English Language

Fetch Headings.ExtraData
Below are groups and resources (books, articles, websites, etc.) related to this topic. Click on an item’s title to go its resource page with author, publisher, description/abstract and other details, a link to the full text if available, as well as links to related topics in the Subject Index. You can also browse the Title, Author, Subject, Chronological, Dewey, LoC, and Format indexes, or use the Search box.
Particularly recommended items are flagged with a red logo:

Connexions Library

Sources Experts & Spokespersons

Sources Library

Here's What Shakespeare's Plays Sounded Like With Their Original English Accent
Abraham
2011
In this short documentary, linguist David Crystal and his son, actor Ben Crystal, look at the differences between English pronunciation now and how it was spoken 400 years ago. They answer the most ba...
Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary
With additional material from a Thesaurus of Old English
2009
A historical thesuarus that presents synonyms and their meanings in chronological order, noting their appearance and disappearance, representing a map of the development of words in the English langua...
Made in America
An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
Bryson, Bill
1994
A history of American English.
The Meaning of Everything
The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Winchester, Simon
2003
Middle English
Sources Select Resources Encyclopedia
Middle English is the name given by historical linguists to the diverse forms of the English language in use between the late 11th century and about 1470, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-...
The Oxford Guide to Writing & Speaking
The Key to Effective Communication
Seely, John
1998
Spell It Out
The Curious, Enthralling and Extraordinary Story of English Spelling
Crystal, David
2013
David Crystal offers up explanations of how English spellling, while not simple, can be sensible if you look at the history of the language and its vocabulary.