@article{433763,
      author = {McWhorter, John H.},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/433763},
      title = {Our magnificent bastard tongue : the untold history of  English /},
      publisher = {Gotham Books,},
      abstract = {Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read  a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak  a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these  provocative topics and more, author McWhorter distills  hundreds of years of lore into one lively history. Covering  the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English,  the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and  the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth  century AD, and drawing on genetic and linguistic research  as well as a cache of trivia about the origins of English  words and syntax patterns, McWhorter ultimately  demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of  English--and its ironic simplicity, due to its role as a  streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of  Britain. This is the book that language aficionados have  been waiting for.--From publisher description.},
      recid = {433763},
      pages = {xxiii, 230 p. ;},
      address = {New York :},
      year = {2008},
}