English Language and World Essay

Submitted By hcu555
Words: 334
Pages: 2

McCrum, R. (2010). Globish. Canada: Doubleday Canada. Robert McCrum's Globish is a book that traces the history of the English language and the people who spoke it, stretching back to the Roman and Germanic invasions of the British Isles. McCrum connects this lively history with the place of the English language today, as a global language intertwined with the spread of capitalism and Anglo-power. McCrum succeeds as a story-teller, bringing to life the characters and pivots points of history. As such, this book is more interested in telling the story of the English language than it is making an original contribution to our understanding of exactly how the English language and the political, social, and economic package that came with it are related, and how they are and have shaped the world. Thus, its importance is as an engaging and accessible introduction to the history of the English language. Ostler, N. (2005). Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. USA: Harpercollins Publishers. In Empires of the World, Nicolas Ostler approaches a history of the world from a unique and fascinating perspective, language. He adopts this perspective for good reason, believing language to be the essence of community, and therefore providing a relatively stable unit of analysis necessary for comparative world history. He also supports this approach with substantial and impressive evidence

gathered from a wide variety of sources, primary and secondary. In short, Empires of