Questions About Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English

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How does this book compare with Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue?

Taveri I got more out of Bryson's book than this one. Both offer up some humour but the Mother Tongue covers more ground. McWhorter spends sixty pages going …moreI got more out of Bryson's book than this one. Both offer up some humour but the Mother Tongue covers more ground. McWhorter spends sixty pages going on about "meaningless do" when six pages would do. He does make a good case for why we done did do it.(less)

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McWhorter makes an error about Swedish noun gender. Historically, nouns were masculine, feminine, or neuter. In modern Swedish, masculine and feminine have merged into the common gender (the "en" words) and neuter remains (the "ett" words). "Hus" is neuter; "gås" is common. I respect his knowledge and agree with him about language change. Can someone do him the service of advising of this needed correction?

Kathleen Actually, after posting this, I have to walk it back. According to my instructor, Swedes will tell you that the "en" words are the common gender, and …moreActually, after posting this, I have to walk it back. According to my instructor, Swedes will tell you that the "en" words are the common gender, and the "ett" words are neuter, but linguists and grammarians classify them differently. This is a fascinating discovery for me! (less)

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