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 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. ( )

Excellent introduction to the subject, well written highly recommended. ( )

http://pixxiefishbooks.blogspot.com/2...

I kept seeing this book in the English-language section of one of the bookstores in nearby Nagoya, and finally I had to buy it. And man, what a compelling read!

As the title suggests, Melvyn Bragg has set out to give us a history of the English language. But far from being dry and pedantic, he has a humorous, often light-hearted twist on the story. He gives further details where needed, and glosses over other parts of the story when they are not key to the advancement of the telling. (A skill I sorely lack.) The result is a thoroughly entertaining read about an important movement in history - the development and entrenchment of the English language across large swathes of the world.

Obviously, this book is a little Euro- ethnocentric, but, well, it is about the English language specifically (not just language in general), so that's hardly avoidable. While he sometimes explodes into overblown grandeur, overall Bragg does a good job of recognizing his bias (and, indeed, the bias of the language itself).

This book is apparently at least based in part on a television documentary (I think for the BBC) that Bragg did a few years earlier, but that's all I know. ( )

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 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! ( )

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, 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.