Edition statement from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Tongue-English-How-That/dp/0380715430/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517848092&sr=8-1&keywords=9780380715435

The world's language -- The dawn of language -- Global language -- The first thousand years -- Where words come from -- Pronunciation -- Varieties of English -- Spelling -- Good English and bad -- Order out of chaos -- Old world, new world -- English as a world language -- Names -- Swearing -- Wordplay -- The future of English

Covers the history of language from its beginnings to the explosion of English as a global language in the twentieth century