Download or read book Outlines of the History of the English Language (Classic Reprint) written by E. Classen and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2018-03-09 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Outlines of the History of the English Language If the sole function of language is the communication of thought it follows that every development of thought will produce also a development of language. What we require of language is, therefore, no small thing. We require of it that it shall give expression to every human activity, high and low, good and bad; that it shall render all human knowledge, human emotion, human faith and human ambitions; for the creative impulse in man will never rest until it has found its appropriate expression in words or deeds. We expect of language, therefore, that it shall give expression to every possible development of human thought, and the history of the literature in any particular language is the most convincing proof possible that language rises to the occasion and satisfies those demands. It is. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.