Idiosyncrasies of the English Language

Paper Summary:

This paper explains the developmental history of our ever-changing English language. It includes French, British, Spanish and Italian influences on English. The paper discusses differences between written and spoken language and how slang, jargon, euphemisms, cliches and idioms can make English a difficult language to learn. The paper cites several examples of well-known cliches and jargon and explains their origins.

From the Paper:

"In most languages there is a distinction between that which is written and that which is spoken, a difference between literature and colloquial speech. In written literature we can see the broad outlines of history, but the language of literature has historically been that of the ruling class. The spoken language, the common everyday speech, reveals the intimate, familiar lives of the people, even when reading and writing were limited to the upper classes. In his 1888 book, The Queen's English: A Manual of Idiom and Usage, Dean Henry Alford described the difference between written and spoken English at that time:
We must distinguish between the English which we speak, and that which we write. Many expressions are not only tolerated but required in conversation, which are not usually put on paper. Thus . . . everyone says 'can't', . . . 'won't' [and] 'isn't', . . . but we seldom see these contractions in books, except where a conversation is related. (Alford 57)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Alford, Henry. The Queen's English: A Manual of Idiom and Usage. London: George Bell and Sons, 1888.
• Axtell, Roger E., ed. Do's and Taboos Around the World. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990.
• Dillard, J.L. American Talk: Where Our Words Came From. New York: Random House, 1976.
• English As She is Wrote. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1889.
• Flexner, Stuart Berg. I Hear America Talking. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1976.

More papers on Idiosyncrasies of the English Language:

• Book Review # 75605 : "A Dictionary of the English Language" "
• Essay # 29278 : "English as a Second Language"
• Analytical Essay # 8126 : "Culture Clash"

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