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The 'correct' use of English has been the subject of vigorous debate in recent years. But what defines 'correctness' in our use of language? And how has this altered over time? In this authoritative survey of the history of the English language, the author examines how linguistic traditions have changed and developed over the centuries to produce the language that we are familiar with today.

Taking present-day usage as its starting point, the book uses a topic-based approach to explore the historical development of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, sounds and spellings, thus providing both a firm sense of the structure of the language and an outline of its history.

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CHOICE Review

Not really a history of the English language and not really a usage book, this is a difficult volume to categorize. Hussey (Lancaster Univ.) uses present-day English as a starting point to explore three principal questions: How do we choose words? How do we put them together? and, To what extent are our choices and methods conditioned by what happened to English in earlier periods? Thus, he brings a historical perspective to usage questions as he goes back in time to show how a controversy developed. Hussey divides the book into six chapters: an introduction that presents the genetics of English and the principle distinguishing characteristics of Germanic languages; "Choosing Words: The Vocabulary of English," which details the expansion of Old English vocabulary and the process of borrowing words from other languages; "Arranging Words," which describes the development of English syntax; "How Words Mean," a presentation of the semantics and pragmatics of English; "Receiving Words," which demonstrates how words are transmitted by sounds and spellings and how standards arose; and "Correct Words," which discusses the growth of standard dialects. The book is well bound and written in a readable style for both the professional and the educated layman, with notes and exercises at the end of each chapter. The index is more than adequate, but the selected bibliography is sparse. Highly recommended for general and undergraduate libraries; moderately recommended for graduate libraries. M. D. Linn; University of Minnesota-Duluth