'The book's colourful, varied contents will no doubt attract students of Linguistics, Literature and everyone interested in the English language. The authors have done an excellent job in providing this well researched material and keeping the jargon to a minimum, thus making it accessible to every reader.' - Language International The story of English is often presented as one of progress: from a set of Germanic dialects to a fully-fledged national, and international language. The emphasis in this book is on the diversity of English throughout its history and the changing social meanings of different varieties of English. Joan Swann, Open University; David Graddol, Open University; Dick Leith, Freelance Historical Linguist; Linda Thomas, Roehampton University; Susan Wright, University of Canada; David Mackinnon, Op
