ENTANGLED TONGUES:

A Short History of the English Language

or The Influence of French on English

The French point of view: “La langue anglaise n’existe pas. C’est du français mal prononcé.” (“The English language doesn’t exist. It is badly pronounced French.”) Georges Clemenceau, French Prime Minister, 1917-1920.

The English point of view: “So now they have made our English tongue… a hodgepodge of all other speeches.” Edmund Spenser, English poet, 1552-1599