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tba_95's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.5
Filled with errors. Fun to read.
meedamian's review against another edition
4.0
For me personally, that book was an absolute delight, as learning ABOUT languages is one of my hobbies. The book is really insightful, interesting, and the witty contextual humor planted all throughout made me laugh aloud many times. There's a lot of references to source materials that I can use to dive deeper and more accurately, which brings me to… there are some questionable or not-so-true statements within (ex. I've not once heard or saw someone call "ajskrym" for "ice cream" in Poland; see my highlights of this book).
Overall, I found it profoundly enjoyable, just don't treat everything within as gospel
Overall, I found it profoundly enjoyable, just don't treat everything within as gospel
sachahusken's review against another edition
informative
2.5
Confirmed: Bill Bryson is not for me. His subjects are interesting but I just do not enjoy his way of writing
gracefullypunk's review against another edition
4.0
Hadn't actually read this book before--must've got it confused with his other language book, about how American English came to be.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
5.0
I might be a bit biased on this one because I love books about language, language development, and language evolution. However it was chock-full (and likely had the story behind and the source of this phrase) of great details and tidbits (previously the more offensive titbits) related to everything from the source of words, to spellings, and pronunciations. Fascinating how our language has changed through the years into what we see today. Presents the pros and cons of the language; discusses the aspects that have been simplified and those that have been left obscure and confusing. Loved it.
freshaircure's review against another edition
4.0
I normally have a terrible time reading nonfiction, but I really enjoyed this book. His explanations of the evolution of language and the way our brains learn and process language were really fascinating.
crickedcactus's review against another edition
1.0
I haven't finished it yet. I liked the part about how the English language got this way, spelling, etymology, history, dialects... Really interesting stuff. But i just got to the chapter about grammar and I just want to throw the book out of the window. Bill Bryson has absolutely no knowledge about grammar and acts with an authoritative voice,disregarding very basic concepts,like what present tense is, what it is used for, the difference between present tense and bare infinitive, or between present tense and future tense for the same matter. He doesn't understand the difference between verbs and nouns, and the role they play in sentences.
Quotation: "A noun is a noun and a verb is a verb because grammarians say they are" wow. Awesome logic Brill. Such good arguments. You really convinced me. Of course he doesn't explain why grammarians say they are a noun and a verb, cause he's got no idea.
He makes fun of all the grammar rules, saying how they don't apply to the English language, but then goes on saying how English is sooooo complex and confusing and impossible to make sense of.
Sorry Bill , I think the only one confused here is yourself. Grammar rules make sense. You suck.
Quotation: "A noun is a noun and a verb is a verb because grammarians say they are" wow. Awesome logic Brill. Such good arguments. You really convinced me. Of course he doesn't explain why grammarians say they are a noun and a verb, cause he's got no idea.
He makes fun of all the grammar rules, saying how they don't apply to the English language, but then goes on saying how English is sooooo complex and confusing and impossible to make sense of.
Sorry Bill , I think the only one confused here is yourself. Grammar rules make sense. You suck.
wander_er's review against another edition
3.0
Some of the chapters were interesting. But it mostly seemed like random facts and myths about languages slapped together into a book. That being said, it was still entertaining.