The Origins and Development of the English Language (4th edition)

John Algeo is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Georgia. He is past president of the American Dialect Society, the Dictionary Society of North America, and the American Name Society. He was an associate editor of the Oxford Companion to the English Language and editor of volume 6 of the Cambridge History of the English Language on English in North America. He was a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and a Guggenheim Fellow at University College London.

"The book presents difficult material clearly and logically. The narrative sections are clear, and when needed, they are followed by good examples... It's an excellent book, and I'm completely satisfied with its pedagogy."

"I have been using Pyles and Algeo for the last several years primarily because of its coverage of sound in Chapter 2, its coverage of semantics in Chapter 10, and its coverage of derivation in Chapter 11. I like that the book covers some of the basics of linguistics in addition to all the usual historical material."