"In this hymn to the mother tongue, Bill Bryson examines how a language treated for centuries as the inadequate and second-rate tongue of peasants' has now become the undisputed global language.

He explains how the words shampoo, sofa, slogan, ok and rowdy etc got into our dictionaries and how the major dictionaries were created. He explores the countless varieties of English - from American to Australian, from Creole to Cockney rhyming slang - and the perils of marketing brands with names like Pschitt and Super Piss.

With entertaining sections on the oddities of swearing and spelling, spoonerisms and scrabble, and a consideration of what we mean by 'good English', Mother Tongue is one of the most stimulating books yet written on this endlessly engrossing subject."

Bill Bryson explaining how and why English came to be the global language that it is - at times amusing, occasionally a bit dry, but overall entertaining for those curious about the origins and developments of this language.

Interestingly I thought some of the sections were a bit dated - particularly the chapter on swearing. Given that the book was published in 1990, and Bryson notes how quickly English is developing and changing, this seems oddly appropriate.

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To a friend who enjoys words