The Mother Tongue - English And How It Got That Way
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Book Info
Author
Bryson, Bill
Word Count
68,000 words
based on page count
Pages
272 pages
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Edition Publisher
William Morrow Paperbacks
Edition Publish Date
1990-01-01
Identifiers
ISBN-10: 0380715430
ISBN-13: 9780380715435
Description
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.
Clever, insightful, often hilarious, The Mother Tongue is an engaging jaunt through the quirks and byways of the world's most important--and baffling--of languages. Readers will learn why island, freight, and colonel are spelled in such unphonetic ways; why four has a u in it but forty does not; why Noah Webster was a liar, a cheat, and a plagiarist; and other fascinating facts about our mother tongue.
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