learnt some things while laughing

A fun romp through the history of the English language, from the invasion of the Saxons and the Normans in England to the "infection" of English by Americanisms. Intriguing, engaging history and, as might be expected from Bill Bryson, humorous. The tone is conversational, and accessible -- you don't have to be a linguist or Old English scholar to read this book. If you enjoy language, words, history, or Bill Bryson's writing style, I highly recommend this book. ( )

I love Bryson's writing and his enthusiasm for English is wonderful, as is his non-fussy exploration of where our language came from. Occasionally gets a little repetitious because of the subject, but otherwise great. ( )

Bryson shows a different side of his talent to some extent with this offering. A brilliant and humorous travel writer, in Mother Tongue Bryson shows his love of language in an even more apparent way than usual.

Mother Tongue is filled with really interesting information. Sometimes it does stray into a little too dry an area, but overall a worthwhile read for Anglophiles - I'm not even sure if I have that right... *sigh* ( )

This book is excellent "non-fiction" in the sense that it's easy to read and not too academic. Whether the book is fiction or not is slightly questionable, and the issue is even more difficult because I have only just read it - 19 years after publication. A lot has happened even in the field of linguistics in that time!

I won't go into detail regarding the mistakes I spotted, other than to say that one of them specifically sounded like he had been in the pub after a pint or seven, and believed a completely random story (regarding Finns swearing by saying "in the restaurant") . Later he comments on how some earlier authors on the subject have been quite gullible.

I would give this book more than three stars, but I won't because I can see the danger of someone taking Bryson's word for the truth. While I can't decide whether the inaccurasy for the sake of humour is intentional, I suggest a better name for the book: Mother tongue-in-cheek. ( )