
The Mother Tongue
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Narrated by:
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Stephen McLaughlin
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By:
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Bill Bryson
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.
©1990 Bill Bryson (P)2015 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...




















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Entertaining entry for beginners
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What did you like best about The Mother Tongue? What did you like least?
This book will enlighten you to the oddities of many English word spellings and originations. After listening to it I enjoyed sharing the things I learned with my fiancé. The narrator did a great job of pronouncing Welsh, Gaelic, French and words from all sorts of languages that I would have had difficulty with if I was just reading it. However, a good deal of the book was the spelling out of words. For example...'knight' is spelled 'K' 'N' 'I' 'G' 'H' 'T'. It was EXTREMELY difficult to follow along when the narrator spelled out long, complex words. It was just something meant to be read and not to be listened to.Would you recommend The Mother Tongue to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes I'd recommend the book but I would recommend it be read if possible, instead of being listened to.Which character – as performed by Stephen McLaughlin – was your favorite?
There are no characters in the book.Did The Mother Tongue inspire you to do anything?
If anything it might inspire you to learn more about etymologyAttain word enlightment, if you can listen quickly
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Read only if you are very interested in the English language
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Well Delivered, but not suited for audio alone
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Helped and hurt by being an audio book
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Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?
yes the content was interesting but it should be read not listened to as there is a lot of spelling words out and repeating the alphabet that just doesn't make for a good listen.better if read
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Another great book by Bryson
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Fascinating!
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So many questions answered
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Its good to know this book is for humor, not so much for information.
More satire than history
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