The English language, in its earliest period, was spoken by a few thousand people, most of whom were illiterate. Today, more than 300 million people speak and write English as their first language. In this book, Robert Burchfield takes us on a brief tour of our ever-changing language as he surveys its history and development and assesses its current state. An eloquent guide, Burchfield examines the complexities of English, as well as its amazing resilience and flexibility. From vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation, to an analysis of the role of literature and the English Bible in shaping the language, Burchfield infuses all his discussions with his fascination with the mystery of language and his confidence that English "can be used at the present time as in the past, with majesty and power, free of all fault."

The English Language

Reference

BURCHFIELD, Robert

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Oxford University Press

This is a fascinating collection of essays and reflections on language by Robert Burchfield, a leading authority on English usage and etymology, and editor of the Supplement to the First Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Points of View begins with two original and entertaining reflections, the first entitled "The Fowler Brothers and the Tradition of Usage Handbooks," the second "An Outline of Euphemisms in English." The selection of shorter pieces which follows--drawn from Burchfield's popular Sunday Times of London column, "Words and Meanings"--concerns the English language as it is used throughout the world. These cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from the language of newspaper recruitment advertising and Valentine's Day messages to the modern use (and misuse) of apostrophes and hyphens. The book concludes with a series of engaging thoughts on individual words--often the most simple--about which there is continuing debate in modern English. Whether focusing on such contentious issues as "between you and me" versus "between you and I," or discussing the twenty-nine meanings of the verb "to want," Burchfield proves himself to be a particularly keen arbiter of English usage and a perceptive commentator on the state of our language today.

Points of View: Aspects of Present-Day English

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

The British Broadcasting Corporation, which takes very seriously the task of teaching the English how to speak, has just published this guide to pronunciation, diction and grammar. Written by no less an authority than Robert Burchfield, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionaries, it is often surprisingly lenient. Citing a sentence of Graham Greene's as a precedent, Burchfield declines to forbid absolutely the use of ''like'' as a conjunction. The BBC reports, for example, that the error of confusing ''disinterested'' with ''uninterested'' ''attracts more unfavorable comment from listeners than any other word, with the possible exception of 'hopefully.' '' But Burchfield does not pander to the public. The use of ''alternative'' to mean one of several possibilities, instead of simply one of two, is ''vigorously resisted by listeners but impossible to avoid in many contexts,'' he says. On the other hand, he is vigorous and definite in his condemnation of such clichés as ''scenario,'' ''at this point in time'' and ''no way,'' Americanisms, he says, that have crept into English speech. But throughout it all, he takes a soothingly long historical view of the evolution of language, noting that it has survived other disruptions considerably more serious than whatever may be happening to it now. As examples, he cites the loss of grammatical gender in Early Middle English and the great vowel shift at the beginning of the 15th century, when nearly every vowel changed (''hoose'' became ''house,'' and ''gose'' became ''goose''). Reassuringly, he concludes, ''Any argument based on the assumption that the changes occurring in the English language in Great Britain at present are more serious or more objectionable than those that have occurred in the last 1,200 years is almost certainly false.''

The Spoken Word: A BBC Guide

Here, Robert Burchfield, editor of the four-volume Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, offers a brief survey on the development of English. He expertly stresses the flexibility of the English language, tracing its ever-changing face from the 5th century AD to the present day. Burchfield describes the resilience of the language--from the days of runes to the origins of printing, through social, religious, political and industrial change in the eighteenth century, through the rise of the British Empire and the development of world English, right up to the enormous changes in the English language that have taken place in the twentieth-century. In a stirring Afterword, John Simpson looks at what the historical details of the English Language tell us about the world of its speakers, and how ideas about what constitutes the English Language have changed over the past decades. Wonderfully informative and a delight to read, The English Language is an essential guide for anyone interested in the early days of our language and how it has transformed over the years into its modern form.

The English Language (Oxford Language Classics Series)

Words, Language & Grammar

"At what historical point did American English become different from British English? Burchfield tackles these and other questions in scholarly essays sure to intrigue anyone who loves words and language." - Publishers Weekly

Unlocking the English Language

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

Hill and Wang

At a time when many people fear that the English language is entering a period of serious decline, the author of this book takes a more optimistic view. He believes that it is imperative to see modern English as a rich and diverse linguistic system deposited on our shores some 1,500 years ago, and left with us unweakened, though substantially changed, by the social and political events of the intervening period. Part 1 of this book is based on the T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures delivered at the University of Kent at Canterbury in November 1988, which cover a wide range of topics in English lexicography and grammar. Part 2 consists of eight essays written between 1973 and 1987 and now brought together for the first time.

Unlocking the English language

Literary

Faber&Faber

An historical account of the English language examines the roles of lexicographers, educators, literary critics, and computers in expanding the English vocabulary

Hill & Wang Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BURCHFIELD, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by BURCHFIELD, Robert

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by BURCHFIELD, Robert. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The English Language

Points of View: Aspects of Present-Day English

The Spoken Word: A BBC Guide

The English Language (Oxford Language Classics Series)

Unlocking the English Language

Unlocking the English language

Unlocking the English Language