English – One Tongue, Many Voices

Download or read book English – One Tongue, Many Voices written by Jan Svartvik and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-01-19 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.