A unique journey through English spelling, untangling the fascinating origins of its greatest eccentricities.
David Crystal is Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. He has written many books and articles in fields ranging from forensic linguistics and ELT to the liturgy and Shakespeare. He is the author of The Story of English in 100 Words, and his Stories of English is a Penguin Classic.
Entertaining ... Crystal's many examples show that the development
of English spelling is as random, unsystematic and anomalous as the
British constitution. English spelling is as rich a mixture of
anachronism, privilege and fashion as the House of Lords
*Sunday Times*
A prolific author ... he can write with authority on trends in the
spelling of rhubarb and indeed on the history of the spelling of
any tricky word you care to mention. For him, the patterns are
clear ... highly entertaining
*Observer*
A prolific author ... highly entertaining to read
*Observer*
Spectacular
*Readers Digest*
This masterly book is a deft guide with a light touch
*TLS*
A spelling book with a difference
*Yorkshire Gazette and Herald*
Crystal's splendid book, the latest in a long line by this prolific
language truffler, proceeds chronologically, deep in learning and
characteristically light on its feet.
*Daily Mail*
A Must Read...An entertaining and fascinating study of how English
spelling became so wildly inconsistent.
*Sunday Times*
The chaotic yet enthralling story of British spelling through the
ages
*Bookseller*
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