hilaryjsc's review against another edition
3.0
Mostly quite fun, but some of the medieval stuff made me nerd out in violent disagreement.
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.
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
3.0
Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue is a non-fiction account of the history of the English language. I feel like I've learnt a bit more about how English came to be the way it is, while being suitably entertained. Hopefully most of what I've learnt is accurate, but maybe not - other reviews argue that there's stuff in here that is inaccurate, so it sounds like Bill needed a better fact checker. Bill also throws in some racism and condescension for good measure. Still, I was entertained.