# What popular books on English or other languages would you recommend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608 "2008-09-08T14:12:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/1 "2008-09-08T14:12:04Z")
I’ve been rereading Bill Bryson’s The Mother Tongue of late and I find it a bit irritating. I enjoyed reading it when I was a kid but now it jars quite a bit. For one thing, in nearly every instance where he uses the Irish language there’s a mistake, in spelling or pronunciation guide. Also, there are many other errors that I’ve noticed. Anyway, what better, popular language books would you recommend? I’m looking for books on the history and evolution of languages, etymologies of words and the like. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/2 "2008-09-08T14:23:10Z")
I seem to remember Melvyn Bragg doing a fantastic BBC TV series on the history of the English language, and a quick google shows he’s written a couple of books on the subject: ‘The Adventure of English’ and ‘The Routes of English’ (which I think is the BBC book that accompanied the series) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/3 "2008-09-09T00:41:14Z")
Thanks Sanvito but BUMP! ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/4 "2008-09-09T01:01:16Z")
I would suggest anything by [David Crystal](http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/026-9602773-2037251?_encoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-uk&field-author=David%20Crystal). Unlike Bryson, Crystal is actually a professional linguist. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/5 "2008-09-09T05:18:02Z")
_The Unfolding of Language_ by Guy Deutscher. ---
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/6 "2008-09-09T06:26:37Z")
_The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary_ by Simon Winchester A large portion of the book is devoted to the history of the English language, so i think you would enjoy it. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/7 "2008-09-09T06:55:35Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I seem to remember Melvyn Bragg doing a fantastic BBC TV series on the history of the English language, and a quick google shows he’s written a couple of books on the subject: ‘The Adventure of English’ and ‘The Routes of English’ (which I think is the BBC book that accompanied the series) Similarly, PBS did a great series with accompanying book called [The Story of English](http://www.amazon.com/Story-English-Third-Revised/dp/0142002313/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_3_txt?pf_rd_p=304485601&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-2&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0140154051&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0AFYS79FAQ8N9XPJHEC1). It’s a fun and accesible read that is an informative overview rather than a serious academic treatise. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/8 "2008-09-09T16:48:14Z")
Anthony Burgess - A Mouthful of Air is one of my favourites. Seconding someone’s David Crystal recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/9 "2008-09-09T16:55:43Z")
My favorite is [I Always Look up the Word “Egregious”](http://www.amazon.com/I-Always-Look-Word-Egregious/dp/0760708371/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220979133&sr=1-2), by Maxwell Nurnberg. It’s not at all dry, and gives wonderful insight into the relationships between words, going into their roots and explaining how the roots branched off. Really neat stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/10 "2008-09-09T22:08:54Z")
**Eats, Shoots & Leaves** by Lynne Truss "Truss dedicates the book “to the memory of the striking Bolshevik printers of St. Petersburg who, in 1905, demanded to be paid the same rate for punctuation marks as for letters, and thereby directly precipitated the first Russian Revolution.” ([wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eats,_Shoots_&_Leaves)) ETA Just saw some of the negative feedback at the end of the article. I enjoyed it, but what do I know? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/11 "2008-09-09T22:46:04Z")
> [@TNWPsycho](#): > > _The Meaning of Everything; The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary_ by Simon Winchester I know of this book by two other titles: - The Professor and The Madman (US edition) - The Surgeon of Crowthorne (UK edition) I second the recommendation. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/12 "2008-09-09T23:34:53Z")
When I was in high school I came across H.L. Mencken’s [The American Language](http://www.amazon.com/American-Language-H-L-Mencken/dp/0394400755), and was bowled over. Mencken was one of the greatest wits of the Twentieth Century, and this book is erudite without being dull (a difficult thing to accomplish). It’s an old book, but not outdated. I reread it a few years ago, and enjoyed it even more than I did when I was young. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/13 "2008-09-09T23:38:37Z")
> [@Tess\_Trueheart](#): > > **Eats, Shoots & Leaves** by Lynne Truss I bought this for a dollar at a book drive, thinking I would love it. I want my dollar back. This book is not about language, it’s about being bitchy and neurotic. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/14 "2008-09-09T23:41:19Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > When I was in high school I came across H.L. Mencken’s [The American Language](http://www.amazon.com/American-Language-H-L-Mencken/dp/0394400755), and was bowled over. Mencken was one of the greatest wits of the Twentieth Century, and this book is erudite without being dull (a difficult thing to accomplish). It’s an old book, but not outdated. I reread it a few years ago, and enjoyed it even more than I did when I was young. Why is this labelled NO CHECKOUT at my library 😕:mad: ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/15 "2008-09-10T00:04:37Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Why is this labelled NO CHECKOUT at my library 😕:mad: Maybe they consider it to be a reference book? (Just guessing). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/16 "2008-09-10T06:43:33Z")
The only editions available in print of _The American Language_ are rather expensive, so perhaps the library isn’t willing to let people check out books that cost that much. Also, there have been a number of editions of the book. Perhaps the ones in your library are older editions (which are different in content from newer editions), which are unobtainable in that form except for very expensive used copies from rare book dealers. I’m not sure if I’d recommend _The American Language_. It’s well written but rather long. I read it once, but that was a long time ago. I’m not sure about _Eats, Shoots & Leaves_ either, although I haven’t read it yet. Its quality is highly disputed. WordMan, you have confused two books. _The Meaning of Everything_ is one book by Winchester, while The Professor and the Madman (a.k.a. _The Surgeon of Crowthorne_) is another book by him. The first book is about the OED, while the second book is about some people who worked on the OED. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-popular-books-on-english-or-other-languages-would-you-recommend/462608/17 "2008-09-10T09:26:42Z")
I’ve skimmed _Eats, Shoots & Leaves_ before but wasn’t too impressed. I sold a shedload of copies in my shop though, which was nice.