This book gives a general overview of the English language from its origins to the present day and, most importantly, discusses where the language is going. Its eleven chapters briefly explain concepts such as language, review the vocal sounds and the organs involved in the production of speech, trace the origins of the English language and its evolution including old, middle, early modern and late modern English, and discuss English as a world language, today and tomorrow.

The authors state that languages die or change because of competition or influence from another language or due to contact among speakers of different dialects. They provide examples of texts showing differences between twentieth-century English and Old English (OE), illustrating changes that this language has undergone in the last thousand years. They give a clear description of Indo-European and Germanic languages, showing how different languages are related and influence each other. At the same time, they demonstrate how English has been influenced not only by other Germanic languages, but also by Romance languages such as French and Latin., OE did not disappear immediately as a result of the Norman Conquest, since languages do not change overnight; however, in less than a century, OE gave way to Middle English (ME). New spelling conventions were introduced, and there were changes in pronunciation, such as vowel lengthening, and in morphology and syntax. ME evolved into Early Modern English when English was seen as an increasingly literary language thanks in part to the Renaissance, although Latin still had great prestige as the language of international learning. The authors present in detail changes in pronunciation and regional variations specially marked in the spoken language. They illustrate how Late Modern English differed only slightly from present-day English. The standard spelling system that was established by that time was already archaic, however, which explains many of the oddities of present-day English spelling.

First encouraged by deliberate government policy in schools where Gaelic and Irish were forbidden, English has become a world language because of its wide diffusion to all continents by trade, colonization, and conquest, and is now one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. English is today influencing other languages because of mass media. Additionally, different varieties of English are influencing each other as well. Vocabulary is rapidly expanding and many new words continue to be coined. Semantic change is also taking place and changes in pronunciation can also be seen as a continuation of the Great Vowel Shift. The changes that the language has undergone up to now suggest the likely shape of the language in the next decades. However, the history of the English language will depend on the history of the English-speaking community itself. Surely the change will continue.