I just can’t finish!

Page after misinforming page is polluting my mind with fantasy after disjointed fantasy about not only English, but also all the other languages in the world that have the misfortune to appear in unfair caricature in this book. As many others have already highlighted some of the worst errors, I will limit myself to just one: As an English teacher in Japan, I made it a priority to learn the local language and I can tell you that the Japanese word for “foreigner” (that would include me) does not mean “stinking of foreign hair”. Just as the English word, derived from old French means “outside person” so too does “gaijin” which comprises of the Chinese character for “outside” and “person”.

The lack of research is astonishing. How long would it have taken to at least pick up a dictionary from the language section of a local library and check a few things before publishing them in a book about language? A simple pocket dictionary would have done for some of these words rather than just running with whatever cock and bull story he had heard. This dreadful tome is replete with great sweeping statements proclaiming one thing or another about languages without even the most basic checking or need for evidence and it is truly a wonder it made it past editing.

I’m only glad that I got this as a present, so I didn’t waste any money on it. I’m not normally a fan of burning books, but this one is going up to Fahrenheit 451 before anyone else infects their mind with this knowledge mutagen.

This book contains more than you expect. Bill Bryson covers language its self with a focus on English. The book covers speech from a historical view, a physical view, an environmental view, a utilitarian view, and many other views. If you find the tape version, you will want to play the tape over again as it cruses through many concepts that leave you thinking and speculating how it could have all gone differently.
A highlight for me (aside from his dirty word list) was the recognition that we try to impose Old Latin syntaxes on Modern English and it can get redicules.
My only disappointment comes when he mentions things I have already read and gets it wrong or off the mark. You have to worry a little about what you do not know and if to trust him. Still it is a fun book.
The advantage of the tape is that you actually hear the pronunciations. When it is a matter of spelling the reader will spell it out for you. Also the reader has the ability to change accents to fit the dialect samples.
The disadvantage is when you want to turn back to a particular page for cross-reference; there is no page to turn. So I would be smart to own both versions.