Spellbound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling: The True Story of Man's Greatest Invention (or: Spellbound: The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling)
James Essinger, 224 pp, 2006
A good-humored buoyant style helps make this examination of the origin and current state of English spelling a pleasure to read
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (6 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 10.95
The Unfolding of Language. The Evolution of Mankind's greatest Invention
by Guy Deutscher 360pp, William Heinemann, 2006
Investigation into the evolution of language in general.
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de €13.90
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (1 review, 5 stars)
The Stories of English
by David Crystal 608pp Allen Lane History of English (inc. dialects)
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (3 reviews, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de €15.73
The Adventure of English
by Melvyn Bragg 354 pp, Hodder & Stoughton, 2004
History of English
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (11 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 15.00 (2 reviews, 5 stars)
I have this: it's informative and quite interesting, but the writing style is rather repetitive. (Perhaps it was dictated? It gets a little irritating sometimes.) Mr Bragg doesn't claim to be an expert on language, and isn't, but has read up well on the subject. Still, there seems to be a suggestion that English is a superior language and was thus destined to survive.
The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
John McWhorter 327pp, Heinemann, 2003
History of language in general
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP ?? (3 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 11.50
A History of the English Language
by Albert C Baugh, 464 pp, 2002
A comprehensive exploration of the linguistic and cultural development of English, from the Middle Ages to the present day
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 15.99
www.amazon.de/ € ?? (4 reviews, 5 stars)
Beyond Words: How Language Reveals the Way We Live Now
John Humphrys, 2006, 256 pp
John takes a sharp look at phrases and expressions in current use to expose the often hidden attitudes that lie behind them
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.60
Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language
John Humphrys, 2005, 352 pp
The decline of the English language
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (17 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.31
She Literally Exploded: The "Daily Telegraph" Infuriating Phrasebook
Christopher Howse, Richard Preston, 2007, 144 pp
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.03 (3 reviews, 2 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 9.99
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynn Truss, 2003
Punctuation, funny
books.guardian.co.uk
books.guardian.co.uk
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 3.99 (169 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de/ € 7.95 (8 reviews, 3 stars)
I have this. Despite some of the acrid reviews, it is an amusing book you can read in the bath without falling asleep. It even teaches you some of the basic rules of British English punctuation.
Between You And I: a little book of bad English
by James Cochrane, 2005
books.guardian.co.uk/
www.amazon.de €11.50
www.amazon.co.uk GBP ?? (5 reviews, 3 stars)
Mind the Gaffe: The Penguin Guide to Common Errors in English
by RL Trask (Penguin, £6.99) , 2002
How to write simply and effectively
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de €12.31
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.99 (2 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left
David Crystal, 2007
Debate on punctuation, spelling and pronunciation
www.amazon.de € 11.50
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.89 (2 reviews, 3 stars)
Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon the English Language
by Richard Lederer, 192 pp, 2006, Wyrick & Co, U.S., revised ed.
A wide-ranging anthology of rib-tickling bloopers
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.79
www.amazon.de € 6.49 (10 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English
by Patricia O'Conner, 256 pp, 2003, Riverhead Books (USA)
Lighthearted, witty instruction on the subject most of us dreaded in school--grammar
www.amazon.de/ € 16.50 (43 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
The Elements of Style
Strunk & White, 4th ed. 1999, 105 pp
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.49 (16 reviews, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 9.45 (30 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language
David Crystal, 2002, 336 pp
Common structures that unify English across the world
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (2 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.45
Words Words Words
David Crystal, 2007, 224 pp
A celebration of what we say and how we say it.
www.amazon.co.uk/ GBP 6.74 (2 reviews, 4 stars)
www.amazon.de € 14.23
By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English
by David Crystal, 336 pp, 2007
Entertaining travelogue mapping language
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 11.04 (2 reviews, 4 stars)
www.amazon.de/ € 26.80
Mother Tongue
by Bill Bryson, 1991
A witty, irreverent but very useful account of the peculiarities of the English language
www.amazon.de € 12.95 (7 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (45 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
I have this. It's a funny book, with nice anecdotes and good examples of anagrams, etc. If you know anything about languages, or can speak German, it is potentially extremely irritating, Take a deep swig of wine, relax and ignore the glaring errors, and you'll have a good read.
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
by Simon Winchester 260pp, Oxford, 2003
History of OED
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de € 20.01 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.99 (3 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 8th edition
by Eric Partridge, edited by Paul Beale 1,400pp, Routledge, 1984
Definitive work on slang and unconventional English
(or concise version, 1/4 of price quoted here)
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 95.00 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 197.50
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