Images of English: A Cultural History of the Language

by Richard W. Bailey

Images of English demonstrates how people's opinions about the English language often reflect prejudice and hope, bigotry and pride, scorn and celebration. The book offers a fascinating perspective on attitudes toward the English language--the rise and fall of ideas that English is nearly perfect or tumbling into decline.

Genres: Linguistics

329 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Professor Richard Weld Bailey taught in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan for 42 years (1965 –2007), where he was honored in 2002 with a collegiate professorship: the Fred Newton Scott Collegiate Professor of English.

He was a pioneer in the application of computers to research in the humanities,attending early conferences sponsored by IBM and the Rand Corporation (1964 and 1967).

Reviews

[Matthew Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the spread and influence that the English language has had. The author includes many primary sources concerning his topic. For those looking to learn more about how the language has evolved, this is a strong resource.

[Julia P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for a textbook, but overall pretty meh except for chapter 8 which talks a lot about English and future English in sci-fi.

[Stacy]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/3588616