A Biography of the English Language

The third edition of A Biography of The English Language, International Edition continues to examine the structure of language. The textbook discusses three important issues: languages and language change are systematic; the inner history of a language is profoundly affected by its outer history of political and culural events; and, the English of the past has everywhere left its traces on present-day English. By uncovering the language's past, one can better communicate with it.