5.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 17/03/2010

In "Mother Tongue" makes what could be a dull subject, and informative and entertaining read (as he does with his two other instructive books, "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and "Shakespeare". "Mother Tongue" is about the origins of language in general, and of the English language in particular. English is, after all, what most of us use to communicate on both interpersonal and international levels. Bryson shows how English is a real melting pot of other languages, both those still in use and others that have long become extinct. He looks at how, despite its unpromising beginnings, English has become the world's most popular language - despite its quirky nature. Where words come from, varieties of spelling, good English and bad, swearing, and wordplay are all covered in an easily read, informative, and frequently humorous way.
The fact that you are reading this probably means that English is the language you grew up with, use every waking minute - and probably give little thought to. "Mother Tongue" will give you a new appreciation of how lucky you are to speak English, and how many of the world's millions wish they did!
Thoroughly recommended.

4.0 out of 5 based on 2 reviews. – Customer review on 17/02/2010

This is an interesting book about the history of the English language - how it developed the way it did, what it's like compared to other languages, word origins etc. It has some funny anecdotal information about the language, and is written in a humour style, to be accessible to most people. To be honest i found it a bit dry in some parts but as somebody interested in languages, I thought it was good.