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A Common Language
Review of 'The Adventure of English', Melvyn Bragg, Hodder & Stoughton
For a good, highly readable overview of how English developed and where it may be going, Melvyn Bragg's book, based on the TV series of the same name, does the job. Bragg traces the roots of English back to the Frisian and other Germanic languages of those who invaded Britain from the 5th century onwards - the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes. He follows the growth of what have become the varied forms of modern English, not only through the familiar paths of the Norman invasion, Chaucer, Shakespeare and so on, but also through looking at other influences on English - the words of the Wild West in America, the Creole languages of the Caribbean, or the vocabulary the British brought from India. Indeed, the lists of words can become overwhelming at times.
His view of English is in some ways very democratic: the role of the ordinary people and particularly the oppressed is stressed, whether through the survival and transformation into Middle English of Anglo-Saxon under Norman French rule or the advance of Australian English. His account of Wycliffe...
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Learning English with Fun by Playing Scrabble
One most important rule of mastering something quickly is to have a genuine pleasure in it. This same rule is equally valid for English. There is no difference whether to master mathematics or a language.
Learning must be fun! But how to have fun in learning English? Is it possible? Don't worry, you don't have to put on a long face when learning English. Just relax.
You can enrich your vocabulary quickly by playing word games such as scrabble. This is a get-clever-quick method.
As you know, scrabble is a word game in wich the player has to think from time to time of the next word that he can construct by using the letters he has on hand.
By playing this game frequently more and more new words will be stored in your mind and can be recalled whenever you need them.
It is true that you can't understand the English grammar merely by playing scrabble. But, if you have a sufficient store of English words in your memory, learning grammar will be a lot easier.
Yes, scrabble can't help you gain knowledge of English grammar. But it is of great help to you in keeping familiar with the proper form of verb tenses, adjective...
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