The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language

A superb reference book covering all aspects of the development of the English language, its vocabulary, usage, orthography, spelling, variants, punctuation etc.

David Crystal wears his expertise lightly, which makes the book a delight to use and very accessible, with lots of illustrations, diagrams, photos and examples. There are also appendices and lists for further reading.

In general, Crystal is a pragmatist who loves language; he is certainly not an authoritarian pedant. He accepts and explains language change, including controversies such as whether or not it's acceptable to end a sentence with a preposition (it is). He lets readers can make up their own minds, aware of the implications of whichever choice they make.

Wonderful book. You can open the book in random and start reading immediately. After that you are hooked. The text is well written and the variety of topics is amazing. Nice book to own, if you want to learn more about the English language, than what is taugh at school.

I have only read the history of English Language "Old English" and "Middle English" sections and they are very good. It is a great companion so far to someone studying the history of English Literature. For each page having separate information from the next, and being slightly disjointed, there is a lot of information on the origins of the English Language. Also, book used to have a different plural form. It was bek. (Long E) If I had just learned that, I think it would have made this book valuable!

A wide ranging examination of the history, usage, and in particular the varieties of English. Marvelous browsing for the language maven, and a good reference on some issues, but not quite as terrific as the same author's "Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language", Still, a definite keeper.

This is an interesting book packed with everything you ever wanted to know about the English language and a lot you didn't. Some of it is divided chronologically, some topically, but it is all covered somewhere. Also a very helpful book if you are just two inches short of reaching that light bulb . . . .

Excellent large format book which examines, in a general way, the subtleties of the English language as it is spoken, written and continues to evolve in England. Later chapters illustrate how English is used in other countries. The author intends to promote identity, continuity, coherence and fluctuations among English speakers themselves. The discovery of linguistic roots is an added bonus. Glossary, Symbols and abbreviations, Bibliography, further reading, Index.

David Crystal is/was the specialist of the English language in most of its forms and changes. This is a comprehensive encyclopedia on the English Language and highly recommended.