Description
Description
An exploration of the evolution of a nation and a language: English was grafted onto a Gaelic stem and was the language of wealth in Ireland for centuries.
English is now the most widely spoken language on the planet. Although it has been spoken in Ireland for eight centuries and used creatively in literature for over six centuries, Irish speakers did not simply adopt English. They grafted it onto a Gaelic stem, making it capable of expressing an Irish culture and world view.
This book explores the origins and development of English in Ireland; how emigrants, missionaries and writers have influenced English worldwide; how the loss of a mother tongue can affect a nation’s psyche; it also asks if the loss has been accompanied by abundant recompense.
Updated to include a dictionary of commonly-used words with Irish origins.
About the Author
Loreto Todd is Professor of English at the University of Ulster, Coleraine. Born in Northern Ireland, she attended Queen’s University, Belfast where her classmates included poet Seamus Heaney and writer Seamus Deane. She worked in England for many years, and was director of the programme of World English Research at the University of Leeds, England.
She has travelled extensively and lectured in Africa, America (North and South), Asia (India and Singapore), Australia (Brisbane and Sydney), the Caribbean and the Pacific (Hawaii, Solomans, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea). She has written 30 books, over 80 articles and chapters in books; over 100 reviews, short papers and has edited several journals.
During her travels, she has amassed a collection of texts, as well as audio and audio-visual recordings, from around the world. These total in excess of 12 million words and include: Conversations; Descriptions of language choice and use; Oral and written literature. She is currently working on this archive material and translating the Pidgin and Creole texts.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.