Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
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Why do we say "I am reading a book" instead of "I read a book"? Why do we say "do" at all? Delving into our jumbled language, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
Linguist John McWhorter breaks down the unique syntax of English and explains why no other language is like it. He looks at how English grammar and sentence construction has changed more over the centuries than related Germanic languages, and traces these tics to the survival of Celtic grammatical forms after the Germanic tribes first invaded Britain. He outlines the differences between written and spoken English, and explains how this has misled our understanding of English's evolution.
| Author | John McWhorter |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Avery |
| Place | New York |
| Year | 2009 |
| ISBN | 9781592404940 |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Condition | New |
How we describe the condition of our books
We are very proud of the condition of the books we sell (please read our testimonials to find out more!)
New: Exactly as it says.
As New: Pretty much new but shows small signs of having been read; inside it will be clean without any inscriptions or stamps; might contain a remainder mark.
Very Good: Might have some creases on the spine; no hard cracks; maybe slight forward lean and short inscription inside; perhaps very minor bumping on the corners of the book; inside clean but the page edges might be slightly yellowed.
Good: A few creases on the spine, perhaps a forward lean, bumping on corners or shelfwear; maybe an inscription inside or some shelfwear or a small tear or two on the dustjacket; inside clean but page edges might be somewhat yellowed.
Fair: In overall good condition, might have a severe forward lean to the spine, an inscription, bumping to corners; one or two folds on the covers and yellowed pages; in exceptional cases these books might contain some library stamps and stickers or have neat sticky tape which was used to fix a short, closed tear.
Poor: We rarely sell poor condition books, unless the books are in demand and difficult to find in a better condition. Poor condition books are still perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact and none threatening to fall out; most probably a reading copy only.