Review coverage from the First Edition

'...it gives... the whole history and grammar, all the theory and practice of English with precision, panache and wit.'
The Observer

'I have been unable to think of a question this book cannot answer ... I will risk predicting that Professor Crystal will not be superseded much before the message sent into space on Voyager I ... receives an answer.'
The Times Literary Supplement

'A treasure trove of information.'
Good Book Guide

'David Crystal's scholarship is seemingly boundless, and faultless in every respect. The result is an awesome scholarly creation, very well suited to the learning styles of our times, and an extraordinary reference and lending bargain at its price of £17.95.'
Reference Reviews

'... a superb work that manages to be both scholarly and vastly entertaining ... This is a deeply impressive book, for it packs between two covers virtually everything any normal person might care to know about English.'
The Washington Post Book World

'... offers a wealth of enlightening entertainment. You can't turn a page without learning some fascinating tidbit about our common tongue.'
Houston Chronicle

'You can open it to any page and be enthralled.'
Indianapolis News

'The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language (is) perhaps the most brilliant book of the past ten years...what makes it most impressive is that this stupendous work of scholarship, which combines physiology, philology and literary criticism, is, unbelievably, the work of one sole author.'
Globe and Mail (Canada)

'... without a doubt one of the most beautiful and enlightening volumes I have handled in some years.'
Western Australia Sunday Times

'... the most diverting, delightful, imaginative and altogether entertaining compilation ever assembled about spoken and written English.'
Parade Magazine

'... contains a monstrous amount of information on a fascinating topic arranged in a clear, concise, and, above all, entertaining manner – a dangerous combination indeed, and one that can only lead to uncontrolable reading binges lasting hours or perhaps days.'
Quill and Quire

'A delight and a treasure ... David Crystal does a brilliant job of satisfying our curiosity about our mother tongue while illuminating the deepest questions of who we are and where we come from. A magnificent achievement.'
Steven Pinker

'David Crystal is phenomenal ... (This) is a prodigious achievement ... The book combines breadth of range, imaginative insight, deep understanding and ... is pervasively readable and stimulating.'
Randolph Quirk (Professor the Lord Quirk, FBA)