The English Are Coming!

This book describes the etymology of thirty English words as a way to show how it became the world’s most universal language. In between these explanations we get historical lessons on English’s development from its Proto-Indo-European language roots. This is all done with the intention to explain why English came to dominate the world.

Today’s modern languages are the result of natural selection from languages that are now dead. Languages go through evolution just like animals do, where the ones that survive are most useful for socializing and commerce. The most useful language that fulfills human needs is English. I consider myself a language enthusiast and picked up this book to satisfy my curiosity about the supremacy of English, but only a couple pages contained sound analysis. The book was mostly a list of facts that read like trivia.

It was easy to tell that the author did a lot of her research on the internet. She connected very few dots of her own, simply parroting information she gleaned online. It seemed like at some point in her life she had decided to write a book—any book—and then did the research to construct one consisting of facts that you will forget in a matter of minutes. I got through half of the book and couldn’t bear to read anymore. The premise was great, but the execution a total failure. Not recommended.

Read More: “The English Is Coming” on Amazon