Inventing English, take 2
Since I mentioned some errors I'd found in Seth Lehrer's Inventing English, I think it only fair to say now that I've finished the book I wholeheartedly recommend it. The errors were minor and not concerned with English (they dealt with Celtic language nomenclature, a mistaken labeling of a Welsh word as Irish, and an overlooking of a Slavic language feature, in case you don't feel like chasing the older entry), and since the book is about English, they really don't affect it.
And the book itself - a glorious pilgrimage through English as reflected in and shaped by its literature, from Caedmon to rap - is simply wonderful.
Labels: language, media, miscellaneous
2 Comments:
-
At 9:06 AM, July 09, 2007
Anonymous had this to say...
-
-
At 9:34 AM, July 09, 2007
The Ridger, FCD had this to say...
-
-
<-- Older Post ^ Home Newer Post -->While I agree that the book is an interesting and engaging read, it is astounding to me that he manages to write such a book with no serious discussion of the impact of the King James Bible on English generally and American English in particular. And having heard the author interviewed on several NPR programs and on CSPAN, he rarely mentions the King James Bible in these interviews, and when he does, it is only in passing. This can only be a studied avoidance or a lack of knowledge.
I expect his argument would be that the KJV did nothing *new* - that it was, in fact, deliberately written with archaisms (-TH instead of the already-at-the-time prevalent -S 3rd person verb ending, for instance). It may well have influenced vocabulary choices, etc, but it was not "inventing" English, it was conserving. Thus, it does not properly belong in his book.
You may disagree, of course.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]