Adventure of English : The Biography of a

Bragg's landmark history of the English language details how and where it began 1,500 years ago, and how it evolved to become the tongue of two billion people worldwide.

Melvyn Bragg has written several works of nonfiction and is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction. In addition to writing, Lord Bragg has worked extensively in television and radio, and currently hosts a weekly program on British television called The South Bank Show. In 1998, he was made a life peer. He lives in London and in Cumbria, in northwestern England

Introduction

ix

1 The Common Tongue

1

(15)

2 The Great Escape

16

(16)

3 Conquest

32

(8)

4 Holding On

40

(12)

5 The Speech of Kings

52

(14)

6 Chaucer

66

(10)

7 God's English

76

(13)

8 English and the Language of the State

89

(10)

9 William Tyndale's Bible

99

(10)

10 A Renaissance of Words

109

(12)

11 Preparing the Ground

121

(11)

12 Shakespeare's English

132

(12)

13 "My America"

144

(17)

14 Wild West Words

161

(15)

15 Sold Down the River

176

(12)

16 Mastering the Language

188

(19)

17 The Proper Way to Talk

207

(17)

18 Steam, Streets and Slang

224

(12)

19 Indian Takeover

236

(15)

20 The West Indies

251

(10)

21 Advance Australia

261

(11)

22 Warts and All

272

(9)

23 All Over the World

281

(9)

24 And Now...?

290

(7)

Acknowledgments

297

(4)

Picture Acknowledgments

301

(2)

Bibliography

303

(10)

Index

313

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Adventure of English : The Biography of a Language

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials