The Making of English, by Henry Bradley

Blurb: The Making of English, by Henry Bradley

This book, The Making of English, explains many changes the English language has undergone, from before the year 1,000 to nowadays. It deals with grammar, word-making, what English owes to foreign tongues and changes of meaning in the language.

For instance, an important part of the book aims at showing the link between Old English and German (generally) and thus, explains the origins of a lot of words in Modern English.

On the one hand, I’ve found the book very interesting, pointing out some subtle aspects of the English language and providing a historical overview. But on the other hand, this book has of course nothing to do with a novel. Some parts were much too detailed and a bit boring.

The author was eager to give many Old English words, which definitely look more like odd German than English. So, unless the reader wanted to learn Old English, he would skip a few paragraphs before getting a headache.