Thank you Bill Bryson for making an intense subject more understandable for me! I appreciate you!

It has to go back to the library, and I just can't make myself read any more. Bill Bryson is way better at memoir than at these instructional tomes. He comes across as condescending, all because he frittered away his time collecting a bunch of trivia of questionable scholarship. How can I love A Walk in the Woods so much, and like this so little?

Subtitled, ‘English and How it Got That Way’, this is typical Bryson wit and erudition at his best. I confess, I was tempted initially to disagree with some of his numbers on the speaking of English, but a quick gander at Google soon put me right on that issue.
The book is divided into 16 chapters plus an extensive bibliography and a very full index. Bryson tackles some diverse subjects, covering ‘The World’s Language’, ‘Where Words Come From’, ‘Good English and Bad’, and ‘Swearing’, amongst the many topics. With his usual good humour and in-depth research, he explains how language came about, how it developed and how English became the most widely-spoken tongue in the world today. He also looks at its future and, as usual, is optimistic about this in spite of the many commentators who seem intent on predicting decline, chaos and ultimate death for the language.
There were many places where I laughed out loud when reading. I learned things of which I was previously ignorant, had some of my most heartfelt beliefs brought into question, discovered things every writer and reader should know relating to the grammar police, and generally came away from the reading experience both enthused and educated.
It’s a great book and one everyone who declares an interest in their home language should read. I especially recommend that writers get hold of a copy and actually read it. It will be far from a waste of time, I promise you. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Sorry Mr Bryson, but as a historical linguist of English myself, I cannot take this book seriously. There are simply too many mistakes that have no place in a well-researched book. The subject matter is not that hard, so I can only guess "The Mother Tongue" was written in such a hurry that you only consulted one or two sources, where it should have been five or six. The history of English is not something you learn from reading one textbook; there is a lot of ongoing research and debate. And most of your sources are a decade or two out of date, even for 1991. Get your facts straight and publish a revised edition is the best advice I can give you.
And as for my fellow readers: buy David Crystal's The Stories of English instead. Far better researched and just as entertaining.

“The slight evolutionary change that pushed man’s larynx deeper into his throat, and thus made choking a possibility, also brought with it the possibility of sophisticated well-articulated speech.”

This is the most enjoyable Bryson book I have come across in years, and I learned a lot of really, really interesting facts, but again I’m surprised by some of his lapses and inaccuracies that can render him and his editors looking a bit amateur.

“Not until 1979 did a poll show for the first time that Italian was the dialect spoken at home by more than 50% of Italians.”

He makes a really good point about no language really being better as such, but instead concentrates on highlighting the myths, flaws and origins of English compared to many other languages. This was often hugely entertaining, and I got a few good laughs and I also learned a great deal too, which was great, but there were a few niggles in there.

To be fair calling Bryson out on his factual inaccuracies is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, but keeping in mind he's made his name through travel writing and the English language, so he and indeed his editors/publisher etc should be aware that Holland is not and should not be interchangeable with the correct term of The Netherlands. Holland is an area within the Netherlands, as in North Holland and South Holland. You don’t hear Dutch people calling the US Texas or California.

At one point he describes Wales as being a hundred miles to the south of Scotland?...That’s just lazy and plain wrong. Elsewhere he claims that English has nothing to match the Danish word, Hygge – “instantly satisfying and cosy”. Well I’d argue that “cosy” covers that quite nicely, though “coorie”, a Scottish term, captures it even better. But all told this has to be one of the better Bryson books I’ve read and there's a lot of good stuff in here.

See my review on Booktube!

I have two problems with this book:

1. It is full of mistakes. I caught many examples given by the author that are simply wrong, and, reading other reviews, I realize many people noticed this as well. For instance, the spelling mistakes when he refers to Spanish words. Also, at one point when talking about the language of Anglo-Saxons (particularly the years 500 to 700), he claims that some words are feminine, masculine, and neutral. That’s alright, however, his example was that “wheat” was masculine, “oats” were feminine, and “corn” was neutral. How can he even mention corn, when it wasn’t even known in Europe at that point?

2. The arrogance. I lost count of the amounts of times the author called English the best language for *insert characteristic* “No other language does X as well as English.” “No other language comes close to achieving Z like English.” “English is the best language for Y.” “ Language A and language B do this, too, but not as beautifully as English.”

I got this book from Madonna.

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 English Language is f***ed up... blah blah blah... look how f***ed up the English Language is... blah blah blah... here's another example of how f***ed up English is, as a language... blah blah blah' etc."
He's totally right. That's exactly the book, in a nutshell. But a very entertaining one. Full of good info and interesting facts about the history of the language.

For example, I learned that Shakespeare is responsible for appx. 2,000 of the words we use in English, to this day. Really. He just made up a bunch of words (2,000), pulled them out of his arse, and because he was such a cool, popular guy, they stuck.

A wonderful history of English, with all of its eccentricities and word-play. If you like words, then you'll like this book! And if you are a Bill Bryson fan, as I am, you won't be disappointed :)

I found Bill Bryson about a month ago when I read hilarious In a Sunburned Country. I liked that one a lot and decided to try out his other book. And I liked this one too, but unfortunately not as much as In a Sunburned Country. And there are several reasons for that. Including the one that it can be at least partly my fault.

And that's what I will start with. I am not an English native speaker. I have never lived in any English-speaking country. I have been learning English at school. I manage pretty well, I can read books in English without too much difficulty. Which does not change the fact that there are a lot of words that I do not know (and I'm fully aware of that). I am also not particularly sensitive to differences in pronunciation between British and American English. I mean, I'm aware of these differences (I am usually able to recognize an American and a British when I hear them), but I do not think I can pronounce the word first according to one and then according to the other pronunciation. I read this book in English and I must admit that although it is very interesting, as a non-English speaker, I was not able to fully appreciate it and understand it.

On the other hand, as a foreigner who had to learn English (and I’m native in non-Roman language), Bryson's insight in this area was particularly interesting and accurate for me. Especially when it comes to intricate English pronunciation. So a big plus for that.

Another issue, Bryson wrote his book in the late 1980s. The world has changed a lot since then. First of all, we have internet, which, at least in my opinion, makes British and American English even closer to each other and more similar. That is why the book seemed to be slightly outdated at times. I would love to read its modernized version.

The above list of imperfections does not mean that I did not like the book. Just like always, it's easier for me to specify what I was not delighted with than what I like. And I must admit that this is a very good book. However, I think that it is directed primarily to English native speakers, because they will be able to capture and better understand all the issues that the author raises.

Anyway, this is definitely not my last book by Bill Bryson. I can not wait to read another of his books. This time may be travel related.

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 sarcasm and dry humor. There are chapters on history, etymology, dialects, spelling, grammar, surnames, and even swearing.

What I didn't: I can't think of a single thing I didn't like.

What I learned: Too much to state here. The book traces the English language back to its origins and documents its use (and abuse) ever since.

Quote: By virtue of their brevity, dictionary definitions often fail to convey the nuances of English. A dictionary will tell you that tall and high mean much the same thing, but it won't explain to you that while you can apply either term to a building you can only apply tall to a person. On the strength of dictionary definitions alone a foreign visitor to your home could be excused for telling you that you have an abnormal child, that your wife's cooking is exceedingly odorous, and that your speech at a recent sales conference was laughable, and intend nothing but the warmest praise.

This is an interesting book about the English language. Bryson is a journalist by trade and has written quite a few non-fiction books about various subjects. This is not a scholarly work, more just a fun look at the subject.

I found this copy at the Goodwill and it was published in 1990. The rise of the internet and the changes it has brought to the way the whole world communicates are not addressed in this book. I may go looking for something a bit more recent about language and communication. If I find something I will edit this review.

This book is fairly dated and I would bet there are newer books on the subject. Don't bother with this.