Introducing Dilip Mukerjea's new book, ENGLISH ANGLES: Awaken to the Joys of English, A book for all ages to savour the elements of what is Delicious Englishious!

WHY THE TITLE "ENGLISH ANGLES"? 

The Angles were the dominant tribe in what eventually became known as England; during the reign of King Egbert in the ninth century, the land became known as Englaland (“the land of the Angles”) and the language Englisc—from which the words England and English are derived. Ergo, the play on words between the tribe of Angles and the degrees created by angles (and 'perspectives'), gives us ENGLISH ANGLES! 

WHY DO WE NEED TO LEARN GOOD ENGLISH? 

The most powerful, most staggeringly complex organism ever created lies in your head. It expresses itself uniquely via its ability to think, learn, create, communicate, and bond...especially via language.

English is the language of the Third Millennium. How you think determines how you speak, and vice versa. To stay competitively future-ready, your language skills must be paramount. And because English is the global language that connects East and West, across cultures, it is vital that we acquire a measure of expertise in the various aspects of this tongue...to succeed in life! 

Language is inextricable from thought and experience. Thought is structured neural activity. Human language and thought are crucially shaped by the properties of our bodies and the structure of our physical and social environments. 

To enable language to flow, we must connect to communicate, and communicate to connect. 

The youth of today are developing a wide attention range and a short attention span. These kids are accustomed to a multimedia, multichannel, learning style, with frequent interruptions...exhibiting what is known as 'constant partial attention'. 

Whilst this transformation has engendered much creativity, it has taken its toll on the quality of spoken and written English, especially as compared to the language skills of the pre-digital era. 

This book is dedicated to making children, teachers, parents, and executives aware of the gems of genius within the treasure-trove of English; it has information, tools, and techniques, to help you leap into transcendence. 

The time to move ahead is BEFORE you think it is time to move ahead. Leadership develops daily, not in a day. Your great inner power is an instant confidence that wells and swells inside you and manifests itself as your force for success. 

Start now, where you are, with what you have! THIS BOOK!

The Emergence of English as The World’s Premier Language

T he history of the English language commenced with the arrival of three Germanic tribes: the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes, into Britannia. They crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark, and northern Germany, around A.D. 449.

At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. The invaders spoke a Low Germanic tongue that, in its new setting, became Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, the ancestor of the English we use today. It wasn’t long before these Teutonic plunderers pushed the Celtic speakers west and north into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

The Angles were the dominant tribe; during the reign of King Egbert in the ninth century, the land became known as Englaland (“the land of the Angles”) and the language Englisc—from which the words England and English are derived.

A major influence on the English language took place with the next conquest of England, two centuries after the rule of Egbert, by the Norman French, who came from Normandy. These people had been Vikings and freebooters from the Scandinavian countries. They spoke French and had taken to French customs.

The invasion took place in 1066, under William, Duke of Normandy. In a bloody battle at Hastings, the Normans defeated the Saxons and Danes, and killed Saxon King Harold. They forced the surviving nobles to accept Duke William as King of England.

Now, one may wonder why French did not become the language of England. Victory by the French-speaking Normans resulted in them far outnumbering their captives. This meant that, in order to communicate with them, they needed to learn English. 

In time, they lost their ties to France, and took to English as easily as their Norman forbears had dropped their Norse speech for French. Old English morphed into Middle English because many French words entered the vocabulary. 

Meanwhile, with the Roman conquest of England in the first century B.C. by Julius Caesar, many Latin words had crept into and stayed within the English language. 

This was further bolstered with the influence of the Roman church and missionaries a few centuries later. Thus, by the time the Normans were well settled in England, the influence of Latin, either directly or indirectly, was permanent.