Item Details.
The Mother Tongue
More Information
Who would have thought that a book about English would be so entertaining? Certainly not this grammar-allergic reviewer, but The Mother Tongue pulls it off admirably. Bill Bryson--a zealot--is the right man for the job. Who else could rhapsodize about "the colorless murmur of the schwa" with a straight face? It is his unflagging enthusiasm, seeping from between every sentence, that carries the book.
Bryson displays an encyclopedic knowledge of his topic, and this inevitably encourages a light tone; the more you know about a subject, the more absurd it becomes. No jokes are necessary, the facts do well enough by themselves, and Bryson supplies tens per page. As well as tossing off gems of fractured English (from a Japanese eraser: "This product will self-destruct in Mother Earth."), Bryson frequently takes time to compare the idiosyncratic tongue with other languages. Not only does this give a laugh (one word: Welsh), and always shed considerable light, it also makes the reader feel fortunate to speak English.
Item has been wished 6 time/s by the TTIW Community
Reviews for this Item
What do you think of this Product? Would you recommend it to other people? If you write reviews you can help the rest of the TTIW community learn more about the products you love.
People Who wished for this Item have also wished for:
From: americanapparelstore.com
From: americanapparel.net
From: americanapparel.net
View This Itemlink above.
