Bill Bryson makes another appearance. And he will keep on doing so if I ever write about all his books that I've read. This one had the double draw to me of being by Bryson and about the English language.
The Mother Tongue
Bill Bryson
A note: the link above is a link to the google book version of the book, which as far as I can tell, is the electronic version of the whole book.
It took me quite some time to read this, but that is because I was being a lazy pleasure reader and not because it wasn't interesting. It has all of Bryson's trademark factoids and humor, and it outlines the development and use of the language well.
While reading this, I kept thinking of my students in Bulgaria, whom I was trying to teach more about English reading and writing. Bryson makes an effort to explain why English is the strange language that it is, how it got that way, and how it is effecting the world today. There were so many small facts that I learned that I wished I had read the book before going to Bulgaria because I'm pretty sure I could have answered a lot more questions about my language. While I think anyone would benefit from reading this and find it interesting, I think it would be a great book for my students to read. It definitely requires a pretty strong command of the English language, but it explains so many things that we struggle with in the process of learning or teaching or using it that it provides a sense of relief at the clarification.
Some particularly funny parts were when he talked about English dialects, words in other languages (like long German word phrases, Welsh, Australian sayings, English cockney, and so on). He has an entire chapter on names, so obviously much of that is aimed at the comical. Another of the later chapters is on wordplay and the various types of wordplay that exist. My students are already familiar with the lipogram, but there were many types that I had never heard of, like a holorime or a Clerihew.
The Mother Tongue
Bill Bryson
A note: the link above is a link to the google book version of the book, which as far as I can tell, is the electronic version of the whole book.
It took me quite some time to read this, but that is because I was being a lazy pleasure reader and not because it wasn't interesting. It has all of Bryson's trademark factoids and humor, and it outlines the development and use of the language well.
While reading this, I kept thinking of my students in Bulgaria, whom I was trying to teach more about English reading and writing. Bryson makes an effort to explain why English is the strange language that it is, how it got that way, and how it is effecting the world today. There were so many small facts that I learned that I wished I had read the book before going to Bulgaria because I'm pretty sure I could have answered a lot more questions about my language. While I think anyone would benefit from reading this and find it interesting, I think it would be a great book for my students to read. It definitely requires a pretty strong command of the English language, but it explains so many things that we struggle with in the process of learning or teaching or using it that it provides a sense of relief at the clarification.
Some particularly funny parts were when he talked about English dialects, words in other languages (like long German word phrases, Welsh, Australian sayings, English cockney, and so on). He has an entire chapter on names, so obviously much of that is aimed at the comical. Another of the later chapters is on wordplay and the various types of wordplay that exist. My students are already familiar with the lipogram, but there were many types that I had never heard of, like a holorime or a Clerihew.
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