The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson Audio book by Storytel

Listening time is around 10 hours but if you increase the reading speed to 1.2, the time becomes around 8 hours. This does not distort the pronunciation and diction in any way and this may be a good book if you are planning to make the jump to audio book.
There are so many words in many languages and since the aim of the book is to get a feel of diction and pronunciation, a good narrator is an asset!
There is no way that if you had read the book, you could get a feel of the same!
There are some words which are virtually not pronounceable by simply reading so audio narration is definitely the way to go!

Bill in his characteristic fashion starts by telling why he started this book! He starts by giving examples such as “I could care less and I couldn’t care less is the same!” Or how
“Or fly is not an insect but a part of your pant!” Or why “you tell a lie but speak the truth!”
He also states how many words are not routinely used in English but why English is the major language which is spoken as widely as possible!

How English is the biggest export with some mild after sale service problem! Many words are there in other language but not in English but how only English has a thesaurus!
Apparently Eskimos have fifty words for types of snow but not word for snow! Italians have some 500 words for Macaroni and similar examples which just like his other books is more funny when you read or listen yourself!

His subtle humour and quirky comments in between is sure to brings smiles to you!

He then talks about how every country thinks of the other in a derogatory way like We tend to regard other people’s languages as we regard their cultures with ill-hidden disdain. In Japanese, the word for foreigner means “stinking of foreignhair.”! To the Czechs a Hungarian is “a pimple.” Germans call cockroaches “Frenchmen,” while the French call lice “Spaniards.” Apparently We in the English-
speaking world take French leave, but Italians and Norwegians talk about departing like an Englishman, and Germans talk of running like a Dutchman!
Italians call syphilis “the French disease,” while both French and Italians call con games ‘American swindle’!” And this is a shorter version of the list which is a hoot in itself!

You know there are at least seven different ways of telling thank you or express gratitude in Japanese! Everyone knows Arigato gozaimasu! Which is Thank you! Then you have Domo arigato gozaimashita or Thank you very much Followed by Hontoni arigato gozaimasu or Thank you so much!
Again this is an example of a quirk in one language! The book is full of such interesting and many times funny quirks!

He talks about Ellipses, Split infinitive, he tells about the ancient language and about how English has come from the Germanic language. He talks about how Websters dictionary came about in the way he mentioned history in his previous book and then adds the history about the most famous dictionary, The Oxford English Dictionary!

He explains how there were a group of great leaders and thinkers who wanted the pronounciation oriented spelling of words! Greats like Napolen and more recently George Bernard Shaw! In fact his property and will was to have used in the development of this! Like if you want to say Deaf then the spelling in direct pronounciation would be DEF! Psycho must be Siko! Of course it would have been a great step but sadly it was not to be! To know English you must learn the pronounciation and not just read (REED if pronciation proper spelling!). After you read this you tend to wonder why many want to make English so damn hard!

He talks about the fact that the plural of child is not childs but children! Apparently even the plural of many words was similar, like the physical of house was not houses but housen! It’s a mystery of what the letters which come after Q in queue are doing there in the first place! How p is silent in psycho but loud in protest! Of the 26 letters of the alphabet according to Bill Bryson in the book not even a single letter is consistent when it comes to pronounciation!

English may be one of the most common language spoken around the world which is why it has so many words from other languages! You have shampoo from India and Ketchup from China! Even the word Bankrupt is from Italian Banca Rotta! Where in the days of open banking, a failed banker’s bench or Banca would be Rotta or broken! In fact till 1300 or so only the poor or worker class people spoke English! The language of rich and famous was not English!

This and many other interesting facts and quirks specially about GB Shaw and the author’s favourite Shakespeare (here also he states the different spelling); in fact he states so much about him that I understood how he ended up writing a complete big book about Shakespeare!

With all the quirks and facts and trivia, Bill takes you on a journey of a lifetime! Never a dull moment and yes he talks about the favourite word of Americans and their contribution (starts with F!) and many more! He also added some trivia and clues for cryptic crosswords and palindrome and anagram and what not! That reenergised my love for the Hindu crossword!

Just listen with an eclectic mind (I just added that word there for fun!)

Happy reading or listening but remember what Jack used to tell in Will and Grace, “You may have a large vocabulary but a small DICtionary!” Sorry for the pun but it was too hard to resist!

Have fun!