Synopses & Reviews
Just how did an inadequate, second-rate language become the most successful language in the world? The answer is: attitude. In welcoming and absorbing many outside influences, including French, Yiddish, and African words and rhythms, English has been able to adapt to needs in almost every corner of the globe. Howard Richler shows that despite its not-so-great beginnings, the English language, with its idiomatic structure, multiple word meanings, and love of euphemisms, has evolved into a deeply sophisticated form of communication.