English Language History

Over 330,000 copies sold. This is the story of the church for today's listeners. Bruce Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the twenty-first century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting...

In The English and their History, the first full-length account to appear in one volume for many decades, Robert Tombs gives us the history of the English people and of how the stories they have told about themselves have shaped them, from the prehistoric 'dreamtime' through to the present day.

Expand your vocabulary and develop your speaking skills at advanced level and speak fluently on various topics. The course contains: 12 topic-based lessons which introduce and consolidate advanced vocabulary, 132 carefully prepared exercises which teach correct pronunciation and show how expressions are used in context, 3300 words, collocations, idioms and sentences to repeat, 550 examples which check how well the vocabulary has been mastered, words and expressions are recorded with explanations and example answers in speaking exercises, over 11 hours of professional recordings.

This book is for anyone interested in improving their writing skills in English. It is written from the standpoint of someone who wants to improve their English grammar. The book will not only introduce you to the basics of English grammar, but it will also help you memorize them easily.

What is poetry? If music is sound organized in a particular way, poetry is a way of organizing language. It is language made special so that it will be remembered and valued. It does not always work - over the centuries countless thousands of poems have been forgotten. This little history is about some that have not. John Carey tells the stories behind the world’s greatest poems, from the oldest surviving one written nearly four thousand years ago to those being written today. Carey looks at poets whose works shape our views of the world.

Within this essay, Orwell criticises the 'ugly and inaccurate' written English of his time and examines the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, 'is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind'. Bad English, he believed, was a vehicle for oppressive ideology.

When conflicts become entrenched over generations, the language of war infiltrates everyday life, concealing destruction and hardening positions. Nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East. Award-winning author Raja Shehadeh explores the politics of language and the language of politics in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, reflecting on the walls that they create - legal and cultural - that confine today's Palestinians just like the borders, checkpoints and so-called "Separation Barrier".

'Enchanting' Simon Russell Beale --- 'Remarkable' James Shapiro 'Wonderful . . . compulsively readable' Nicholas Hytner Why do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday? When Robert McCrum began his recovery from a life-changing stroke...

Uncover the gripping evolution of human speech in this narrative history that turns linguistics into an epic adventure. Perfect for a curious commute or a lifelong learning journey, this immersive exploration traces our everyday vocabulary back to ancient battlefields and forgotten tribes...

Master the evolution of software engineering as you explore tech history from raw machine code to AI ecosystems. Perfect for your morning commute or focused deep work, this captivating narrative tracks the brilliant pioneers who transformed human logic into the digital frameworks powering our...

Discover the sweeping history of linguistics and human evolution, tracing our journey from ancient grunts to modern AI. Perfect for an educational daily commute, this thought-provoking deep dive reveals how shared sounds transformed into world-building power. Language is not merely a tool for...

If you want to discover the captivating history of England, then get English History: A Captivating Guide to the History of England and the Victorian Era, which includes two manuscripts that provide information on the history of England from antiquity to the end of World War Two, with a special emphasis on the Victorian Era.

Uncover two thousand years of Christian history, where everyday believers survive empires and spark spiritual renewal. Perfect for your morning commute or Sunday reflection, this accessible religious history grounds your faith by exploring the inspiring triumphs and honest failures of the global...

In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today and celebrates the way new speakers and new uses mean that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements or evidence of slipping standards.  

Master software engineering paradigms by decoding the brutal hardware constraints that forged modern computer science. Perfect for your commute or a deep-focus learning session, this analytical journey transforms how you view everyday coding tools. Instead of memorizing syntax, you will grasp...

Master your everyday civic rights and decode American history without wading through confusing legal jargon. Perfect for a daily commute or focused learning, this calm, empowering audio experience translates complex government frameworks into practical reality. Instead of feeling intimidated by...

The Survival Phrases series is designed to provide world travelers with essential phrases in multiple languages and cultural insight you will not find in a textbook. In this 25-lesson series, you'll learn vital British English phrases in each lesson that will help prepare you for an upcoming trip.

Every skeleton has a story to tell. Mortician and pathology curator Carla Valentine knows this better than anyone. As the curator of a pathology museum housing more than 5,000 human specimens, many of them bones and skeletons, she spends her days uncovering the secrets they hold. In this...

Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Beloved Toni Morrison investigates Black characters in the American literary canon and the way they shaped the nation’s collective unconscious. In a dazzling series of lectures from her tenure as a professor at Princeton University, Toni...

Bloomsbury presents The Language Lover's Lexipedia written and read by Joshua Blackburn FROM THE INVENTOR OF THE LEAGUE OF THE LEXICON BOARDGAME – THE PERFECT GIFT FOR ALL WHO LOVE WORDS AND LANGUAGE. 'A word-lover's dream' Stephen Fry Want to uncover the secret of Ikea product names? Learn...