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 Bryson has an engaging style of writing that piques one's interest in the origins of American English. While not for the hard core linguist, it answers many questions the casual observer might have. Small technical errors (Embarass is in Minnesota, not Wisconsin) and omissions (Sears and Roebuck started in North Redwood Falls, MN), it is none the less a darned good read, and a great way of learning more about the origins of the words and phrases we use daily in the US.
Bryson walks you through American history as he presents story after story usually leaving you laughing and often simply just amazing you with how some word came into common usage. As he tells his story of the English language in America, you will probably learn more about American history than you ever knew before--and all of it is very entertaining. Don't miss the amazing story of Squanto, the Indian who helped the Pilgrims survive at Plymouth, Massachusetts. There is more to Squanto's story than you think and it is just one of hundreds of gems that Bryson has uncovered. This is a fast reading, educational, and very fun book.
Unlike most of Bryson's works this is a serious scholarly effort, but is written in an entertaining rather than academic fashion. Also, unlike other Bryson works this is less opinionated, and uncharacteristically celebrates the many fascinating and admirable factors in the evolution of a distinct American culture. While his typical sardonic humor comes through it is more understated, and not at all unkind. A fun and educational book that you will want to leisurely enjoy a chapter at a time, and not necessarily in sequential order.
His historical treatments are similarly spotty. He notes at least one Native American document that appears to have influenced the language of the Constitution, but is blissfully unaware of the numerous state constitutions and articles of confederation and other historical documents from which ideas and language were lifted. His reading of the first and second amendments are laughingly ahistorical. In discussing the songs associated with wars, he remarks that unlike the Civil War and WWI, WWII had no memorable songs! He also states that "bought the farm" is a phrase from the Vietnam War, something that would surprise anyone who's ever seen a film about the RAF in WWII. (I believe the phrase is actually a bit older than that). And he thinks "pilot" came from early aviation, when it's a very old nautical term. The creative etymology he gives for "hacker" along with his 1975 citation is an amatuerish guess; the actual etymology is very well documented in the popular book "Hackers" by Stephen Levy- it first attained popularity as a reference to a technical accomplishment in the MIT Model Railroad Club long before 1975. These criticisms just scratch the surface; as I read the book, I filled page after page with similar errors. And yet, for all these errors, it's still an engaging and enjoyable book. Read it and enjoy it- but be extremely cautious about citing it. If you want an interesting and accurate book, read instead "English: Its Life and Times" by Robert Claiborn, a lively and yet scholarly history of the language,, from origins to modern useage. |
This book is a wonderful and very witty look at the English language and how it has evolved in America. Did you ever have an English teacher that lectured you about the use (or more likely misuse) of a certain word? Forget all of that! (Or at least loosen up about it!) This book is a testament to the fact that language is alive and a reflection of the culture that uses it.
This book leaves me a bit puzzled as to how characterize it best. It's full of some of the liveliest and most engaging writing about the development of the American tongue, and at the same time it's just riddled with errors of etymology and history. Bryston relies on some of the classic references - Mencken, Flexner et al- to the extent that he has never checked any of the newer references. Hence he still repeats the etymology of "OK" as the mid-19th century "Oll Korrect", despite the more recent scholarship that points to a great number of cognates in West African languages as the more likely source.
