How the english language became the worlds language. English and history are two of my least favorite subjects and so naturally i should be repelled by a book containing the history of the english language. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one. Robert mccrum is the author of six novels and coauthor of the nonfiction bestseller, the story of english.
More widely scattered, written and spoken than any other language in history, english has become a global phenomenon. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english is the dominant language of commerce and culture. Jun 04, 2010 thats a question robert mccrum tries to answer in his new book, globish, which explores the way english took the world by storm over the course of several centuries. The story of english is a classic case of dont judge a book by its cover. Robert mccrum has 32 books on goodreads with 283 ratings. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book. In this provocative and compelling new work, the coauthor of the bestselling book and television series the story of english shows how english became the lang.
The story of english ebook by philip gooden rakuten kobo. Thats a question robert mccrum tries to answer in his new book, globish, which explores the way english took the world by storm over the course of several centuries. The story of english program 8 the loaded weapon complete. A work of profound scholarship and powerful storytelling from host robert macneil, this classic ninepart pbs series remains one of the great narratives of linguistic studiesand is now available on digitally remastered, menudriven dvd. Chapter 1, an english speaking world explains how the world came to be dominated by english in recent decades. Jun, 2009 literary history could have been dramatically different if some classics had been published under their working titles, says robert mccrum. Globish, as a concept, takes to task the world hegemony of arrogant english speakers. Hence the landmark book dont speak english parlez globish became a bestseller in french, and other languages, but it never appeared in english. Now revised, the story of english is the first book to tell t. How english became the worlds language by robert mccrum available from rakuten kobo. Robert mccrum books list of books by author robert mccrum.
He grew up and went to school in kent and berkshire and after a nine month gap year teaching at a multiracial school in botswana returned to cambridge to study english at the university. Jan 01, 1986 now revised, the story of english is the first book to tell the whole story of the english language. In on writing, robert mccrum collects together his q. Mccrum adroitly touches all the bases, from old english to middle english, from gutenberg to noah webster, from thomas jefferson. More widely scattered, written and spoken than any other language in history, english. With john barton, richard bebb, penny downie, peter hall. English is the most widely used language in the world. Mccrum the story of english, associate editor of britains observer, surveys the latterday apotheosis of english as the international language, observing chinese english language boot camps. Two thousand years ago english was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the shores of north. Now literary editor of the observer, he lives in london with his wife and their daughter. May 05, 2011 the story of english is the extraordinary tale of the origins and development of the english language. Random house uss letter to literary agents claiming the digital rights to its backlist has stirred up a hornets nest published. He is the coauthor of the story of english 1986, and has written six novels.
Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english is the dominant. Robert mccrum is the associate editor of the observer and lives in london with his wife, sarah lyall. Robert mccrum is the author of several novels and two works of nonfiction, the story of english and my year off. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Mark mccrum was born in cambridge, where his father was an academic. Robert mccrum, author, the story of english and literary editor, london observer. Robert mccrums 100 greatest books from the observer my take. The story of english robert mccrum, william cran, robert macneil auszug 1992.
The story of english is the title of an emmy award winning ninepart television series, and a companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the english language. Last week, i sent three questions to a selection of insiders from the world of books publishers, literary agents, editors and booksellers. The story of english by robert mccrum free book pdf. The story of english, robert mccrum, william cran, robert macneil. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon 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. His most recent book is the 100 best novels in english. Program eight in the series the story of english treats the irish question in terms of its spoken and written word and the longstanding political tensions between ireland and great britain.
The author of six highly acclaimed novels and coauthor of the bestselling the story of english. The story of english is a brief history of the english language from its inception to a study of its variations all across the contemporary world. He is the literary editor of the observer and lives in london. Aboriginal accent africa afrikaans american english. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written english from its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english. Two thousand years ago english was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the shores of northwest europe. Third revised edition mccrum, robert, macneil, robert, cran, william on. The story of english by robert mccrum 19860915 robert mccrum.
The story of english english, paperback robert mccrum. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. He was the literary editor of the observer from 1996 to 2008, and has been a regular contributor to the guardian since 1990. The book and the television series were written by robert macneil, robert mccrum. The story of english by robert mccrum 19860915 hardcover january 1, 1656 by robert mccrum. Its even harder to adapt to the digital gale sweeping through publishing when big oldmedia stories about canonical authors are still grabbing. The story of english chapter 1, an englishspeaking world. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon 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. Rarely has the english language been scanned so brightly and broadly in a single volume. The story of english is the title of an emmy awardwinning ninepart television series, and a companion book, both produced in 1986, detailing the development of the english language. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. The story of english robert mccrum pdf download, read the story of english robert mccrum file also in epub format, the story of english robert mccrum available in other standard ebook format also.
Two thousand years ago english was confined to a handful of savage tribes on the. Read on writing notes from the world of books, 19952012 by robert mccrum available from rakuten kobo. The story of english robert mccrum, william cran, robert. Not jumping on the bandwagon at all, the observers literary critic robert mccrum nominated his best 100 books on 12 october 2003, just a week before the bbc winnowed its big read.
Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written englishfrom its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english is the dominant language of commerce and. Mccrum makes some interesting points and tells quite an interesting story about the british empire. Revised edition by robert mccrum, william cran, robert macneil and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The story of english chapter 1, an englishspeaking. Third revised edition 3rd edition by mccrum et al at over 30 bookstores. His books include the bestselling the story of english, my. The renowned and lavishly illustrated history of the evolution of the english language and the companion to pbss acclaimed seriesnow completely revised and expanded. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book presents a stimulating and comprehensive record of spoken and written english from its anglosaxon origins some two thousand years ago to the present day, when english is the dominant language of commerce and culture with more than one. The story of english is composed of an introduction, nine chapters, and an epilogue. The story of english robert mccrum download pdfepub ebook. Robert mccrum is the author of six novels and two works of nonfiction. Regarding to legality, in some countries it may perfectly legal to download files such as ebooks. The story of english by robert mccrum, robert macneil, william cran. See all formats and editions hide other formats and editions.
Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The best novels in english five books expert recommendations. The author of six highly acclaimed novels and coauthor of the bestselling the story of english, his latest work is an illuminating look at the life of one of his literary heroes, p. Originally paired with a major pbs miniseries, this book download free ebook pdf. His books include the bestselling the story of english, my year off, wodehouse. Robert macneil and william cran are the coauthors of the story of english with robert mccrum. The book has been revised twice, once in 1993, and again in 2002. The story of the english language is a good one, and mr. The introduction explains what the authors intend to accomplish in the book and explain some of the animating problems that the author observes. Books by robert mccrum author of the story of english. The story of english is the extraordinary tale of the origins and development of the english language.
Now revised, the story of english is the first book to tell the whole story of the english language. Two thousand years ago english was confined to a handful. The story of english by robert mccrum, robert macneil. In globish, robert mccrum traces the spread of english. He is literary editor of the observer and lives in london. Robert mccrum is an associate editor of the observer. Mccrum the story of english, associate editor of britains observer, surveys the latterday apotheosis of english as the international language, observing chinese english language boot camps, bangalore call centers, and the takeover of britains man booker prize by nonbritish novelists. Globish by robert mccrum overdrive rakuten overdrive. Pdf the story of english download full full pdf ebook. The book and the television series were written by robert macneil, robert mccrum, and william cran.
679 85 956 225 885 663 724 294 845 246 626 1421 466 595 171 593 1444 1213 852 725 1044 59 1320 573 436 975 533 124 562 918 974 513 882 440 880 964 833 152 157 1209 191 1461 1004 1077 516 521 531 434