The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way

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Summary: This amusing and informative book surveys the history of the English language and all its vagaries and perplexities of word origins, spellings, and pronunciations and why it has become so successful as a world language. Then he got into some languages I have a smattering of myself – French and German—and I began questioning. Some of it just sounded wrong, like the quote from an article that says most speakers of other languages aren’t aware there is such a thing as a thesaurus. The Brysons moved around the United Kingdom, living in Virginia Water (Surrey), Purewell (Dorset), Burton (Dorset), Kirkby Malham, and the Old Rectory in Wramplingham, Norfolk (2003–2013). [17] They currently live in rural Hampshire and maintain a small flat in South Kensington, London. [15] From 1995 to 2003 they lived in Hanover, New Hampshire. [18]

English became a world language in large part through the political and economic power of the British Empire.

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The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way, written by renowned linguist Bill Bryson, is a captivating exploration into the origins, evolution, and peculiarities of the English language. Published in 1990, this seminal work provides readers with a comprehensive and engaging account of how English became the global phenomenon it is today. PM in conversation with Bill Bryson", number10.gov.uk, UK Prime Minister's Office (published 30 November 2006), 29 November 2006, archived from the original on 27 October 2007 , retrieved 10 April 2009 In 2003, in conjunction with World Book Day, British voters chose Bryson's book Notes from a Small Island as that which best summed up British identity and the state of the nation. [22] Also in 2003, he was appointed a Commissioner for English Heritage. Bryson, Bill (3 July 2014). "Interview: Bill Bryson". nursinginpractice.com. Interviewed by Jenny Chou. Cogora Ltd. Although the new nation was dominated by the Saxons, it became known as England, after the Angles. These early tribes were functionally illiterate, so there is no written account of this period.

a b c "Writer Bill Bryson remembers his Iowa roots". Ames Tribune. Gannett Co. 28 October 2013 . Retrieved 31 January 2020. Mr Bill Bryson OBE HonFRS Honorary Fellow". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. biographical text reproduced here was originally published by the Royal Society under a creative commons license In November 2006, Bryson interviewed then British prime minister Tony Blair on the state of science and education. [25] These Cro-Magnon people were identical to us: they had the same physique, the same brain, the same looks. And, unlike all previous hominids who roamed the earth, they could choke on food. That may seem a trifling point, but the slight evolutionary change that pushed man's larynx deeper into his throat, and thus made choking a possibility, also brought with it the possibility of sophisticated, well articulated speech.Bill Bryson stepping down as Chancellor". Durham University. 20 September 2010 . Retrieved 4 July 2011.

Another issue, Bryson wrote his book in the late 1980s. The world has changed a lot since then. First of all, we have internet, which, at least in my opinion, makes British and American English even closer to each other and more similar. That is why the book seemed to be slightly outdated at times. I would love to read its modernized version. Mother Tongue: The English Language, by Bill Bryson, London: Penguin Books, 1990 (link is to a different, in-print edition). niveau/anspruch: dazu muss man wissen, dass bryson ein sehr hohes bildungs- und sprachniveau hat, das merkt man natürlich auch in seiner schreibweise. er verwendet (fach)vokabular, das man tw nicht einmal in der muttersprache kennen würde. darauf sollte man sich einstellen. For all the little anecdotes and copious bits of trivia it contains, I really want to like the book more than I do. Unfortunately once it becomes clear that many of these factoids won't stand up to closer scrutiny -- Bryson doesn't even blink as he repeats the age-old and very disputed claim that the Eskimos have 50 words for snow -- it becomes hard to believe anything the book claims.

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Career [ edit ] Bryson in the regalia of Chancellor of Durham University in 2005 Bryson in 2013 Bryson in 2013 I found Bill Bryson about a month ago when I read hilarious In a Sunburned Country. I liked that one a lot and decided to try out his other book. And I liked this one too, but unfortunately not as much as In a Sunburned Country. And there are several reasons for that. Including the one that it can be at least partly my fault. Bill Bryson - Honorary Degree". University of Leicester. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021 – via YouTube. In May 2007, he became the president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. [36] [37] His first focus in this role was the establishment of an anti-littering campaign across England. He discussed the future of the countryside with Richard Mabey, Sue Clifford, Nicholas Crane, and Richard Girling at CPRE's Volunteer Conference in November 2007. [21] In 2011, Bryson won the Golden Eagle Award from the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. [38]

Then again, he seems to think that Pennsylvania Dutch is a form of pidgin English, so perhaps that’s unsurprising! Bill Bryson Wins Prestigious Golden Eagle Award". owpg.org.uk. Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016 . Retrieved 21 July 2016. William McGuire Bryson OBE HonFRS ( / ˈ b r aɪ s ən/; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011. [1] [2] [3] [4] Bill Bryson receives honorary doctorate". King's College London. 14 November 2012. Bill Bryson OBE: the UK's highest-selling author of non-fiction, acclaimed as a science communicator, historian and man of letters. Germans talk about ein image problem or das Cash Flow, Austrians eat Big Mäcs, Japanese spread a blanket and have a pikunikku, drink kohi (coffee) or miruku (milk), speak through a maiku (microphone), shop in a depaato (department store), and put on meeku (make-up). Poles watch telewizja and French shop at le drugstore.

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From the Germanic branch came English, Frisian, Flemish, and Dutch. He devotes a chapter to the First Thousand Years, which I think is the heart of the story of the English language.