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Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English | John H. McWhorter
Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, author McWhorter distills hundreds of years of lore i
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ After reading - and LOVING - Nine Nasty Words, I‘m diving into linguist John McWhorter‘s backlist. This one takes an in-depth look at English and it‘s myriad quirks. We do some absurd stuff with words and phrasing. He largely compares Germanic versus Semitic languages. Super interesting stuff! McWhorter‘s writing is engaging and fun; narration flawless. “Meaningless do” was a bit repetitive, but I‘m being nitpicky. I learned a lot!

Cinfhen I actually bailed on Nine Nasty Words, I just couldn‘t get into it🤷🏼‍♀️so I‘m guessing this won‘t be for me either ?!!? Funny, how that works sometimes...I was so sure I was going to love (edited) 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen That‘s bummer, but yes, def skip this one then. 3y
78 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Andrea4
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Ok #ReadersGoneRogue @FantasyChick @BookishTrish
Out of these 4.
We got some non-fiction about our language.
Non-fiction about well, fiction (unless you believes myths to be true and I'm open to all options here not offending anyone I hope lol)
Some good fiction about family drama it seems
And poetry.
Huh, fair amount of non fiction coming from the chick that doesn't really like it haha.

BookishTrish I like your brain @andrea4! Any of these would be cool with me . 3y
Andrea4 @BookishTrish thanks☺️ so @FantasyChick help me narrow it down!! 3y
FantasyChick You know I love some non fiction! I love mythology so that sounds pretty interesting (unless it reads way too textbook) but so does Lighthousekeeping. I'd be down for either of those! 3y
16 likes3 comments
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Captainjaq
Pickpick

I love me some John McWhorter! His Lexicon Valley podcast is great and he makes modern linguistics so much fun! This is what academia should be like!

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rachelsbrittain
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📚 Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

🚀Nnedi Okorafor

🇨🇺 One Day At A Time

🍴Okra

#manicmonday #lettero @JoScho

tammysue Okra 💚 5y
JoScho 🧡🧡🧡 5y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Daisey
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Pickpick

This book about the development of English over time was interesting. However, I did not enjoy this book quite as much as the last book by John McWhorter that I listened to. There is plenty of fascinating information, but some parts came across as overly argumentative and a few aspects seemed a bit repetitive.

#audiobok #nonfiction

Hamlet Your review seems right on target to me. 6y
48 likes2 comments
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tracyrowanreads
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HippieChickHomeschool
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Mehso-so

If you really love languages, you‘ll like this. I lost interest about halfway and only finished because it was short.

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CatchMyBookBreath
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Pickpick

I 💕 John McWhorter! I love his reading voice and have purchased everything he narrates. Loved this one too- probably the easiest to start with if you want to get hooked on words.

Sace Squeee! I am *such* a John McWhorter fangirl! ❤️ I love his great courses lectures too! 7y
CatchMyBookBreath @Sace me too! 💥💥💥💥💥😁 7y
34 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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melissanorr
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Bailedbailed

This is where I bailed.

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melissanorr
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I'm not really sure about this book. I found the first chapter interesting but the second chapter was weird. It seemed to argue that there should be no rules for the English language because language evolves. Hopefully chapter 3 makes more sense and gets back to the actual history which is why I picked up the book in the first place!

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melissanorr
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So far it's interesting but it takes a lot of focus. Not a quick read.

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Ubookquitous
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Pickpick

For the #Readathon I completed four books. My reading time was 11hrs 26m - In addition to completing the above, I also read in 3 other books that I will continue to read during May. I'm happy with where I ended. #deweys24hr
@DeweysReadathon

JazzFeathers Wow! Four books! I just managed nearly two 😄 7y
Ubookquitous Well, I read around 50-60 pages an hour -- slow end of average. But 1 book was around 120 pages, 1 was a graphic novel and two shorts audiobooks (of which 1 I'd started before the Readathon). The page total I read was around 700. Given I read for a total of more than 11.5 hrs, I was about my average. But I wouldn't have finished HP Order of the Phoenix in that time frame...lol 7y
19 likes2 comments
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Sue

After having my heart stomped on by Stay With Me (😭) I've landed on this book about grammar in my search for something more lighthearted prior to bed. Party 🎉

JessReads I love John McWhorter! If you get a chance, you should check him out on audio. He reads his own stuff, and he has an amazing way of making the writing and the topic come alive. 7y
Sue @JessReads Thank you! Yes, I'm listening to the audio - need to give my eyes a break. I never thought I would find the explanation for the meaningless do so fascinating! 7y
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Abby-J
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I tagged one of McWhorter's books since, as they are not actually books, none the Great Courses material is listed here. And while I am still acknowledging that this isn't a book, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to recommend this to anyone even vaguely interested in language and how it develops and evolves. McWhorter's lectures are laced with humor and pop culture references that make what could be dry subject matter very entertaining.