The Story of English in 100 Words

Theworld'sforemostexpertontheEnglishlanguagetakesusonanentertainingandeyeopeningtourofthehistoryofourvernacularthroughtheages.In"TheStoryofEnglishin100Words,"anentertaininghistoryoftheworld'smostubiquitouslanguage,DavidCrystaldrawsononehundredwordsthatbestillustratethehugevarietyofsources,influencesandeventsthathavehelpedtoshapeourvernacularsincethefirstdefinitivelyEnglishword'roe'waswrittendownonthefemurofaroedeerinthefifthcentury.Featuringancientwords('loaf'),cuttingedgetermsthatrelfectourworld('twittersphere'),indispensiblewordsthatshapeourtongue('and','what'),fancifulwords('fopdoodle')andevenobsceneexpressions(the"cword..".),DavidCrystaltakesreadersonatourofthewindingbywaysofourlanguageviatherude,theobscureandthedownrightsurprising.