false <![CDATA[The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg 29 14 2170063 book 1990 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way total:3596|5:1044|4:1495|3:860|2:170|1:27| 3596 14147 5538 430 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 5 8 false Wed Jul 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun May 18 18:07:42 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 16 15:31:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 4 false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Jun 23 22:16:11 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 23 22:20:26 -0700 2007 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 2 false Mon Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 24 16:41:09 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 28 20:13:14 -0700 2008 drumstick was coined in the 19th century because polite society could not bring itself to utter the word leg? Or that Shakespeare gave us no less than 1700 new words including barefaced, frugal, dwindle, and summit?

Bill Bryson, an American transplanted to England, trace...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 2 false Wed Sep 03 10:03:42 -0700 2008 Sun Jan 13 23:36:24 -0800 2008 Wed Sep 03 10:03:42 -0700 2008
Loving every page of this book, as it really keeps rolling on and keeps getting more and more interesting.

However, I have to be fair to Steve who said something to the effect of "it was the same thing over and over again - every page: 'The En...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 2 7 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Thu Jan 24 02:32:26 -0800 2008 Tue Jun 03 05:49:45 -0700 2008
(p. 210, Ch. Swearing, in my Penguin paperback:) “Some cultures don’t swear at all. (…) The Finns, lacking the sort of words you need to describe...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 20 08:04:52 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 28 15:16:32 -0800 2008 Thanks to Oliver for putting this one up here. It's a great tour of the history of the English language, from its origins to its current diffusion as the de facto business language of the world. The story of English is told with Bryson's characteristic wit and mother tongue-in-cheek asides -...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 5 1 false Fri Mar 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 01 16:49:31 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 20 02:29:09 -0700 2009
It's an excellent book, but like so many foreigners, Bryson think...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Fri May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 07:23:00 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 07:40:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 3 1 false Sun May 18 05:09:23 -0700 2008 Tue Apr 15 08:31:23 -0700 2008 Sun May 18 05:09:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Fri Feb 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 14:07:19 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 29 21:40:52 -0800 2008 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 5 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 03 11:34:06 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 31 12:55:11 -0800 2008 Published: 1990

How I discovered: A Xmas present from Jamie, who is one of the world's biggest Bryson fans.

What I liked: Everything! It's deliciously entertaining for word-lovers. Bryson has a wealth of knowledge and does his research well, presenting it all with his witty sar...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Mon Dec 03 17:43:29 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 21 16:18:10 -0800 2007 A Walk in the Woods), and have read several other of his travelogues since (I'm A Stranger Here Myself, Notes from a Small Island, In a Sunburnt Country, and Neither Here Nor There). But while Bryson's travel writing is entertaining, I've found th...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 2 1 false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 27 15:15:47 -0700 2007 Thu Dec 17 07:18:56 -0800 2009
It's exactly what the title says it is, a book about "English and how it got that way." Bryson's wit would flare up occasionally,...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 09:38:19 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 25 09:55:44 -0700 2008
It's not a perfect book. Written in 1990, it's out-of-date already. For example, I wondered how many of the regionalisms tha...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 5 0 false Thu Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 09:54:21 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 09:54:37 -0800 2009
Bill Bryson's [The Mother Tongue:] is a delightful read suitable for any language enthusiast. While several readers have singled out the (apparently copious) errors in the book, I myself read it for its entertainment value only, and ...more...]]> 4924140 1439505853 9781439505854 17 5 The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1227577463m/4924140.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4924140.The_Mother_Tongue_English_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 0 false Sat Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 20:47:11 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 21:33:26 -0700 2009
I'd already heard high ...more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 1 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Oct 02 13:50:26 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 07:48:22 -0700 2007 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 4 0 false Wed Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 22:50:53 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 09 21:16:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 3 0 false Mon May 18 14:00:22 -0700 2009 Tue May 05 14:35:28 -0700 2009 Mon May 18 14:00:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 29 0380715430 9780380715435 3388 399 The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way 3.93 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1156042888m/29.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29.The_Mother_Tongue_English_and_How_It_Got_That_Way 1 2 false Tue Jan 13 11:35:31 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 13 11:50:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=29