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Amazon.co.uk Review
Who would have thought that a book about the English language would be so entertaining? Certainly not this grammar-allergic reviewer, but The Mother Tongue pulls it off admirably. Bill Bryson--a zealot--is the right man for the job. Who else could rhapsodise about "the colourless murmur of the schwa" with a straight face? It is his unflagging enthusiasm, seeping from between every sentence, that carries the book.
Bryson displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his topic, and this inevitably encourages a light tone; the more you know about a subject, the more absurd it becomes. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and Bryson supplies tens per page. As well as tossing off gems of fractured English (from a Japanese eraser: "This product will self- destruct in Mother Earth."), Bryson frequently takes time to compare the idiosyncratic tongue with other languages. Not only does this give a laugh (one word: Welsh), and always shed considerable light, it also makes the reader feel fortunate to speak English. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Not only fascinating but extremely funny' - Angus Deayton 'The sort of linguistics I like, anecdotal, full of revelations, and with not one dull paragraph' - Ruth Rendell, Sunday Times 'A gold mine of language-anecdote, information, curiosity. A suprise on every page... enthralling' Observer 'Delightful, amusing and provoking... A joyful celebration of our wonderful language, which is packed with curiosities and enlightenment on every page' Sunday Express 'A delightful survey - though with its good humour, wealth of anecdote, and boyish enthusiasm, "romp" would be a better word.' - David Crystal
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A treasure house of the facts of the history of English and its oddities, but the "facts" are sometimes suspect, eg we do not say gill for girl in South Africa and I'm told that ndlebezakho (not hlebeshako) in Xhosa (incidentally President Mandela's mother tongue; not XoXa) freely translates as darn your ears (not your mother's ears) and is a mild admonition such as to a naughty child and not "the most provocative possible remark".
I was comforted by the examples of incorrect grammar and usage quoted from leading authors' works on English, to which one can add examples from the book itself, eg Some idea of the bewilderments ... are indicated; forbidden from; They find particular pleasure in taking old Norman names and mashing them around until they became; Often the names we know places by is.
My rating is based on the book's entertainment value, which is only impaired by the uncertainty as to when one can rely on what is said and when not. But I caution against mistaking the book as a serious reference work despite the academic-seeming footnotes. The author himself makes no such disclaimer, at least in my edition (1990).
100 of 112 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found, for the most part of reading, this book to be very entertaining and informative. I read a few other Bryson books in the past, about travelling etc... but as an English teacher, well TEFL teacher, I thought this would be a great book to use quotes from for anecdotes during my lessons.
The problem occurred near the start of chapter 14 (out of 16).
Quote:
"Some cultures don't swear at all..... The Finns, lacking the sort of words you need to describe your feeling when you stub your toe getting up to answer a wrong number at 2.00 a.m., rather oddly adopted the word ravintolassa. It means 'in the restaurant'."
This is utter, for lack of a better word, hevosenpaska (literal translation "Horse S**t"). I have NEVER in my 10 years living in Finland heard anyone shout out RAVINTOLASSA, unless of course there were too many people in the restaurant and the guy was shouting into his mobile saying where he is. The Finns have quite a few swear words in their vocabulary that can be heard way too often.
So this led me to thinking, "if this is so way off track when it comes to Finland, what about the rest of the book when he writes about cultures I'm not familiar with?"
This has taken the shine off what I thought was an excellent piece of writing and that's why I'm giving it 2/5.
Sorry
The problem occurred near the start of chapter 14 (out of 16).
Quote:
"Some cultures don't swear at all..... The Finns, lacking the sort of words you need to describe your feeling when you stub your toe getting up to answer a wrong number at 2.00 a.m., rather oddly adopted the word ravintolassa. It means 'in the restaurant'."
This is utter, for lack of a better word, hevosenpaska (literal translation "Horse S**t"). I have NEVER in my 10 years living in Finland heard anyone shout out RAVINTOLASSA, unless of course there were too many people in the restaurant and the guy was shouting into his mobile saying where he is. The Finns have quite a few swear words in their vocabulary that can be heard way too often.
So this led me to thinking, "if this is so way off track when it comes to Finland, what about the rest of the book when he writes about cultures I'm not familiar with?"
This has taken the shine off what I thought was an excellent piece of writing and that's why I'm giving it 2/5.
Sorry
60 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
While browsing in the linguistics section at a London bookshop, I came across this book. I had never heard of Bryson before, but the description on the back sounded so interesting, I bought it. Having just finished the book, I can only wonder how I managed to miss this guy's stuff all my life. This book is a fascinating journey through the history of English, the varieties of English in the world, spelling, pronunciation, and more. Bryson's style is fresh, funny, irreverent, and absorbing. I feel like I have found someone who loves nuance in language as much as I do, and is spot on when it comes to examining exactly the subtleties that get me fired up. Highly recommended to Anglophones interested in learning more about the language we call our own.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fun, entertaining and educational read
I enjoyed Bill Bryson's other travel books and thought I would give this one a try for size. I am glad I did - it is educational, but also fun and entertaining. Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. Chaplin
Bryson's individual story on English
Bill Bryson is a journalist by profession and a writer of very humorous travel books in a style which is all his own. Read more
Published 5 months ago by RR Waller
great book
I love Bryson books. I read 4 pages of this one when my mother borrowed it! she says its very good. a worth while read apparently!!
Published 5 months ago by barberella
A very entertaining history of the English Language
This book is an amazing piece of research on the history and sinuous development of the English language. Read more
Published 5 months ago by steelo
Have given this to loads of friends
This is a fantastic blend of academic knowledge about why the English language is the way it is, and excellent journalistic presentation.
It explains so many things e.g. Read more
It explains so many things e.g. Read more
Published 7 months ago by outside the westminster village
Almost every single tidbit is wrong.
I teach English as a foreign language but other than that linguistics and language learning is just a hobby, having said that, I know enough Irish, German, Czech, Russian and... Read more
Published 7 months ago by D. Bourke
Simply untrustworthy
I read four pages into the book through the author's rambling comparisons of English to other languages (with odd comments that seemed to imply that "machismo" and "schadenfreude"... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Geo
An informative and entertaining read from a true lover of English
This was everything the description promised - and more. It was almost impossible to put this book down and I would recommend to to anyone who has the least interest in learning... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Robert C Marshall
B. Bryson Mother Tongue
Well documented, it covers various interesting aspects of the English language and its history. As a foreigner I particularly appreciated the lively, idiomatic style of the author,... Read more
Published 14 months ago by angel
Informative but sometimes incorrect
I just wanted to point out that while this book is certainly informative it is sometimes incorrect, especially regarding the Irish language. Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. Baynes
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