A review by josephvanburen
The Secret Life of Words: English Words and Their Origins by Anne Curzan

5.0

18 hours of English etymology, linguistic history, and current language usage! If that sounds like a treasure chest of awesome to you (as opposed to a cardboard box of boring), you need this. I am a fan of The Great Courses and Anne Curzan, and this audiobook was both entertaining and informative. Anne's love of language and passion for her work comes through well. She adds just the right amount of humor and humanity into her lectures to make the material relatable and perhaps even interesting to people not normally drawn to linguistics. You'd be surprised how many words and phrases you use every day are covered in this course!