Here is the first book to tell the whole story of the English language.Written for general readers, The Story of English presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written English-from its Anglo-Saxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when English is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one billion English speakers around the world. From Cockney, Scouse, and Scots to Gulla,Singlish, Franglais, and the latest African American slang, this sweeping history of the English language is the essential introduction for anyone who wants to know more about our common tongue.

The home of the Indo-Europeans

The Germanic and Celtic languages

The Welsh language

The home of the English

The varieties of Old English

The influence of the Norsemen

'Tidewater' English

The R-pronouncing regions of England

American English before I776

The American rivals of English

The Lowlands and Highlands of Scotland

The settlement of the Scots-Irish

Appalachian English

The 'Celtic Fringe'

Irish English in 1800

The retreat from Irish Gaelic

The flight of the Irish

West Africa and the slave trade

Maritime Pidgin English

English in the Caribbean and Central America

Black American English

The regions of American English

Canadian English

The expanding frontier

Imperial English

The home of Cockney

The making of Australian English

New Zealand English

The languages of South Africa