Inventing English : A Portable History of the Language, Revised and Expanded Edition

Why is there such a striking difference between English spelling & English pronunciation? How did our seemingly relatively simple grammar rules develop? What are the origins of regional dialect, literary language, & everyday speech, & what do they have to do with you? Seth Lerer's Inventing English is a masterful, engaging history of the English language from the age of Beowulf to the rap of Eminem. Many have written about the evolution of our grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, but only Lerer situates these developments in the larger history of English, America, & literature. Lerer begins in the seventh century with the poet Caedmon learning to sing what would become the earliest poem in English. He then looks at the medieval scribes and poets who gave shape to Middle English. He finds the traces of the Great Vowel Shift in the spelling choices of letter writers of the 15th century & explores the achievements of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of 1755 and The Oxford English Dictionary of the late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries. He describes the differences between English & American usage &, through the example of Mark Twain, the link between regional dialect & race, class, & gender. Finally, he muses on the ways in which contact with foreign languages, popular culture, advertising, the Internet, & e-mail continue to shape English for future generations. Each concise chapter illuminates a moment of invention-a time when people discovered a new form of expression or changed the way they spoke or wrote. In conclusion, Lerer wonders whether globalization & technology have turned English into a world language & reflects on what has been preserved & what has been lost. A unique blend of historical & personal narrative, Inventing English is the surprising tale of a language that is as dynamic as the people to whom it belon Presents a history of the English language, beginning with the Old English of the seventh century, through the Great Vowel Shift between the time of Chaucer and Shakespeare, and the later full emergence of modern English.;Finding English, finding us -- Caedmon learns to sing : Old English and the origins of poetry -- From Beowulf to Wulfstan : the language of Old English literature -- In this year : the politics of language and the end of Old English -- From kingdom to realm : Middle English in a French world -- Lord of this langage : Chaucer's English -- I is an Ille a Millere as are ye : Middle English dialects -- The great vowel shift and the changing character of English -- Chancery, Caxton, and the making of English prose -- I do, I will : Shakespeare's English -- A universal hubbub wild : new words and worlds in early modern English -- Visible speech : the Orthoepists and the origins of standard English -- A harmless drudge : Samuel Johnson and the making of the dictionary -- Horrid, hooting stanzas : lexicography and literature in American English -- Antses in the sugar : dialect and regionalism in American English -- Hello, dude : Mark Twain and the making of the American idiom -- Ready for the funk : African American English and its impact -- Pioneers through an untrodden forest : the 'Oxford English Dictionary' and its readers -- Listening to Private Ryan : war and language -- He speaks in your voice : everybody's English -- Faith in English : vernacular devotion and biblical translation -- The talk and the text -- Appendix. English sounds and their representation. A history of English from the age of Beowulf to the rap of Eminem, “written with real authority, enthusiasm and love for our unruly and exquisite language” ( The Washington Post). Many have written about the evolution of grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, but only Seth Lerer situates these developments within the larger history of English, America, and literature. This edition of his “remarkable linguistic investigation” ( Booklist ) features a new chapter on the influence of biblical translation and an epilogue on the relationship of English speech to writing. A unique blend of historical and personal narrative, both “erudite and accessible” ( The Globe and Mail ), Inventing English is the surprising tale of a language that is as dynamic as the people to whom it belongs. “Lerer is not just a scholar; he's also a fan of English—his passion is evident on every page of this examination of how our language came to sound—and look—as it does and how words came to have their current meanings...the book percolates with creative energy and will please anyone intrigued by how our richly variegated language came to be.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review) Seth Lerer tells a masterful history of the English language from the age of Beowulf to the rap of Eminem. Many have written about the evolution of grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary, but only Lerer situates these developments within the larger history of English, America, and literature. This edition features a new chapter on the influence of biblical translation and an epilogue on the relationship of English speech to writing. A unique blend of historical and personal narrative, Inventing English is the surprising tale of a language that is as dynamic as the people to whom it belongs. Seth Lerer taught at Princeton University before moving to Stanford University, where he is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities. The author of many books and articles on medieval and Renaissance literature, he is known nationally for his audio and videotape series, The History of the English Language, for the Teaching Company. LAN009000,Language Arts And Disciplines/Linguistics,LAN009010,Language Arts & Disciplines/Linguistics/Historical & Comparative