Review
Fry's linguistic facility remains one of the Wildean wonders of the new media age. The patron saint of British intelligence (Daily Telegraph )
Review
Product Description
'The way you speak is who you are and the tones of your voice and the tricks of your emailing and tweeting and letter-writing, can be recognised unmistakably in the minds of those who know and love you.' Stephen Fry
From feral children to fairy-tale princesses, secrets codes, invented languages - even a language that was eaten! - Planet Word uncovers everything you didn't know you needed to know about how language evolves. Learn the tricks to political propaganda, why we can talk but animals can't, discover 3,000-year-old clay tablets that discussed beer and impotence and test yourself at textese - do you know your RMEs from your LOLs? Meet the 105-year-old man who invented modern-day Chinese and all but eradicated illiteracy, and find out why language caused the go-light in Japan to be blue. From the dusty scrolls of the past to the unknown digital future, and with (heart) the first graphic to enter the OED, are we already well on our way to a language without words?
In a round-the-world trip of a lifetime, discover all this and more as J. P. Davidson travels across our gloriously, endlessly intriguing multilingual Planet Word.
About the Author
John Paul Davidson is a film and television director and producer. After completing his doctoral field work in Malaysia, he joined the BBC's Travel and Exploration Unit as their resident anthropologist and learned how to say 'action' in over fifty languages.
Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. He currently hosts the popular quiz show QI. His recent memoir, The Fry Chronicles, was a number one bestseller.
