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Engaging look at the history and evolution of the English language

I usually love Bill Bryson but I'm not so sure about this one. So far he has shown a complete lack of familiarity with the translation industry and machine translation. I'm 99.9% certain his 12 dense, unintelligible pages about Italy were MT. And this is total gibberish - the name is Xhosa, I wouldn't say anyone belongs to the Xhosa tribe (Xhosa people, rather) and I'm asking my one colleague if that word is right. Not super impressed.

Sorry, Bill, but this was a swing and a miss. The scholarship and conclusions were suspect and the humor wasn‘t funny. As a linguistics book this wasn‘t very rigorous (despite lots of citations, which I haven‘t seen before in Bryson‘s books), and as general NF/humor there just wasn‘t much of note. A Walk in the Woods stayed much fresher; not once in this book did I LOL. If you‘re looking for books on language there are far better choices.

The Hobbit trilogy? I‘ve never heard it called that; I‘ve always encountered The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Is this an outdated reference?

Also, I find nothing surprising about Tolkien being very interested in dialects and their preservation. I don‘t consider myself particularly knowledgeable about Tolkien, but maybe more so than Bryson is/was. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I knew this book was old (1990) when I started reading, but having the Soviet Union and West Germany mentioned on a single page - both as current entities - really brought me to a screeching halt.

While this was entertaining, I have questions about its accuracy. One section discusses place names that are spelled differently from how they‘re pronounced; one such example was Natchitoches, LA (I used to live less than an hour from there.) When he says how it‘s actually pronounced, it was nothing like what I learned. Reviewers on Goodreads with actual linguistic credentials also questioned the accuracy.

#motherlanguageday #showsomelove @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs

Hmm.... I have always been fascinated by etymology and the development of languages. In this book Bryson provides an overview of the subject which is at some points entertaining as we have come to expect, but at other points more than a little dry. Also I find some of the specifics that he raises questionable (yes Finnish swearing). Battling whether to make this a pick or a so-so, I will go for the former on the basis of his other books.

This was reasonably interesting and entertaining, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. In comparing it to other similar books, I've liked others better. The main point that grated on me was a view of the superiority of English. Additionally, some points didn't quite mesh with what I've read before, and I've read other reviews that mention specific points that may not be completely clear or accurate.

#nonfiction #audiobook #Hoopla

Who'd have thought that a book on etymology would be one of my absolute favorites.

I‘m fascinated by languages & how words evolve, so I was intrigued by this. But there were parts that sounded inaccurate, so I looked into some claims. The Finnish not having swear words was one & there were parts about how English was so unique & other languages could never do all these things, so I checked. And a lot of the things he said, if not blatantly false, were at least misleading/mistaken. It made me question the accuracy of the rest.

I‘m continuing my Bill Bryson kick with this one about the English language - a lot of interesting facts! I don‘t usually read a writer‘s complete work but I‘m really enjoying it especially on audio.

Making my "list" of unread Digital

The narrator spoke so. heckin. slowly. that I listened to this on 1.5 speed just to keep awake. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.

Went on my evening walk but still kept reading for #24in48 😊

Interesting content but it was starting to feel like a chore to get through. Could be that I'm reading too many books at the moment, but it just wasn't holding my attention. May try again at a later date. 😕

#TBRTuesday - Working on all of these currently and hoping to really start The Sparrow soon! I really need to stop reading so many books at once 🤦‍♀️

tl;dr English can throw some serious shade. 😎

This was my first Bryson. I really enjoyed it. I find the subject matter very interesting. I loved his writing style. He injected just the right amount of humor and kept it from being dry and boring, which could have easily happened. The only negative was that it was written so long ago that many of the facts and references are horribly outdated. Would have loved updated info. This book has definitely whet my appetite for more #nonfiction. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

#seasonsreadings2016 I actually have a duplicate of the book I'm reading right now. I picked up the hardback years ago and then after I got a Kindle I snagged it on sale. Reading the Kindle version now. #multiplecopies @RealLifeReading

#seasonsreadings2016 #ereader I 💜 my Kindle. It's just so convenient. I love knowing how many minutes I have left in the chapter. And I can read in the middle of the night when I can't sleep, and don't have to turn a light on. There are so many reasons why I'm a Kindle girl all the way.

Doing some reading in preparation for a #BritLit class on the development of English 👍🏼 (and waiting for @WanderingBookaneer to return bearing a venti Pumpkin Spice Latte!) 🤓💜

Started new non-fiction today