In his newest book, Language myths and the history of English, Richard J. Watts examines faulty but persistent ideas about the development of English using an interdisciplinary approach. Through a thoughtful, multifaceted examination of the ideological creation of English as a “great” language, Watts reminds the reader that this artifice has been constructed over centuries, and English has no less value if there is no single variety held above others.

Watts uses the first chapter to describe the method he uses to define the myths of English. Combining George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's conceptual metaphors with Michel Foucault's ideas of discourse and archive, Watts takes metaphors like “a language is a human being” and transforms it into “a language has a blemish,” which develops into the myth “a language with a blemish is imperfect.” This fits into the overarching “pure language” myth (137), that English should be free of influence from other languages and have a unitary, standard form. This is the primary myth that Watts focuses on throughout his work.

The second chapter focuses on the “ancient language myth,” challenging the suggestion that Beowulf dates to the fifth century. Ch. 3 examines the “myth of the unbroken tradition,” disputing the idea that English has remained essentially the same, minimally changed, throughout its history. In Ch. 4 Watts examines an emerging myth, “the creolization of English,” and cites evidence that England did not provide the sociological environment for a creole language, using manuscripts to follow the development of English during this time. Ch. 5 reviews the “myth of homogeneity,” which is developed throughout the rest of the book, focusing on the idea that a language “should be a coherent, homogeneous system that all its speakers use” (300). Ch. 6 addresses the “myth of greatness,” focusing on the Great Vowel Shift and asking whether “great” is correctly applied to that phenomenon. Ch. 7 analyzes Jonathan Swift's A proposal for correcting, improving and ascertaining the English tongue (1712) within its historical context, showing that it was a satirical work mocking those who held these views rather than an exemplar of those beliefs. Ch. 8 remains in the eighteenth century, where the “polite language myth” began—polite language being defined as “equated with correct language, purified language, language in which no change is condoned” (186). Ch. 9 moves into the nineteenth century, where this myth developed into the “legitimate language myth.” Watts argues that language became politicized, as one variety was favored over another (211). Ch. 10 shows the idealized “legitimate language” myth progressing into the “educated language” myth, the idea that a language is best wielded by the educated. Ch. 11 views the emergence of English as a global language and the consequences thereof. Ch. 12 warns that myths can both enhance and harm our history, and the full story behind the myth must be known.