One of the best things about the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the word origins. As an elementary student, I learnt that the best way to become a good speller was through etymologies. I remember my homework that day -- look up the root word for "satisfy".
"Origin: late Middle English: from Old French satisfier, formed irregularly from Latin satisfacere 'to content', from satis 'enough' + facere 'make' " (Oxford Dictionaries)From then on, I was hooked. I love words, their history and just about everything about them.
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I thoroughly enjoyed Henry Hitching's Defining the World, so when I came across The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English, I grabbed it and began reading immediately. Organized in the same one-word-per-paragraph style as his earlier tome, Hitchings tackles etymology this time. Influenza is one word story that's stayed with me. Caused by bad influences? I'll buy that. Keep your distance, sickos!
"[A book] about people and ideas on the move, about invasion, refugees, immigrants, traders, colonists and explorers. ... The author’s zest and grasp are wonderful. [Hitchings] makes you want to check out everything ... Whatever is hybrid, fluid and unpoliced about English delights him." (The Economist)
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If you buy into the reasoning that the modern Romance languages1 are the modern equivalent of localized Latin, you should enjoy Nicholas Ostler's Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin. My copy was on display at the British Museum. I've yet to go wrong yet in choosing tomes this way. A wonderfully edifying read.
"Erudite, informative and enjoyable, this is a lesson in how closely language and power are linked." Brandon Robshaw (Independent)
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Perhaps the best of my bookshelf's word hoard is Ostler's Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. I chose it as a follow up to Ad Infinitum. An investigation into what makes languages popular and long-lasting, from those of conquerors (not always successful) to linguae francae, it's a small brick that will set you pondering. A must for angryphones.
"This book [recounts the history of the world] through the rise and decline of languages. It is a compelling read, one of the most interesting books I have read in a long while." Martin Jacques (Guardian)
The history of the world is the history of the word. Let self-proclaimed language arbiters and government bureaucrats do what they may, ultimately, it's the people -- the speakers -- who have the final say.
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♥ ♥ ♥ The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English. Ever wonder were certain words originated? Or why their apparent meaning has nothing to do with what we wish to communicate (eg, influenza)? Hitchings recounts several of the most interesting's histories.
♥ ♥ ♥ Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin. Forget everything you've been told about Latin being a dead language. We may not even be certain how classical Latin was pronounced (eg, try comparing the English and French versions), but we still have the Romance languages. These being the various provincial Latins spread by Rome's soldiers. Hence the modern French tête, descendant of testa, soldier slang for "head". Great stuff.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. Wonder why English, a Germanic language, looks and sounds so little like German? What about the popularity of Arabic and Chinese? And what does it take to become a lingua franca, positions previously held by Greek and Latin? Conquest and disease play important roles, but not necessarily as expected. Fascinating.
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Notes1 Nothing to do with romance, it simply refers to the Latin of the Roman provinces.
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