King Alfred’s English

Engage Your Student with Paradigm-Shifting,

Faith-Building Facts!

King Alfred’s English: A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do

Do you remember the first time you looked under the hood of a car or popped off the back of an electric toy to see the inner workings? Well, most of us go through our entire life speaking a highly complex and organized set of sounds we call language without ever getting a glimpse under its hood. So come have a look at some of the hidden springs and gears that have steered and energized English over the centuries. King Alfred’s English provides a guided tour of forces and events, conquerors and writers that have shaped, simplified, matured and expanded English into what it is today—the first truly global language in history.

170 pages, softcover
$16.95 retail but available at lower prices (see below)

Available on Kindle for $5.95

The capstone of the book is the story of how we got the Bible in English and it’s influence upon our language.

What were the driving ideas behind the Reformation?
Are the New Testament documents really reliable and how do they compare to other ancient manuscripts?
Why was translating the Bible into English punishable by death?
…and what does all THAT have to do with the history of English?

Read Comments from The Old Schoolhouse Crew to see what other homeschooling moms have said about King Alfred’s English.

Read a sample chapter

–This chapter is on William Shakespeare and it will give you a taste of what the book is like.

Chosen as a special highlight in the Nov. 2012 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine–read what they have to say.

King Alfred’s English comes with free supplemental material for students and teachers:

Chapter-by-chapter worksheets and unit tests
Chapter by chapter links to online images, articles, and videos
Literature excerpts which relate to specific chapters

This book is the only book that covers the history of our language for students below the college level. Here’s how I first got hooked on this material and why these younger students would benefit from getting it now.

Did you know?

The English were NOT the British. In fact, they fought each other…a lot. And still today, if you call an English person British, he might very well correct you even though he knows you probably won’t understand.
You probably don’t pronounce the word “when” like your parents. When you say “when” and “win,” do these words sound the same? If you’re under 50, they probably do. If you’re older, you may still pronounce the sound of the “h” and the words sound slightly different. I still pronounce the “h,” do you?
The Brothers Grimm compiled German fairy tales, but they were also famous philologists (and what IS a philologist?)
There’s a law for the way languages change that backs up Intelligent Design.
For over 300 years the official language of the English court was…French! Seriously. But the English were always fighting the French. That’s true. Find out why.
There’s a reason we write “knight” but say “nite,” and you won’t believe how they used to pronounce it.
It was once punishable by death to translate even portions of the Bible into English! Yikes!
Recent scholarship has shown that at least 80% of the King James Bible is the translation work of just one man. Who was he?

View the Table of Contents for King Alfred’s English

Read a high school student’s review here

Read Reviews or Purchase at these links:

Grace and Truth Books (lowest price is here–$14.50)
RAINBOW RESOURCE
CBD
Amazon.com [search inside the book and read an excerpt]

More Reviews
Dana Wilson, author of Epi Kardia Homeschool Curriculum
Raising Real Men: a review from authors Hal and Melanie Young
Review by homeschooling mom and blogger Lea Ann Garfias
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
More Readers’ Comments

The Shorter Word