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Anna Williamson
Professor Morton
UWRT 1103 066
4 April 2016
Annotated Bibliography: The Evolution of the English Language
Bragg, Melvyn. The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language. New York: Arcade
Pub, 2004. Print.
In The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg I must say that I
found it interesting the depth this book went into about the history of English. Bragg explained
well discussing how our language has acquired other words from every language it has
encountered. This source seems to tie in well with Albert Marckwardts American English which
also speaks on the influences of others and words that we have incorporated into our own
language. This work covers the history of the English language its contact with the Celtic
language, the Scandinavian language, and the French. English absorbed parts of every language
that it came in contact with, and then traveled across the seas of the British empire, where other
lands became very influential. This book basically states that English is very expressive because
of the number of synonyms that it contains. I found this source to be clear and concise, and to be
credible, unbiased, and accurate. It ties in well with my other sources and project because of the
history of the English language.
Bryson, Bill. The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way. New York: Avon Books,
1991. Print.

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Bryson begins his book by pointing out the complexities of the English language. He
mentions the similarities of certain words and how they can bring about miscommunication. He
points out humorously, Any language where the unassuming word fly signifies an annoying
insect, a means of travel, and a critical part of a gentlemans apparel is clearly asking to be
mangled (Bryson 11). An interesting point he makes is about how the American English and
English English language is beginning to diverge to such an extent that in the future the
languages may be not understandable to each other. Brysons work seems to be credible and
unbiased as he cites sources to his information and resources throughout his work. As I was
reading through the book, I noticed an interesting in text citation he had included on page 109. It
happened to be Our Marvelous Native Tongue by Robert Claiborne, which I had selected as one
of my sources before I was aware he had referenced his work. I feel as though that is a good sign.
My sources referencing one another is one of the ways that my sources tie together. This source
ties into my inquiry topic because it speaks of the changes the English language is going through
and how far it has come from its original form from the English. Bryson points out that while
English English hasnt changed much over the years, American English has changed
drastically and will continue to do so. I found this book informative at points and mildly
amusing. One thing that I did notice that was a bit off-putting was that in the beginning that
Bryson identified himself with Britain and then later in the book identifies with America. Bryson
points out the contribution of Shakespeare, where he added at a minimum 1700 new words
which include frugal, dwindle, and summit. This ties into my second inquiry question that came
about.
Claiborne, Robert. Our Marvelous Native Tongue: The Life and Times of the English Language.
New York: Times Books, 1983. Print.

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Claiborne digs deeper into the influence on the English language by bringing up the Anglo
Saxons migrating into Britain in 430 A.D. In an effort to bring out the truth from the past he
speculates that these humans who lived in Britain at the time had only a few hundred words or a
few dozen words. He then mentions that someone should create a time machine so that we can
know for sure. On the topic of time machines and speculation, it seems that Claiborne is slightly
on the side of not being credible in certain instances. An interesting number that is pointed out is
when Claiborne writes, The total number of English words lies somewhere between 400,000
the number of current entries in the largest English dictionaries and 600,000 the largest figure
that any expert is willing to be quoted on. By comparison, the biggest French dictionaries only
have about 150,000 entries, the biggest Russian ones a mere 130,000 (5). Besides a few
speculations and ideas about the past of the language, Claiborne seems to have his information
presented in an unbiased manner. He seems to be credible and accurate throughout his writing as
well. This source ties in to my inquiry topic by going even deeper into the English languages
roots.

Marckwardt, Albert H. American English. New York: Oxford University Press, 1958. Print.
This book starts off with idea about the number of English speakers in the word. It puts
the number somewhere between 300,000 million and 325,000 million people and points out that
it is about one-seventh of the worlds population. This source points out the influence from
Indians who lived in America before us, the French who we had run ins with because of the
westward expansion of the continent, and the Spanish who the settlers encountered as they
moved Southward towards the Gulf of Mexico. We borrowed many words from these different
people throughout the years. This source seems to be quite reliable and accurate because of the

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references to other resources that validate the information such as being published by the Oxford
University Press which is renowned for their ties with the Oxford English dictionary. This source
is in connection to the other resources in my bibliography because it touches on the population of
people in the world that speak the English language. Another key element that Marckwardt
brings up is the influences that have impacted the English language and the different words that
they have made a part of the language.

McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. New York: Viking,
1986. Print.
The Story of English is written by Robert McCrum, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil and
begins by explaining a space mission by the spacecraft Voyager 1 which blasted off carrying a
greeting in fifty-five different languages but then is preceded by a message from the Secretary
General of the United Nations, an Australian Kurt Waldheim speaking on behalf of 147 member
states - in English. This book contained an informative and interesting view on how the English
language has developed. It seems to be relevant to todays time. It explains why we use silent
letters in words such as gh as in laugh and taught. This book takes a great look into word
origins and spellings throughout time. It also goes touches on the thousands of words that have
been invented by authors over the past 500 years. One point that I found particularly interesting
was that the U.S. southern accent was picked up from Africa. It goes on to say that the people in
the South who had slaves picked up their accent from Africans which became our Southern
accent. Ive learned a lot from this book and I find it to be credible, unbiased, and accurate
because it it full of history and specific examples. I found this source to be clear and intriguing.
The history that shaped the language is clearly described. This book goes well with my other

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books and ties into my inquiry question because it discusses how the English language has
evolved over time and makes fascinating points about the evolution.

McWhorter, John H. Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why
We Should, Like, Care. New York: Gotham Books, 2003. Print.
In the book, Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We
Should, Like, Care by John McWhorter argues that language change is inevitable and happens in
all languages, while some more than others. McWhorter claims that there is a real problem with
the English that we are around today in the media, from our politics, and what we read in pop
culture. It directly takes a negative stance to this change and points out how it degrades
throughout time. I feel as though the central idea doesnt hold together well, and that some of the
supporting evidence is rather unconvincing. There isnt much sorting out of evidence, and it
seems as though McWhorter didnt consider a counterargument. The source feels biased and
repetitive. I dont have much else to say about this source because I dont feel that it will be a
beneficial one to continue with.