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In case anyone is interested in the history of the English Language, Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue (https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Tongue-English-How-That/dp/0
by Veratyr 9y ago
In case anyone is interested in the history of the English Language, Bill Bryson's The Mother Tongue (https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Tongue-English-How-That/dp/0380715430 https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Tongue-English-How-That/dp/038...) is a pretty easy and informative read.
Actually had it set as required reading in high school English of all things.
- ThinkingGuy 9y agoAnother recommendation: the History of English Podcast, by Kevin Stroud. http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/ http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/
- Balgair 9y agoI'll add another one: 'The Story of English' from a Canadian bloke here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj9jJiPwsp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj9jJiPwsp0
- Mediterraneo10 9y agoOh, God no. Bill Bryson is not a linguist and has no real grounding in the field, and "The Mother Tongue" has been criticized for decades for its abundance of factual errors, misunderstandings, and urban myths. There is a significant mistake on nearly every page of the book. Some of the reviews on the Amazon product listing that you link to discuss this in detail.
- Veratyr 9y agoI apologize, I wasn't aware of that. I read it in high school so didn't hear much about it elsewhere. Can you recommend a good, approachable alternative?