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  The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English (Paperback) By (author) Henry Hitchings

  

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  Paperback $14.74

  Short Description for The Secret Life of WordsJourney into the history of English and discover how words have been absorbed into our language to make it what it is today
  Full description

  • Publisher: John Murray Publishers Ltd
  • Published: 02 April 2009
  • Format: Paperback 448 pages
  • See: Full bibliographic data
  • Categories: Language: Reference & General | Language: History & General Works
  • ISBN 13: 9780719564550 ISBN 10: 0719564557
  • Sales rank: 53,341

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Full description for The Secret Life of Words

• Communication is essential to our lives, but how often do we stop to think about where the words we use have come from? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, French or Dutch? Try admiral, landscape and marmalade just for starters. The Secret Life of Words is a wide-ranging account not only of the history of English, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change and remind us of our turbulent past. Henry Hitchings delves into our promiscuous language and reveals how and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. From the Norman Conquest to the present day, Hitchings narrates the story of English as an archive of our human experience and uncovers the secrets behind everyday words. This is a celebration of our language; after reading it, you will never again take the words we use for granted.