The Language Wars: A History of Proper English - Hardcover

Praise for THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS

'Hitching s excavations are a treat. . . almost every spadeful yields an etymological nugget . . . elegantly and entertainingly written' (Financial Times)

[It] disentangles an intriguing narrative from a mass of information. . . bearing witness to an increasing global language, always morphing into something new (Guardian)

'A fascinating exploration of the rich borrowings, exchanges and couplings of the language' (Ben Macintyre, The Times)

'It is a book that brings etymology fizzingly alive ... it teems with vivid, quirky evidence of the way the English vocabulary bears continuing witness to our cultural history (Sunday Times)

'This is a wonderfully well-organised and entertaining book' (Daily Mail)

'Quite how Hitchings has managed to wrestle this dizzying mountain of dense information into such an elegant narrative . . . is a feat almost as admirable as that of the great lexicographer. His book is painstakingly detailed, closely argued and suffused with a contagious enthusiasm for the secrets woven into the fabric of our words (Daily Telegraph) --.

What really is correctness? Why do people care so much about it? What is at stake in the quarrel about good and bad usage?