Similarly, English grammar has some complexities that allow speakers to make distinctions not.

by Bill Bryson 3. On one hand, English has a vocabulary that is significantly larger than other languages, allowing speakers to express ideas that are more precise. An edition of The Mother Tongue (1990) The Mother Tongue English & How It Got That Way 1st ed. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, he now lives in England with his wife and children. English language learning, therefore, is a large industry throughout the world.īryson compares and contrasts English to other world languages and discusses the relative merits of the different ways that language is constructed. Bill Bryson is the New York Times bestselling author of At Home, A Walk in the Woods, The Lost Continent, Made in America,The Mother Tongue, A Short History of Nearly Everything - winner of the Aventis Prize - and various other works. English is often the neutral language chosen for international businesses that have workers and management that speak different native languages. The Mother Tongue - Chapter 1 The World's Language Summary & Analysis Bill Bryson This Study Guide consists of approximately 29 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Mother Tongue. English words and phrases have entered the vocabularies of many other languages around the world, reflecting the power that English has in the modern world.

Chapter 1 The World's Language Summary and Analysisīryson discusses the place of English in the world, including both successful and unsuccessful use of the language by non-native speakers.

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson