Language Wars - by Henry Hitchings (Paperback)

About the Book

The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been bitter, and have always really been about contesting values--morality, politics, and class. "The Language Wars" examines the present state of the conflict, its history, and its future. Above all, it uses the past as a way of illuminating the present.

Book Synopsis

"Exemplary...Hitchings has created a fascinating, wholly readable, and gratifyingly informative book."---Financial Times (London)
The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been bitter; often they've had more to do with morality, politics, and the values of the age than with language itself. Peopled with intriguing characters such as Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, and Lenny Bruce, The Language Wars is essential reading for anyone interested in the contemporary state of the English language, its contested history, and its future.

Review Quotes

"Hitchings has prepared a turducken of language-history entrées. Consuming one layer, we discover another, and another. And we feast." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer

"Thoroughly charming...A rich history of English and the shifting rule books for its correctness...Hitchings cautions readers to take care, not in the way of the 'grumblers, fault-finders, quibblers and mud-slingers, ' but following the example of Orwell, in using language to be clear, to be honest, to connect with each other." --The Boston Globe

"Hitchings has earned a place at the head table of contemporary linguists." --The Denver Post

"Mr. Hitchings's trenchant prose is irresistible." --The Baltimore Sun

"Extraordinary...Chock-full of historical and literary references, The Language Wars is a fascinating, eye-opening look at the evolution of the English language." --The Huffington Post

"Crisply written, amusing, informative, and thought-provoking. Anyone interested in the English language and its history should read it." --The Sunday Telegraph (London)

About the Author

Henry Hitchings was born in 1974. He is the author of The Secret Life of Words, Who's Afraid of Jane Austen?, and Defining the World. He has contributed to many newspapers and magazines and is the theater critic for the London Evening Standard.