Audiobook8 hours
A History of the English Language
Written by Michael Drout
Narrated by Henry Strozier
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Professor Drout addresses the foundation of language and its connection to specific portions of the brain. The components of language are explained in easy-to-understand terms and the progression of the language from Germanic to Old, Middle, and Modern English is fully illustrated-including such revolutionary language upheavals as those brought about by the Norman Conquest and the Great Vowel Shift. One of the most interesting aspects of the English language lies in its variants, such as the "soda" vs. "pop" debate and the place of African-American English in modern culture. These and other dialectual curiosities are looked at in detail and placed in the context of today's world. Finally, Professor Drout examines the future not only of the English language, but of all the world's languages.
More audiobooks from Michael Drout
The Anglo-Saxon World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Singers and Tales: Oral Tradition and the Roots of Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tolkien and the West: Recovering the Lost Tradition of Europe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bard of the Middle Ages: The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rings, Swords, and Monsters: Exploring Fantasy Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Way With Words III: Grammar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Norsemen: Vikings And Their Culture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Way With Words IV: Understanding Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Way With Words: Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Think: The Liberal Arts and Their Enduring Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Way With Words II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to A History of the English Language
Related audiobooks
The History of English: The Biography of a Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Way With Words III: Grammar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Way With Words: Writing, Rhetoric, and the Art of Persuasion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Way With Words IV: Understanding Poetry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Odyssey of the West I: A Classic Education through the Great Books:Hebrews and Greeks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The English Language: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Dead Languages Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hebrews, Greeks and Romans: Foundations of Western Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Making Sense Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5May We Borrow Your Language?: How English Steals Words from All Over the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Language, Society and Power: An Introduction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Written in Stone: A Journey Through the Stone Age and the Origins of Modern Language Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Changing Minds: How Aging Affects Language and How Language Affects Aging Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gift of the Gab: How Eloquence Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Globish: How the English Language Became the World's Language Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Don't Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Language Unlimited: The Science Behind Our Most Creative Power Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Macat Analysis of Ferdinand de Saussure's Course in General Linguistics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Global Wording: The Fascinating Story of the Evolution of English Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMasterpieces of Medieval Literature Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monsters, Gods, and Heroes: Approaching the Epic in Literature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Odyssey of the West II: A Classic Education through the Great Books: From Athens to Rome and the Gospels Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dante and His Divine Comedy Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Linguistics For You
Mastering Logical Fallacies: The Definitive Guide to Flawless Rhetoric and Bulletproof Logic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Speed Reading: Learn to Read a 200+ Page Book in 1 Hour Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Talking Back, Talking Black: Truths About America's Lingua Franca Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Kind of Creatures Are We? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What's Your Pronoun?: Beyond He and She Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How Dead Languages Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can't Think the Way We Do Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Greatest Invention: A History of the World in Nine Mysterious Scripts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Born To Kvetch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Language Warrior's Manifesto: How to Keep Our Languages Alive No Matter the Odds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5F**k: An Irreverent History of the F-Word Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why Do We Say That? 101 Idioms, Phrases, Sayings & Facts! A Brief History On Where They Come From! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Guide To Developing An Authentic Irish Accent: Learn To Speak In Irish-Accented English For The Stage Or Screen Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Philosophy of Style Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for A History of the English Language
Rating: 4.24999995 out of 5 stars
4/5
20 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still just as entertaining and enlightening as the first time I listened to these lectures.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book to be listened to....I'm not sure I would have understood it nearly as well otherwise. Although, having the text would have afforded me the maps and other charts (pictures of the tongue and where to place it for certain types of sounds, etc.). I enjoyed it very much! Drout himself was not the best reader I have heard....but not nearly the worst!