A revelatory examination of William Tyndale’s monumental influence on the English language.
“Dearly beloved,” “say the word,” “the powers that be,” “for ever and ever.” Such familiar phrases and many more were set down in print for the first time by William Tyndale. For his groundbreaking English translation of the Bible, he deliberately chose to write in a way that could be understood by the widest possible audience.
In the first half of this pioneering exploration of the extraordinary impact Tyndale’s writing had on the development of the English language, David Crystal provides an analysis of his prose style, demonstrating its character as a novel genre of “written speech,” and bringing to light the remarkable number of cases where Tyndale is the first recorded user of a word or phrase in English. He also draws attention to the hitherto unrecognized role of Tyndale as an early lexicographer. The second half of the book is a linguistic detective story, devising an innovative lexical and grammatical metric to investigate the often-stated claim that eighty per cent of later biblical translations display Tyndale’s influence. The result is a fascinating exploration of the work of the Father of the English Bible.
Arvustused
...beautifully clear and succinct exploration of Tyndale's language. -- Christopher Howse if you are interested in the history of the English language, there is a great deal here to delight in. -- Mathew Lyons * Books to look out for in March * This isnt the first time that the great David Crystal has written about Tyndale... But this is the first time he has dedicated a whole book to Tyndale and his immense contribution to our language...I should say right here that this is in no way, shape or form a biography. But what it does offer is fascinating and sometimes thrilling piece...of linguistic detective work. -- Mathew Lyons * Books to look out for in March * This book is a pioneering exploration of Tyndale's enormous impact on the development of the English language...a fascinating exploration of the work of the father of the English Bible. -- Richard Lofthouse * Off The Shelf * [ This] new book by the esteemed linguist David Crystal homes in on Tyndales lexical legacy, taking stock of the great author and translators methods, borrowings, and coinages, as well as quantifying the impact his Bible had on the King James and later translations. Here is a brick-by-brick examination of a towering edifice. -- by the Editors * The Critics Notebook *
DAVID CRYSTAL is a writer, editor, lecturer and broadcaster on language, and honorary professor of linguistics at Bangor University. His many books include The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (CUP 3rd edn, 2019), A Date with Language (Bodleian Library Publishing, 2023) and Bookish Words (Bodleian Library Publishing, 2025). He lives online at www.davidcrystal.com.
