the Twenty-first Century," that looks to the future of English and other global languages. Attention to cross-linguistic influence and the relative difficulty of languages. An assessment of Chinese as a global language. More on India and "the second circle." MARKET: For anyone interested in the history of the English language.
