Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language

Only last 2,5 chapters deal with the current situation of English's global dominance. And that was the reason I took the book in the first place. Despite its promising name first 12,5 chapters deal largely with the history of English. Interesting read, but still not exactly what I was looking for. Those of you how like me think that Globish is a subject of the XX-XXI centuries only beware - and thus forearmed - dash straight to the last 60 something pages ;)

How did a tiny island, beset by wave after wave of conquerors, become the dominant power of one century, and then one of its colonies become the dominant power of another? Language.

Globish explores how English became English, how it spread, and how American English took over the world. The author also explores how a new kind of global English – Globish – will continue to conquer.

This is a fun story about language and its impact. The fact that English is so adaptable and eager to swipe words from other languages, that it’s the language of the people instead of the academy, is why it’s been so successful.

There are many anecdotes and signposts to the future of the language. Some posit that Chinese, on sheer numbers, will overtake show more English, but the writer makes a good case against it.

Admittedly, you have to be a bit of a language nerd to appreciate this book, but if you are, you’ll delight at it.

Read more of my reviews at Ralphsbooks. show less

I like books about the development of language, and was hoping for good things from this book. But it didn't fully live up to those expectations.

The book is split into several sections, and the first is about the co evolution of the English language and the people of this country. He writes about the way that we have moved from the Celtic languages, and the influx of Saxon, Norse and French peoples and the way that they have shaped the words we speak today. There is a whole section on the American revolution, and the way that the American English and English have devolved; all interesting stuff, but there was a lot of history in this part.

He then goes on to cover how Britain acquired new words from other cultures - i.e. mainly by show more invading them. It has made our language richer, but the world was poorer for a long time because of it. Other parts of the book cover the two world wars and the influence of the British / American partnership in creating global institutions, UN IMF, that had English as its core language.

The final part covers the way that the world is going now. Lots of countries are insisting that English is a compulsory second language, Mexico for example, and when China starts to work with African countries, they converse in English. That coupled with global trade, outsourcing and so on, means that more people will speak English with an accent rather than learn a different language.

In essence, good, but not great show less

The thesis of McCrum's book is that English (for which he provides a somewhat scattered historical tail) is evolving into a new language or dialect which he has dubbed Globish. From his account it's really difficult to figure out whether this now has local variants that are mutually incomprehensible, or whether we now truly have a global language.

This is a somewhat scattered book. As at least an amateur historian, I expect a coherent historial narrative, unfortunately this book wanders from point to point trying to prove a thesis. The author does begin at the beginning. The first part I found particularly interesting because it puts Beowulf and Chaucer in context. The narrative mostly focuses on the seminal documents of early English show more and Medieval history, with an eye toward their lasting impact on the language. A brief account of the Reformation (which he seemed to want to blame on the influence of Anne Boleyn), the King James Bible, and the ongoing impact of Shakespeare.

The second part migrates to the American colonies and seems mostly taken up with a mixture of dictionaries and political theory. Abraham Lincoln is paired with Mark Twain. The impact of African Americans in the evolution of English is covered in one chapter that stretches from the early days of slavery to the election of President Barak Obama.

Part three is homage to the long nineteenth century of the British Empire. Modern history in the last third of the book seems even more vague. It's also tilted. He never discusses, or appears to visit, Latin America. What of the thriving Hispanic commercial sector in the U.S.?

What he really wants to say is that the mother tongue of the Web is English and that the mother tongue of a vast proportion of international business is English. I don't know enough about either of those subjects to check his assumptions.

His thesis, nevertheless, is poignant. Is it really true that, given that I have the misfortune of only being fluent in English, that I can now wander the world without getting lost? show less

A bit long-winded - the writing style wore me down at times. I got the impression that the author likes the sound of his own voice. One might be disappointed if expecting to be plunged straight into a 'Slumdog Millionaire', contemporary account of modern globish: this is primarily a history book. It's not until the last 30 pages or so that we even get into the last 50 years. On the other hand, it's very erudite, very well-researched, and it is important to know why English - sorry, Globish - is so prevalent nowadays.

I enjoyed this book. It combines a readable and entertaining introduction to the development of the English language, with a broad history of the English-speaking world. I found it full of fascinating detail and was interested in the "Globish" concept that the language has released itself from its attachment to traditionally English speaking countries and is evolving across the world in ways of its own.

This book is titled "Globish: how the English Language Became the World's Language," and the author seems to focus on the "how" part of the title and not as much on English itself. I personally happen to like reading about history, so I enjoyed this book as a tour of Anglo-American history with a linguistic tint. There are those who don't really like history, and if you're one of them, you may not fully appreciate this book. Parts of the book deal directly with development of English as a language, but they are not the majority.

If you're looking to read about English as a global language, I recommend the last section of the book. Having exhausted all of the available history, the book shifts into overdrive and the author starts show more talking about English on the current global stage (the "Globish" part of the title).

I liked the book over all, and if you like history and the history of language, I think you will too. show less