The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
by Bill Bryson
- Used
- poor
- Paperback
- Condition
- Poor
- ISBN 10
- 0380715430
- ISBN 13
- 9780380715435
- Seller
-
Brossard, Quebec, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
From the publisher: 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.
Synopsis
The Mother Tongue is a book by Bill Bryson which wittily compiles the history and origins of the English language and the language's various quirks. It is subtitled English And How It Got That Way. The book discusses the Indo-European origins of English, the growing status of English as a global language, the complex etymology of English words, the dialects of English, spelling reform, prescriptive grammar, and more minor topics including swearing.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Shop-books.ca (CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 202000270
- Title
- The Mother Tongue
- Author
- Bill Bryson
- Book Condition
- Used - Poor
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0380715430
- ISBN 13
- 9780380715435
- Publisher
- Harper Perennial
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- September 1, 1991
- Bookseller catalogs
- Essays; Non-Fiction;
Terms of Sale
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