Bryson traces the development of swear words in english and other languages. Born in des moines, iowa, bryson lives in england with his wife and children. Only bill bryson could make a book about the english language so entertaining. Youll learn how, thanks to its flexibility and adaptability, english has endured and flourished, despite centuries of invasions, uprisings and censorship. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the english language. Brysons mother tongue celebrates its qualities and encourages its eccentricity. Bryson also author of style books and a writers dictionary, aside from his famous travelogues compares english with other languages, traces its development from anglosaxon and the romance languages. The story of the english language bryson, bill isbn. A merry and bright baedeker to the english language, its history, character, and probable future. His books on the english language include mother tongue and troublesome words, both published by penguin. The mother tongue is bill bryson s tome about how the english language that we know and love or hate, depending on ones viewpoint came to be the entity that it is today, and the more interesting idiosyncrasies that are present within it. Instead, a gentle humor, enamored of oddities, warms his discussion of the origins of english, its.
He does go into early languages, then settles on english as the closest thing we have today to a. Book club genres all book club genres sorting by best selling this month book lists. Bill bryson is the new york times bestselling author of at home, a walk in the woods, the lost continent, made in america, the mother tongue, a short history of nearly everythingwinner of the aventis prizeand various other works. Bryson s mother tongue celebrates its qualities and encourages its eccentricity. Bill brysons bestselling travel books include the lost continent and notes from a small island, which in a national poll was voted the book that best represents britain. The mother tongue chapter 2 the dawn of language summary. Bill brysons classic mother tongue is a highly readable and hilarious tale of how english came to be the worlds language. Bill brysons mother tongueis a hymn to the english language. The book is engaging, funny and full of lighthearted trivia. Bill bryson s classic mother tongue is a highly readable and hilarious tale of how english came to be the worlds language. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and bryson supplies tens per page.
Oct 23, 2001 with dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the english language. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 270 pages and is available in paperback format. Where words come from if you have a morbid fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your. The mother tongue english and how it got that way audiobook by bill.
And somehow english is always better than any other language in his book. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer. Bryson moved to the uk in 1973 and remained there until 1995. Although bill bryson published this book in 1990 and much more research has been done in this area since that time, the mother tongue is still a delightful look at the mysteries and peculiarities of the english language, both british and american. Bill bryson audio books bill bryson is the new york times bestselling author of at home, a walk in the woods, the lost continent, made in america, the mother tongue, a short history of nearly everything winner of the aventis prizeand various other works. Bill bryson s mother tongueis a hymn to the english language. The mother tongue by bill bryson overdrive rakuten. Who would have thought that a book about english would be so entertaining. The first edition of the novel was published in 1990, and was written by bill bryson. The main characters of this non fiction, history story are. It is riddled with mistakes and inappropriate examples about various languages. Bill bryson is an american journalist who has lived for long periods. The mother tongue the mother tongue audiobook, by bill bryson. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat why you can talk but your dog.
The mother tongue audiobook, written by bill bryson. His books on the english language include mother tongue and troublesome words, both published by penguin bill bryson is the author of several bestsellers including the lost continent, neither here nor. Its the sort of book that fills your head with all sorts of random trivia that must be shared at the next watercooler conversation or over ones next meal. Oct 23, 2001 bryson makes claims about languages that are simply incorrect.
In this revealing and often hilarious book, bill bryson examines the mother tongue and explores the countless varieties of english and the perils of marketing brands with names like pschitt and super piss. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat why you can talk but your dog cant, to the fine lost art of swearing, bryson. Bill bryson 1951 is an american author of books on travel, language, and science. He has worked for a number of newspapers, including the times and the independent. Everyone has his say about bill brysons the mother tongue. 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. I like brysons easy, breezy writing and love languages, so i expected to really enjoy this book and at first i did.
Jul 17, 1990 the mother tongue is the story of the evolution of the english language, from its humble beginnings as a germanic tongue to what it has evolved into over the centuries. A short history of nearly everything is one of the best popular science book ever written. Bill bryson was born in des moines, iowa, and grew up there, but has spent most of his adult life in britain. Oct 14, 2009 in late summer, they met to discuss bill brysons the mother tongue william morrow, 1990, a funfactpacked, boisterous embrace of the english language and its history. I could barely get past that, knowing that its an older book, but when the blatant misinformation started arising, i became more than extremely disappointed. Dec 10, 2010 bill brysons love of the english language shines through the book, even though it might seem a bit opinionated the mother tongue is not a detailed history of the english language, but a light reading which is informative and interesting. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. This study guide consists of approximately 29 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the mother tongue. There is a word to describe the state of being a woman. The mother tongue by bill bryson and stephen mclaughlin. The writing itself is extremely gendered, noninclusive and dated.
Where words come from if you have a morbid fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth, there is a word for it. As well as tossing off gems of fractured english from a japanese eraser. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat why you can talk but your dog cant, to the fine lost art of swearing, bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of. In examining how a secondrate, mongrel tongue came to be the undisputed language of the globe. Buy mother tongue book online at low prices in india mother. Too bad even bill bryson couldnt make this terribly entertaining.
English is, according to bryson, both the most versatile of languages. This book is a history of the english language, with particularly interesting chapters on the beginnings of language, wordplay, pronunciation, swearing, spelling, varieties, and just about everything you would ever want to know about our mother tongue. Listen to unlimited audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. I bought this book as im a fan of bill brysons writing and i find language an interesting subject.
The book discusses the indoeuropean origins of english, the growing status of english as a global language, the complex etymology of english. I was shocked and disappointed after reading the first chapter of the mother tongue. The mother tongue is the story of the evolution of the english language, from its humble beginnings as a germanic tongue to what it has evolved into over the centuries. In late summer, they met to discuss bill brysons the mother tongue william morrow, 1990, a funfactpacked, boisterous embrace of the english language and its history. Bill bryson is an american journalist who has lived for long periods in england, which means that he is in a good position to write a book about english that takes account of both versions and the subtle and notsosubtle differences between them, which is what he has. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the. The mother tongue is not a detailed history of the english language, but a light reading which is informative and interesting. I was frequently laughing outloud while reading the mother tongue not to mention muttering words under my breath to hear the pronunciation points that bryson was making. Bryson explores english from america to australia and looks at, among other things, swearing, spelling, spoonerisms and scrabble. Bryson also author of style books and a writers dictionary, aside from his famous travelogues compares english with other languages, traces its development from anglosaxon and the romance languages, explains the variegated and irritating spelling anomalies and describes worldwide variation, but especially in his native usa.
Bill bryson covers language its self with a focus on english. Born in des moines, iowa, he now lives in england, where he has worked for both the times and independent and written for most other major british and american. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill bryson the acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the english language. Youll learn how, thanks to its flexibility and adaptability, english has endured and. The mother tongue 1990 provides a unique and personal look at the history of the english language. Bill brysons 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. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the english language.
The mother tongue isbn 0380715430 is a book by bill bryson which compiles the history and origins of the english language and its various quirks. Dec 15, 2015 with dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the english language. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly. Listen to the mother tongue by bill bryson, stephen mclaughlin for free with a 30 day free trial. Mother tongue the story of the english language around the planet, english is one of the most commonly used languages. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill bryson the acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and. Mother tongue occupation resulted in entirely new languages, spanish and french, but in britain they left barely five words, 2 while the celts left. How did words like shampoo, sofa and rowdy and others drawn from over fifty languages find their way into our dictionary. 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. Bill bryson is the bestselling author of at home, a walk in the woods, the lost continent, made in america, the mother tongue, and a short history of nearly everything, winner of the aventis prize. American expatriate to britain bryson proves a witty and knowing guide here, with scarcely a trace of the sneer that spoiled his popular tour of smalltown america, the lost continent 1989.
English, like spanish and portuguese, is a language that has two closely linked forms, one in the old world, one in the new. Browse audiobooks written by bill bryson sorted by best. The mother tongue is bill brysons tome about how the english language that we know and love or hate, depending on ones viewpoint came to be the entity that it is today, and. American expatriate to britain bryson proves a witty and knowing guide here, with scarcely a. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill bryson the acclaimed author of the lost continentbrilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the english language. He has worked for a number of newspapers, including the times and. Whether its in daily life or in translations, it is a universal language.
Bill bryson is the new york times bestselling author of at home, a walk in the woods, the lost continent, made in america, the mother tongue, a short history of. Bill bryson is the new york times bestselling author of at home, a walk in the woods, the lost continent, made in america, the mother tongue, a short history of nearly everythingwinner. The mother tongue audiobook by bill bryson 9780062458537. Originally posted by bill bryson in the mother tongue, p. With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, bill brysonthe acclaimed author. It is not a book to be uses for academic study or as a reference but it does provide an amusing insight to the english language.
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