Exploring the Fascinating History of the English Language: The Adventure of English

elfin: The best part of this book was being reminded of the great English writing of the past (Beowulf, The Dream of the Rood, etc., all the way to P. G. Wodehouse). Each thing gets short shrift, however, and sometimes the paragraphs are unfocused. As well, the thesis gets repeated so many times. Multiple long lists of words borrowed from other languages get a little boring. Overall, however, I’m glad I read this book.

United States on Sep 08, 2023

Angie Y: Bought for my husband who is a hobby historian. He keeps telling me how good the book is. He thinks it’s really interesting in that the author covers historical facts.

Canada on Jun 26, 2023

Angelo Manassero: It is a really good read, very interesting and well written, I do recommend.

Italy on May 02, 2023

lidia coronado: la historia de in idioma es fascinante. y nos involucra a todos. el lenguaje es nuestra historia.

Spain on Jan 17, 2023

LexLex: The Adventure of English by Melvyn Bragg (Sceptre)
Some books are a challenge, some are a chore, some you ought to read, some you are required to, but once in a while you happen on a book that is pure pleasure. And aren’t they the better ones really? I think it was CS Lewis who pointed out the obvious: that great poetry is measured, largely, by the pleasure one has in reading it. And I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent examination on the history of the English language. Although I began it by reading it, I shifted to audible.co.uk and listened to Robert Powell’s audio version. This was particularly helpful as pronunciation is obviously a significant part of the story (and ‘he do the police in different voices’).
In addition to being fascinating in terms of the origins of many of our phrases and sayings, and, happily, the justified prominence given to the Bible, Wycliffe, and a whole chapter to Tyndale, there are also some wonderfully funny moments. I enjoyed hearing an apparently endless list of Shakespeare’s insults, my all-time favourite still being ‘you one-trunk-inheriting knave’ (I think from Lear).
Along with a thorough treatment of how English has...

United Kingdom on Sep 16, 2019

Michael I.: Language feels innate. It flows almost effortlessly, giving voice to our innermost aspects that can often feel entirely untranslatable. For native speakers, English is the miraculous software that came installed with the hardware. Melvyn Bragg's THE ADVENTURES OF ENGLISH is not a textbook larded with wonk, it's a professional word lover's exploration of English's history - from Anglo-Saxon, to Latin, to French, to the Internet - that has produced the energetic, evolving argot now employed around the world. THE ADVENTURES OF ENGLISH is a quality overview, even if the author admits his lack of true expertise, while peppering the book with his layman's interpretation of academic research.

Studying the origins of any language offers ample opportunity for boring material. It's a territory populated with etymologists, philologists, and archaeological grammatologists - not exactly the most lively bunch. Bragg avoids these hazards. He tells a story, touching on all the key moments in the evolution of English. The arrival of the Saxons, the Danes, the Normans, and the Americans - all of it carrying the story forward. As we read, we watch the language become more familiar with each...

United States on Aug 20, 2014

Beatrice Berger: Die Idee des Buches ist genial. Die Umsetzung, es tut mir leid, ist es nur bedingt. Das führt am Ende dazu, daß ich mich schon kurz nach der Hälfte nur noch danach gesehnt habe, die Qual werde ein Ende nehmen - unbeeindruckt von dem Umstand, daß auch in der letzten Hälfte noch interessante und beeindruckende Erkenntnisse enthalten waren. Ein streng subjektiver Eindruck, gewiß.

Daher: Was stört mich an dem Buch?

- Das Äußere. Relativ kleine Buchstaben. Relativ wenig Absätze. Relativ wenig Auflockerung im Schriftbild. Das ermüdet. Und bei einem Thema wie diesem ermüdet es richtig. Zwar sind Gedichtzitate eingerückt abgedruckt, das ist aber schon alles. Wenn dies auch für die Prosatexte gelten würde, würde das ebensoviel helfen wie wenn Wörterlisten (es sind keine langen Listen) nicht im Fließtext abgedruckt würden, sondern in Spalten mit der Übersetzung ins Neuenglische (wo nötig, es ist, aber vgl. unten, m.E. öfter nötig als es geschehen ist) in der Spalte daneben.

- Dann, ich bin kein Native Speaker, und ich weiß nicht, wie es denen geht, die es sind: aber gerade beim Alt- und Mittelenglischen setzt der Autor ein Verständnis voraus,...

Germany on Dec 18, 2011

Marcelo Clodoaldo: I learnt of this book through the results of a search on English language's history books, and I bought it along with Professor's David Crystal's The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. This may sound naïve, but the moment I unwrapped the parcel I kinda felt that I'd got something worth the money I had spent, which was not a small amount, as I live in South America. I'd never reviewed any purchase I did before, Amazon's or any other online store's, but I just finished Mr. Bragg's book, and I felt I just couldn't let through the opportunity to say how pleasant were the reading moments this book provided me these last few weeks, and it would be a shame if I didn't do at least a meagre effort to get more people have their share of this priceless treasure.
I am Brazilian, and as you probably know the language spoken in my country is Portuguese. I've got this little book on Portuguese language history here, and it is sad that, besides being a very short one and dealing mostly with the linguistic aspects of the language (which doesn't devaluate the book at all, on account of being mostly technical talking, but sure keeps it from being more interesting and accessible to a...

United States on Dec 22, 2007