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The Oxford History of English
This book presents the history of English from its obscure Indo-European roots to its twenty-first century position as the world's first language. It shows how English evolved in the British Isles and how it spread to the United States and through the old British empire to every corner of the
world. It examines the different versions and roles of the language in every part of the globe and shows how English rose to international pre-eminence.
With approachable but impeccable scholarship fourteen experts chart the history of written and spoken English in all its rich and protean variety. Their accounts are made vivid with examples drawn from an immense range of documentary evidence including letters, diaries, and private records. They
explore and explain the mixture of gradual and rapid change in the words, meanings, grammar, or pronunciation of English at different times and in different places. They examine the three-century rise of standard English and received pronunciation and consider their current status and wellbeing.
This book will appeal to everyone with a keen interest in the English language and its development.
world. It examines the different versions and roles of the language in every part of the globe and shows how English rose to international pre-eminence.
With approachable but impeccable scholarship fourteen experts chart the history of written and spoken English in all its rich and protean variety. Their accounts are made vivid with examples drawn from an immense range of documentary evidence including letters, diaries, and private records. They
explore and explain the mixture of gradual and rapid change in the words, meanings, grammar, or pronunciation of English at different times and in different places. They examine the three-century rise of standard English and received pronunciation and consider their current status and wellbeing.
This book will appeal to everyone with a keen interest in the English language and its development.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 23, 2007
I like the cultural end of the anthropological study of language rather than the gramatical. This book requires a knowledge of IPA and time to fully digest it. Some of it is interesting, but it serves less purpose than class discussions- which are far more interesting.
October 4, 2015
Really interesting investigation of the pluralities and changes in English through its history.
October 31, 2015
A very interesting history of the English language from it's roots deep in the Anglo-Saxon forests to it's current status as a truly global language.
July 8, 2025
Confession—I thoroughly read only five chapters of the 14 by separate authors in this book—1 (by Hoad), 2 (Irvine), 4 (Corrie), 10 (Mugglestone), and 14 (Crystal). In addition, I read the Introduction, Timeline, and Acknowledgements and used the Index. Also, I skimmed a few of the other chapters.
Why not read cover-to-cover? Because, as I’ve explained in my reviews of Morris’ The Anglo-Saxons and Bragg’s The Adventure of English, I’m simply in quest of a nagging question. Why and how did this language and this country come to derive their names from the Angles instead of the Saxons, Jutes, or Frisians (the invaders of and settlers in this land after it was abandoned by the Romans in c.410 AD)?
It was interesting and of some help. None of the authors address the question directly, but indirectly, as a neophyte, I continue to learn more history and find a few leads.
The migrants (collectively called Anglo-Saxons) spoke a range of West Germanic dialects. In the beginning (fifth and sixth centuries), they did not write in their language. Later, there was a transition for orality to literacy in the vernacular. Old English texts survive from the eighth century onward. Old English was used for approximately seven centuries (c.450-1150) until it morphed into the Middle English that was used in the Middle Ages.
In 597, Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Kent, and he and his entourage brought not only Christianity but also the Roman alphabet and a script. Their mission was to convert the inhabitants. Irvine writes that the introduction of this alphabet “had enormous linguistic implications for Old English.”
The Timeline reads that the first surviving written evidence of Old English is dated c.700. The Lindisfarne Gospels were written in Latin in c.700-720. In the 780s, the period of Scandinavian invasion began. The Vikings raided the Lindisfarne monastery in 793, plundering and pillaging, and for many years, they habitually destroyed documents written by monks wherever they raided.
And that sparks the faint glimpse of a personal theory that might answer my original question. Next, I shall read Mayr-Harting’s The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England.
Why not read cover-to-cover? Because, as I’ve explained in my reviews of Morris’ The Anglo-Saxons and Bragg’s The Adventure of English, I’m simply in quest of a nagging question. Why and how did this language and this country come to derive their names from the Angles instead of the Saxons, Jutes, or Frisians (the invaders of and settlers in this land after it was abandoned by the Romans in c.410 AD)?
It was interesting and of some help. None of the authors address the question directly, but indirectly, as a neophyte, I continue to learn more history and find a few leads.
The migrants (collectively called Anglo-Saxons) spoke a range of West Germanic dialects. In the beginning (fifth and sixth centuries), they did not write in their language. Later, there was a transition for orality to literacy in the vernacular. Old English texts survive from the eighth century onward. Old English was used for approximately seven centuries (c.450-1150) until it morphed into the Middle English that was used in the Middle Ages.
In 597, Augustine of Canterbury arrived in Kent, and he and his entourage brought not only Christianity but also the Roman alphabet and a script. Their mission was to convert the inhabitants. Irvine writes that the introduction of this alphabet “had enormous linguistic implications for Old English.”
The Timeline reads that the first surviving written evidence of Old English is dated c.700. The Lindisfarne Gospels were written in Latin in c.700-720. In the 780s, the period of Scandinavian invasion began. The Vikings raided the Lindisfarne monastery in 793, plundering and pillaging, and for many years, they habitually destroyed documents written by monks wherever they raided.
And that sparks the faint glimpse of a personal theory that might answer my original question. Next, I shall read Mayr-Harting’s The Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England.
December 28, 2021
really good!! hits the spot
+includes reading lists!!!!!!!!!!
questions it does not answer:
how did linguists reach certain conclusions?
lots of quotes that are given as examples (love how the original/translation is laid out) -- examples primarily showcase apparent language trends in spelling and grammar - don't necessarily show how certain conclusions about phonetics were reached
also does not answer my question about WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN THE TRANSITION FROM OLD ENGLISH TO MIDDLE ENGLISH???
GOOD chapter on old english in context of other languages....CELTIC language history, where are you?
some very juicy mentions of French language history too, but only mentions
would be cool to have a book that looks at the development of multiple languages in parallel with one another, i.e. side by side development of Old English and Old Norse and Norman French, BUT I guess those can be found separately and then brought together.
all in all: very handy book
+includes reading lists!!!!!!!!!!
questions it does not answer:
how did linguists reach certain conclusions?
lots of quotes that are given as examples (love how the original/translation is laid out) -- examples primarily showcase apparent language trends in spelling and grammar - don't necessarily show how certain conclusions about phonetics were reached
also does not answer my question about WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN THE TRANSITION FROM OLD ENGLISH TO MIDDLE ENGLISH???
GOOD chapter on old english in context of other languages....CELTIC language history, where are you?
some very juicy mentions of French language history too, but only mentions
would be cool to have a book that looks at the development of multiple languages in parallel with one another, i.e. side by side development of Old English and Old Norse and Norman French, BUT I guess those can be found separately and then brought together.
all in all: very handy book
May 8, 2023
Didn't read the whole thing, but what I did read was super interesting
February 17, 2015
This is not a high-level overview of the language's development, but rather, it's an extremely detailed look at various facets of its development. I can see this book being a little too detailed for a casual reader, but essential reading for someone studying English literature or even linguistics at a master level. It's not an easy read, nor is it a short one, but it is rewarding.
Since it's actually a collection of essays written by various authors about various periods of the language's development, each section varies in level of detail, voice, and in some cases the particular area of focus within the language (semantics, pronunciation, etc). This means some sections are excellent and some are interesting, but dry and boring. And as another reviewer noted, it's helpful to have a good working knowledge of IPA, though this book does have a few useful reference guides at the beginning. I found myself glancing at these fairly frequently.
I'll also note that since this is the Oxford History of English, there's not much focus on the development of American English. Obviously, most of the language's development happened in areas that are now part of the United Kingdom, so this makes sense. But being an American, it was easy to forget that many of the pronunciation guides refer to British pronunciations (and often different subsets of British pronunciations), which often differ from the way I would pronounce words. In some cases this was a difficult hurdle, but I overcame it by pretending Emma Watson was reading the words to me (sort of childish, but it got the job done).
Ultimately, this is a solid read on the history of English, but it's not a one-stop shop.
Since it's actually a collection of essays written by various authors about various periods of the language's development, each section varies in level of detail, voice, and in some cases the particular area of focus within the language (semantics, pronunciation, etc). This means some sections are excellent and some are interesting, but dry and boring. And as another reviewer noted, it's helpful to have a good working knowledge of IPA, though this book does have a few useful reference guides at the beginning. I found myself glancing at these fairly frequently.
I'll also note that since this is the Oxford History of English, there's not much focus on the development of American English. Obviously, most of the language's development happened in areas that are now part of the United Kingdom, so this makes sense. But being an American, it was easy to forget that many of the pronunciation guides refer to British pronunciations (and often different subsets of British pronunciations), which often differ from the way I would pronounce words. In some cases this was a difficult hurdle, but I overcame it by pretending Emma Watson was reading the words to me (sort of childish, but it got the job done).
Ultimately, this is a solid read on the history of English, but it's not a one-stop shop.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews