How has the English language evolved into the version we know today? How will it develop in future? Is it changing for the better or the worse? Simon Horobin's entertaining Very Short Introduction engages with these often heated debates, giving the historical and linguistic framework which will enable well informed discussion. Horobin clearly loves the English language, but unlike many self-proclaimed language experts, he is not fearful of what the future of English may hold ... How English Became English reminds me what it was that I found so fascinating about the English language.