Excerpt from Essentials of English Speech and Literature: An Outline of the Origin and Growth of the Language, With Chapters on the Influence of the Bible, the Value of the Dictionary, and the Use of the Grammar in the Study of the English Tongue To acquire a knowledge of the essentials of English speech and literature is an accomplishment which should commend itself to all who speak the English tongue. From the point of View Of this book, these essentials are indicated by the following questions: 1) How did the language come into being? (2) Who was responsible for its origin? (3) What changes have taken place in its orthographical develop ment? (4) To Whom is this development due? (5) Through what media has it been attained? (6) What were the refining influences that have brought it through its crude original forms to the plastic medium for expressing thought which we have to-day? 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.