Globish: How English Became the World's Language

Globish: How English Became the World’s Language presents a captivating account of how English grew from a local dialect into the global language of commerce, culture, and communication. Robert McCrum traces the evolution of English across centuries of migration, empire, and innovation, showing how it adapted to every new context it encountered.

The book reveals how English survived conquest, colonization, and revolution to emerge as a flexible, democratic medium spoken by more than two billion people. McCrum introduces the idea of “Globish,” a streamlined and accessible form of English that enables people from different nations to understand one another without sharing a common culture.

Blending history, linguistics, and storytelling, this work explores how English became both a legacy of empire and a tool of globalization. It shows how words carried not just power and commerce, but also ideas of identity, freedom, and belonging across continents and generations.

McCrum’s narrative highlights key moments and figures—from Shakespeare to Churchill, from the Industrial Revolution to Silicon Valley—that shaped English into the most influential language in human history. The result is a sweeping and insightful portrait of the language that continues to define global communication.

Globish: How English Became the World’s Language invites readers to see English not as a single entity but as a living, evolving phenomenon—a shared resource that connects humanity while reflecting its diversity.