The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal Essays

The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal Essays The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal Essay The Story of English in 100 Words by David Crystal Essay David Crystal in his work, The Story of English in 100 Words, describes the development of the English language throughout history. Vocabulary is the building block of languages. Without creativity in the words we created, we would live be living in black and white. Thanks to groups such as the Anglo-Saxons, English has transformed into an exciting colorful language known across the world. Crystal presents points and history that reinforces his main theme of how the English language became to be what it is today. Crystal claims that vocabulary is the primary part of a language. It is important to know as many words as possible in order to articulate the language better. I agree with Crystal’s claim that studying vocabulary is extremely important when learning a language. Many claim that there is no point in learning a word if you do not how to correctly use it in a sentence. Although grammar is an important aspect to languages, it isn’t the most important and should definitely not be the only thing taught. Grammar is no use to you if you don’t know the word to add the grammar to. One may know how to conjugate the phrase â€Å"I need some water.† However, if they don’t know the word â€Å"water† in a certain language, then they will not be able to articulate it. Grammar is the tip of the iceberg in languages and it does not play a vital role when trying to speak a language. But wait a second, what if the word â€Å"water† doesn’t exist i n a language? This is the reason many languages began using colloquial words in their language. The earliest records or English were very formal and serious and represented a high level of class among certain domains (17). With the introduction of rhythm and words from ordinary conversation by the Anglo-Saxons, English was forever changed and their tradition is still carried today. It wasn’t long before Shakespeare began using these words and adding their own colloquial words from their time.