The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way

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HarperCollins, Jun 2, 2015 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 320 pages
88 Reviews

“Vastly informative and vastly entertaining…A scholarly and fascinating book.” —Los Angeles Times

With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. 

From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can’t), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world’s largest growth industries.

 

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - LynnB - LibraryThing

I'm glad I read this book...even though it's dated. I enjoyed the chapter on word play, I learned some new words (which I'll soon forget) and had a few chuckles. However, I wouldn't recommend this ... Read full review

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - Lukerik - LibraryThing

Crytoscopophilia. The urge to look through people’s windows as you pass. I first read this about twenty years ago and was amazed to find there was a word for people like me. Then I forgot the word and ... Read full review

All 12 reviews »

Contents

The Worlds Language
11
The Dawn of Language
21
Global Language
35
The First Thousand Years
46
Where Words Come From
67
Pronunciation
84
Varieties of English
99
Spelling
117
Old World New World
161
English as a World Language
179
Names
196
Swearing
214
Wordplay
225
The Future of English
239
Select Bibliocraphy
247
Index
257

Good English and Bad
134
Order out of Chaos
147
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Mother Tongue
Bill Bryson
Limited preview - 1991
The Mother Tongue
Bill Bryson
Snippet view - 1990
The Mother Tongue
Bill Bryson
No preview available - 1991

Common terms and phrases

According adopted American appeared authorities became become began Britain British called century certainly Chinese cited clearly comes common consider contained course describe dialects Dictionary distinction Dutch England English Language Europe evidence example exist expressions fact foreign four French German give given half hundred instance island Italian Italy Japanese kind known largely later Latin least less letter linguistic living London look matter means million move names native never Norman North noted once originally percent perhaps period person possible probably problem pronounced pronunciation reason remarkable Roman seems sense sentence Shakespeare short simply sometimes sound Spanish speak speakers speech spelling spoken suggest taken tell things thought tongue translate turn University verb vocabulary words writing York

About the author (2015)

Bill Bryson's bestselling books include One Summer, A Short History of Nearly Everything, At Home, A Walk in the Woods, Neither Here nor There, Made in America, and The Mother Tongue. He lives in England with his wife.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Mother Tongue
TitleThe Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way
AuthorBill Bryson
Editionreprint
PublisherHarperCollins, 2015
ISBN0062417444, 9780062417442
Length320 pages
Subjects ›  › 

History / Social History
Humor / Form / Essays
Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative
  
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