The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
Written by David Crane
Narrated by Stephen McLaughlin
4.5/5
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About this audiobook
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson—the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent—brilliantly 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.
David Crane
David Crane's first book, ‘Lord Byron’s Jackal’ was published to great acclaim in 1998, and his second, ‘The Kindness of Sisters’ published in 2002, is a groundbreaking work of romantic biography. In 2005 the highly acclaimed 'Scott of the Antarctic' was published, followed by ‘Men of War’, a collection of 19th Century naval biographies, in 2009. His ‘Empires of the Dead’ was shortlisted for the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize. He lives in north-west Scotland.
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Reviews for The Mother Tongue
98 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A whole chapter on swear words. Never has the four letter word been said and used so educationally ... awesome
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Lots of interesting trivia and statistics. Bryson has an amazing depth of knowledge on languages. I found myself losing focus when he launched into spelling long words. Perhaps the print version of this book would be easier to follow. I am also more patial to Bryson’s travel books, which are rich with mishaps and witicisms.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Full of really interesting information! Can be a little difficult to follow as many words are spelled out during some sections. I loved the swear words chapter.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Written in the late 1980’s, this book still a great deal of value. Reading it thirty years after publication is fascinating because one is able to think of more recent examples of issues that he speaks about. For example the current American push towards adding ‘ed’ to verbs that previously were always irregular in the past. Hanged instead of hung or waked instead of woke.
It was good to be reminded that English will go where it wants. It always has and hopefully it always will.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fascinating, wide ranging, insightful, incredibly researched and extremely informative book how the English language came to be. The narrator is simply amazing, not only does he move the story line ahead flawlessly, he does so without ever once tripping over words as he speaks in French, German, Latin, olde English, Italian, etc. He has a most pleasing voice. Easily the best narrator I've heard!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loved it up to the last chapter where "racism" had to be tossed in there because, by gosh, white Americans are such an oppressive group and should be excoriated at every opportunity. AMERICA IS AN ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY AND OUR TAX DOLLARS SHOULDNT BE SPENT FORCING EVERYTHING TO TRANSLATED AND PRINTED INTO ALL THE OTHER LANGUAGES. PERIOD. EXCLAMATION POINT. LEARN ENGLISH IF YOU WANT TO LIVE HERE.