Conventional wisdom suggests English is going to the dogs, that bad grammar, slang, and illogical constructions signal a decline in standards of usage - to say nothing of the corruption wrought by email and text messages. But English is a complicated, marvelous language. Far from being a language in decline, English is the product of surprisingly varied linguistic forces, some of which have only recently come to light. And these forces continue

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"Explores how English authors altered and transformed the English language and forms of writing. Describes prominent authors' works and how those works were influenced by, and in turn influenced, historical contexts and literary contexts"--