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The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way Paperback - 2001
by Bill Bryson
The author of the acclaimed The Lost Continent now steers us through the quirks and byways of the English language. We learn why island, freight, and colonel are spelled in such unphonetic ways, why four has a u in it but forty doesn't, plus bizarre and enlightening facts about some of the patriarchs of this peculiar language.
First line
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From the rear cover
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson--the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent--brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
Details
- Title The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
- Author Bill Bryson
- Binding Paperback
- Edition Reissue
- Pages 320
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher William Morrow & Company, New York
- Date 2001-10-23
- Features Bibliography, Index, Table of Contents
- ISBN 9780380715435 / 0380715430
- Weight 0.55 lbs (0.25 kg)
- Dimensions 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8 in (19.81 x 13.21 x 2.03 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects English language - History
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 89077521
- Dewey Decimal Code 420.9
Media reviews
Citations
- Publishers Weekly, 08/02/1991, Page 0
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