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The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way

Written by:
Bill Bryson
Narrated by:
Stephen McLaughlin

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
35
Narrator
5
Release Date
December 15, 2015
Duration
10 hours 45 minutes
Summary
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.
Reviews
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Anonymous

Bryson is always fascinating and a wonderful writer. I, too, am a writer who knows multiple languages, so I'm very interested in the subject matter. The book is, I think, better consumed one or two chapters at a time, as I listened to it on a long road trip, and at times it became a bit tedious. The narration of words that are spelled out in the text of the book ( and there are many) can be especially hard to follow. There are also many references to foreign words, and the narrator was not particularly proficient in pronouncing those I recognized, so I'm guessing that that was the case with others as well.

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Joshua S.

Fascinating book with a lot of interesting information. I had to give the narration 3 stars not because there was anything wrong with the narrator himself, but because there were several sections that just do not translate to audiobook well. There are several sections where many words in a row are spelled out, and the narrator doesn't slow down or anything to help make it a bit easier to follow along. I will have to get the physical copy of this book for future re-reads!

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kathryn hayward

Very interesting listening. Great if doing an english or teaching course

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