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The Mother Tongue (平装)
by Bill Bryson
| Category:
English language, Language, Culture |
| Market price: ¥ 158.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Fascinating history of English written in a very entertaining style. Good for native speakers and English learners alike. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 11 items |
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Fred S. Holley (Los Angeles Times) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Vastly informative and vastly entertaining... A scholarly and fascinating book. |
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Robert Taylor (The Boston Globe) (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Diverting and richly anecdotal... Bryson is an unalloyed fan who relishes the language's versatility, verb hoard and vast vocabulary. |
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
In The Mother Tongue: English & How It Got That Way, Bill Bryson tries to solve the mysteries of the English language. He explains why the spelling and pronunciation of certain words don't match and why certain American words are different from their British counterpart. Bryson gives his readers a history lesson about English, complete with lessons about the different English dictionaries, a journey through England after the French left, and the propriety of Victorian England.
He writes about topics other than English's history, including its present dominance and its uncertain future. These topics serve to create a fuller picture of a language that Bryson claims has become "the lingua franca" of various areas of everyday life.
Throughout the book, Bryson entertains his reader with wit and humor. Bryson's jokes make reading the book a smooth process because their accurately demonstrate his topics. When writing about the difference between American words and English words he gives the example of the word "fanny" which has an innocent meaning in America, but a rather vulgar one in England.
The Mother Tongue is clearly entertaining, but Bryson also informs his readers well. He has covered the various topics of language thoroughly. Bryson is well versed on the topic. He draws on the writing of many worthy predecessors, including William Safire and H. L. Mencken. Readers will find Bryson's book to be educational and enlightening. |
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Ken James (MSL quote), UK
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Am I the only person who is amazed at the range and gravity of errors that diligent reviewers have discovered in this book? Inuit snow (they don't have fifty words for it); Finnish swearing (they do); Japanese orthography (I didn't get that one)... the list goes on. I'll tell you a real shocker: I knew a journalist, a graduate in English, who thought that the language he majored in and professed to write descended largely from Welsh (certain Celtic and Latin dialects spoken in Britain at the end of the Roman Empire). If that doesn't strike you as risible, you need to read this book. This is not a work of high scholarship but it isn't dumb (or dumm). It's a popular account by an enthusiastic amateur, written with his usual brio, and if it persuades more people to take an interest in their mother tongue, or, at a pinch, their native language, good on it and about time.
If you want the full story, study Baugh & Cable's History of the English Language and references there. Bryson's book is more fun, though. I recommend it along with Simeon Potter's Our Language, which covers much the same ground but without the swear words.
I can pick nits too. In chapter 6 he gets the High German Sound-Shift back to front. In his version, 'water' ought to appear as 'wasser' in Dutch, Frisian and Plattdeutsch (this may be his Wasserloo). Also, he has a tendency to refer to the group in question, including English, as 'north Germanic', which is a big no-no to us nerds. Bottom line: read Potter as well.
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An American reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
When Bill Bryson doesn't have anything else to do (yeah, right), he might want to consider issuing a revised edition of this entertaining but somewhat dated book. As he so ably points out, language is protean and much has changed in the last 15 years since he worked on this. In addition to new research and revelations that might correct or amend the text, there is the incomparable affect of the internet that has arisen since this book saw the light, not to mention the "business speak" that corporate culture has been slipping in of late.
That said, there is much to be gained by reading this book. Bryson's wonder and delight in the English language is contagious. While some of the historical information may be familiar at first, especially if you, like him, have read McCrum's The Story of English, his sorting out of the origins of our language and historical forces is quite lucid and thorough refresher course. What I especially appreciated was his look at how American and English usage and pronunciation diverged. I did not realize that the plummy "ah" sound that Americans identify so strongly with the British accent, as in glahss and cahn't, only came about in the 18th century, a social fashion that survived. I've come away with a better understanding of the role of how geographic movement and isolation affects language, as well as the very human need to name everything in site.
A note to recently indoctrinated Bryson fans: this was written rather early in his book career, in his English mode. Keep in mind that he only got better and funnier, though there is a sharp intelligence, graceful voice and sly wit behind every sentence of this book. |
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Nadyne (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Bill Bryson, better known for his travelogues, writes a fascinating (and not-quite-correct) introduction to English etymology. Besides exploring the origins of the language, it also traces the varieties of English.
His explorations of American and British slang are the most complete and correct. When straying further than those, however, he misses the mark. His grasp of Australian grammar and slang shows that he's been there (which is certainly better than others who have commented on it), but only as a tourist. Live there, and you'll find a very different linguistic Australia.
Like Bryson's travel writing, this book isn't so much a cohesive piece of writing as it is a series of well-written anecdotes. There are some places where the continuity is somewhat lacking. However, this didn't particularly annoy me.
This is a great light-hearted read. It's certainly not a scholarly work, and doesn't attempt to be. I won't nit-pick its accuracy, since I don't think that's fair here. It's a good jumping-off point for learning more about this muddled language. |
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Wayne Smith (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Author Bill Bryson is best known for his travelogues. This book is an eclectic survey of the English language: its origins, evolution, borrowings from other languages, pronunciation and more. Through the book, Bryson's trademark humor is present. Although this book has less laughs per page than "A Walk in the Woods," it features Bryson's wonderful wit and leaves out the sarcasm that made some of his earlier efforts less than par.
Bryson clearly loves and respects the power of English. Perhaps alone among major languages, English developed without official sanction in the fields and streets of early medieval England, where the court spoke Norman French. Looked down upon, it was free to flourish and find expression for how most people really lived their lives.
This lack of officialdom during its birth and early rearing left us with wacky spelling and a few other eccentricities. But it also greatly simplified the language by, for example, eliminating the masculine and feminine articles inherent in French and the large number of verb forms associated with other descendents of Latin.
It also picked up more words and thus maintains a larger vocabulary than its European rivals, according to the author. This has given English the ability to richly texture speech and writings and provide a sublime ability to distinguish expression and thought more so than one is able to do in many other languages.
This is not a textbook, although it does pack a lot of serious information and linguistic discussions of the technical aspects of language. In a few chapters, Bryson relies too much on long lists to show his examples. This wears only a little and is buffeted by his humor throughout. Particularly interesting and enjoyable are his discourses on swearing, word games and improbable place names (like Maggies' Nipples, a town in Wyoming and Coldass Creek, located in North Carolina). |
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A. Plumb (MSL quote), Australia
<2007-01-04 00:00>
I enjoyed the humour and lightness of this book but I have read too many books on linguistics and, especially, the English language to be really informed by Mr Bryson's book. But having said that, the book is certainly not arduous to read. (My favourite books on language are the series Pelican Books published in the 1970s or 1980s - I remember especially 'Stylistics' by G Turner, but there were great books on phonetics, semantics, grammar, syntax etc etc - a fine indroduction to the study of language.)
The first half of Mr Bryson's book seemed to me to be well formed and had direction and inner logic that drove it along. But the latter half seems to be more of a grab-bag of bits and pieces (although I did enjoy the very last chapter on word games a lot). I was also disappointed at the emphasis on American English. Important though it is there are many other Englishes that ought to be considered. Unfortunately the small concessions to Australian English were often incorrect (for exasmple, Australians still call cookies 'biscuits' - although we may use the term cookie as well - we never call scones 'biscuits' as the American's do - this is certainly the mistake of an American perspective, not a British one!) |
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Jasper (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-04 00:00>
Bill Bryson is a writer of fiction in many ways. You must always pause and wonder if what he is telling you is actually true. The Mother Tongue is classic Bryson. Chalk full of stories, anecdotes and questionable facts but so amusingly presented that you just can't resist. Sometimes you'll chuckle at his wit and other times you'll laugh at his inaccuracies but you'll have a fabulous time. Just don't quote him. |
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Wren (MSL quote), Canada
<2007-01-04 00:00>
This is a lighthearted look at the intricacies of the English language: its history and development as well as colloquialisms, modern slang, and general language-mangling by non-native speakers. It's not a reference book, but a playful examination of one of the most intricate languages on earth. If you're more fond of pedantic linguistic analysis (as many previous reviewers seem to be), it's best to look elsewhere. If, however, you have a good sense of humor and are up to a fun read, definitely check this out. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 11 items |
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