The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language is one of the publishing phenomena of recent times. Rarely has a book so packed with accurate and well researched factual information been so widely read and popularly acclaimed. This Second Edition now presents an overhaul of the subject for a new generation of language-lovers. The length of the book has been extended and there are 44 new illustrations, extensive new material on world English and Internet English, and a complete updating of statistics, further reading suggestions and other references.

Key Features

• The most successful general book on the English language (its past, present and future)
  
  
• Packed with colour illustrations, maps, tables and graphics
  
  
• Difficult concepts explained in a simple and accessible way
  
  Contents
  
  Prefaces; 1. Modelling English; Part I. The History of English: 2. The origins of English; 3. Old English; 4. Middle English; 5. Early Modern English; 6. Modern English; 7. World English; Part II. English Vocabulary: 8. The nature of the lexicon; 9. The sources of the lexicon; 10. Etymology; 11. The structure of the lexicon; 12. Lexical dimensions; Part III. English Grammar: 13. Grammatical mythology; 14. The structure of words; 15. Word classes; 16. The structure of sentences; Part IV. Spoken and Written English: 17. The sound system; 18. The writing system; Part V. Using English: 19. Varieties of discourse; 20. Regional variation; 21. Social variation; 22. Personal variation; 23. Electronic variation; Part VI. Learning about English: 24. Learning English as a mother tongue; 25. New ways of studying English; Appendices; Indexes.