The English vocabulary is spoken by greater than a billion people across the world. But where did English come from? And how offers it evolved into the language utilized today?

In this Extremely Short Introduction Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today, and celebrates just how new speakers and new uses imply that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary worries about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements, or evidence of slipping standards. What’s the future for the British language? Will Standard English continue to keep sway, or are we witnessing its substitute by newly emerging Englishes?