The Secret Life of Words
by Henry Hitchings
The author of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary returns with a magisterial and entertaining study of how English became English, and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages, many originating from the most unlikely places.
From the Norman Conquest to the present day, Hitchings narrates the story of English as an archive of our human experience, peppering his text with hundreds of examples.
Publisher: John Murray
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Henry Hitchings
Henry Hitchings was born in 1974. Educated at the universities of Oxford and London, he is the author of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary and has contributed to many newspapers and magazines.
