Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

by Bill Bryson

This book turns away from the highways and byways of middle America for a fast, exhilarating ride along the Route 66 of American language and popular culture.

Exploding much of America's self-created self-image, Bryson de-mythologises his native land - explaining how a dusty desert hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say "lootenant" and "Toosday", how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up - as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Language, Travel, Humor, Linguistics, Audiobook

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Bill Bryson is a bestselling American-British author known for his witty and accessible nonfiction books spanning travel, science, and language. He rose to prominence with Notes from a Small Island (1995), an affectionate portrait of Britain, and solidified his global reputation with A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003), a popular science book that won the Aventis and Descartes Prizes. Raised in Iowa, Bryson lived most of his adult life in the UK, working as a journalist before turning to writing full-time. His other notable works include A Walk in the Woods, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, and The Mother Tongue. Bryson served as Chancellor of Durham University (2005–2011) and received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including an honorary OBE and election as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society. Though he announced his retirement from writing in 2020, he remains one of the most beloved voices in contemporary nonfiction, with over 16 million books sold worldwide.

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm up to Benjamin Franklin and frankly Ben, I've had enough of you and this book. I usually like Bryson's writing style, but the fruity self-congratulatory tone of this is irritating. Also, I think if you are an American you might be a great deal more interested in the entire of history of America as experienced by European settlers than I am. No 'might' about it, of course you are, its your country. Me, sorry, but I couldn't care less.

Does that sound almost sacrilegious to you? Ask yourself this, what interest do you have in Caribbean history (somewhat, but not entirely, boring) or worse, much worse, Welsh history, since its not exactly a history of a get-up-and-go people who Did Great Things (they liked to sing a lot and annoy the English essentially).

Now I like history, I do, especially books by people like Liza Picard and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, but they tend to keep politicians out of it. Nothing bores like reading political squabbles, at least to me.

Also, the Indians, in whom I have a major interest as all I know about them is war, ceremonies and their problems with alcohol and success with gambling, are dismissed by Bryson with just a little about their linguistic contribution to American English.

I'm not saying its not a good book, I've never read a bad Bryson one, but its just plain boring to me and life is too short and books too many to bother finishing it.

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bill Bryson is like the Abba of books. Everyone, your granny and your kid's teacher and your babysitter, and your mum's friends, everybody has a couple they really like and they probably have Bill Bryson's Greatest Hits on the cd shelf too. Safest present to give to someone you know very little about : a Bill Bryson book. Oh, everyone loves him Didn't he do Dancing Queen? We danced to Notes from a Small Island at our wedding. Oh did you - A Short History of Nearly Everything was "our book". I'm in the middle of reading Knowing Me Knowing You (A Ha!) - they're so funny. And those two Bills they've got singing, well, I really fancy the blonde one. So if you get my hand in a vice and start turning the handle then I'll admit between gritted teeth that Bill can write some tuneful melodies and Abba are occasionally amusing. There. Now can I have my hand back.

gimme gimme gimme something bland after midnight



Now... you may think I'm joking but look here:

[RandomAnthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bryson’s Made In America is a usually fascinating but sometimes overwhelming conversation about the manner in which language has evolved in the United States over the last couple hundred years. If you imagine a guy at the end of the bar who knows way too much about a particular subject and, while he shares quite a few compelling and memorable facts with you over the course of an evening, eventually you forget them all because there are so goddamn many that you just want the guy to be quiet for a second so you can take it all in and sip your beer, well, you have this book.

Bryson’s research skills shine in this book. He cites his sources constantly and his transitions from one subject to the next work more often than not. He would be the first to admit that his perspective (for example, in the influence of “politically correct” mindsets on language) is more editorial than reporting; at the same time, he doesn’t apologize (and I don’t think he should) for his point of view. Bryson also provides, whether he planned to do so or not, a short-form American history lesson through his efforts to contextualize the language’s changes and how/why they came to fruition.

I could probably have used fifty fewer pages (I didn’t need as much on the space program or car companies). Still, I’d read more Bryson (this is his third title on my “read” shelf, I believe) and I’d recommend Made in America to someone looking for an intensive, if somewhat random, analysis of English in the United States. He’s a little dry, a little nerdy, but, well, I’d rather get drunk with Bryson then, say, a heroin addict talking about smack dealers or an earnest poet waiting for me to ask him to read his verse. You know what I mean.

[Diane in Australia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I never would finish this book! It took me forever, and a day! It just dragged, and was boring. Bill took what could have been an interesting topic, and killed it. I'm beginning to think I'm not a Bill Bryson fan.

2 Stars = Blah. It didn't do anything for me.

[John Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am such a nerd! Why else would I find a book about "words" more exciting than "The Bourne Identity" or "Hunt For Red October". Then again, in my defense and to give enormous credit where it is due ... 1) I am a writer and words are everything to my trade, and 2) Bill Bryson brings such a fascinating and encyclopedic knowledge not just of etymology but a sensitivity to the historical and cultural environment within which language develops and evolves. His anecdotes are both engaging and informative. But beyond that appealing surface level of his presentation is the smart and insightful perspective he brings to any subject he chooses to address.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

WARNING: THIS REVIEW STOOPS TO LOW GIMMICKRY!

Specifically, the reader is invited to imagine a conversation between two reviewers, both of whom live inside my head. As will become evident, one is infinitely more crotchety than the other, possibly to the extent of bloody-mindedness. To keep guesswork to a minimum, I will alternate between regular and italic fonts.

This exploration of American English by Bill Bryson contains a wealth of entertaining anecdotal material that is unfortunately often buried in a welter of undisciplined, self-indulgent blather, expressed in breathless, eighth-grade level prose that cries out to be edited and brought under control. In considering the development of the language in the U.S., Bryson casts a wide net, with the first nine chapters covering various stages of American history from the Mayflower to the various waves of immigration that characterized the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
"Casts a wide net" is a good one. To say that this book is 'about' American English is a bit like saying "A Tale of two Cities" is 'about' knitting.
Subsequent chapters are organized thematically, dealing with such subjects as shopping, travel, advertising, eating, sports, the movies, sex, politics and war, and the state of American English at the time the book was written (the mid 1990s). It seems fair to say that the author's scholarship is characterized more by the breadth of his curiosity than its depth.
Isn't that just another way of saying that sloppiness abounds in this dog's breakfast of a book?
That seems a little harsh. Sure, his style is sometimes a bit discursive, and the author has a fondness for tangents...
'Discursive' is an understatement. Whole chunks of this book give you the feeling of being stuck in an airplane next to a garrulous midwestern drunk with an unending supply of anecdotes and no sense of pacing.

(to be continued)

[Ben-Ain · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 estrellas sin dudarlo.

Otro gran libro de mi querido Bill Bryson. Otro gran libro lleno de curiosidades, sarcasmo, conocimiento y un buen gusto escribiendo que hace de su lectura una auténtica delicia.

Desconozco si este libro fue traducido al español, porque nunca me he topado con él, y he pateado librerías nuevas y de antiguo que ya me recibían hasta saludándome por mi nombre. De todas formas, aunque hubiese sido traducido, creo que no tiene mucho sentido leerlo en otro idioma que sea en inglés, pues lo que tenemos aquí es un compendio de americanismos con los más enrevesados y originales orígenes . Bill Bryson nos llevará de la manos, siempre con humor, a conocer cómo acabaron formándose cientos y cientos de términos y frases hechas desde el desembarco de los Pilgrims hasta finales de los 90, momento en el cual fue escrito el libro.

Estructurado como todas las obras de Bill Bryson, el autor comienza a mostrarnos de forma cronológica cómo el inglés de los primeros colonos fue impregnándose de palabras propias de lo que tenían más cerca: nativos americanos, españoles, franceses... así como también de aquellas que los colonos no angloparlantes (polácos, rusos, daneses, holandeses, italianos...) traerían con ellos. Además, a medida que los años avanzaban y Estados Unidos comenzaba a evolucionar como nación y a prosperar económicamente, los nuevos inventos traerían consigo miles de nuevas palabras algunas de las cuales no serían sino apropiaciones de términos que ya llevaban cientos de años usándose por el pueblo llano.

No creo que sea su mejor libro, pero sí estoy seguro de que a todo aquel a quien le interese la evolución de las lenguas no quedará indiferente, o al menos, si así se queda, al menos será con una sonrisa en los labios.

[Negin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was thoroughly researched and full of trivia-type facts of U.S. history and the evolution of words in American English. Much of these facts were fascinating, but then the book got boring. Maybe it was the layout and the way that all the facts were organized. I can’t really tell. This being Bill Bryson, well, I guess that I wanted to like it much more than I did. I definitely prefer his travelogues, which are among my favorite books ever.

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read,this time on the evolution of American English,full of interesting background information.

[Austra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pus uz pusi - Amerikas vēsture un amerikāņu angļu valodas vēsture. Pieņemu, ka Braisons kā autors vai nu ļoti patīk vai ļoti nepatīk. Tā kā es vismaz pagaidām piederu tiem pirmajiem, tad šī grāmata mani labi izklaidēja, iepriecēja un sadeva daudz fun-facts, ko izkaisīt uz nevainīgiem garāmgājējiem. GK gan mēļo, ka Braisons reizēm totāli fleitējot, bet fleitē viņš interesantāk, nekā vnk vēstures grāmatas.

Pat ja fakti nav precīzi, lingvistiskajām drupatiņām uzticos un tāpēc šo varētu ieteikt kā baudāmu obligāto literatūru angļu filoloģijas studentiem vai vienkārši angļu valodas entuziastiem, jo te ir papilnam dažādu vārdbūves faktu un lietiņu, ar ko sevi iepriecināt.

[nettebuecherkiste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bill Bryson hat sich als Autor zahlreicher Sachbücher über ein großes Spektrum hinweg einen Namen gemacht und wird von vielen besonders für sein Talent, die witzigsten Geschichten und Fakten ausfindig zu machen, sowie seinen trockenen Humor geliebt. Ich muss gestehen, dass ich bisher außer Notes From a Small Island nichts von ihm gelesen habe – was aber nicht an mangelndem Interesse liegt, sondern an der überwältigenden Anzahl von Büchern, die ich unbedingt bald lesen muss.

Der Titel des Buchs „Made in America“ kann ein wenig irreführen, ich hatte eigentlich ein Buch darüber erwartet, was es heißt, in Amerika geboren und aufgewachsen zu sein. Tatsächlich handelt es sich aber um die Geschichte der Entwicklung der englischen Sprache in Amerika seit der Besiedlung durch britische Auswanderer. Was mir durchaus recht ist, denn ich bin von Haus aus Sprachwissenschaftlerin und interessiere mich brennend vor allem für Sprachentwicklung. Das gilt insbesondere für die ganz frühe Entwicklung der Sprachen aus dem indoeuropäischen Sprachenkreis.

Und dann haut der Mann mich doch schon in der Einführung um, indem er erwähnt, dass der Aufzählreim „Eenie, meenie, minie, mo“ nicht nur älter ist als die römische Besatzung des alten Britanniens, sondern eventuell sogar aus vorkeltischer Zeit stammt. Damit hatte er mich. Gänsehaut pur. Die ersten Kapitel beschäftigen sich mit der Sprache der ersten Siedler, die natürlich noch britisch war. Hochinteressant daran finde ich, dass das damalige Englisch in der Aussprache eher dem heutigen amerikanischen Englisch ähnelt – das britische Englisch ist dasjenige, das sich weiter von der Ausgangssprache wegentwickelt hat. Bryson erklärt anhand zahlreicher Beispiele den damaligen Zustand der englischen Sprache und bleibt dabei immer unterhaltsam. Auch sein berühmter Humor blitzt immer wieder auf. Viele Fakten finde ich absolut faszinierend, so erklärt Bryson beispielsweise in einer Fußnote, dass „you“ ursprünglich die Pluralform von „ye“ („du“) war und dass dieser Plural in der Deklination mit „you are“ erhalten blieb, während es ja eigentlich „you is“ heißen müsste. Überhaupt hatte ich mehrfach den Eindruck, dass die alten Sprachformen häufig in Dialekten überleben, bei den Aussprachebeispielen dachte ich wiederholt „das hört sich ein bisschen an wie Cockney“. Ihr merkt, dieses Thema finde ich hochgradig spannend.

Bryson beschränkt sich allerdings nicht komplett auf die Linguistik, sondern beschäftigt sich auch mit einigen historischen Mythen und Fakten, etwa über die tatsächliche „Entdeckung“ Amerikas, die ja lange vor Kolumbus stattfand. Im weiteren Verlauf des Buches geht Bryson auf die Weiterentwicklung des amerikanischen Englisch in den folgenden Jahrhunderten ein. Stark geprägt ist die amerikanische Sprache natürlich von der Vielzahl der Herkunftsländer der Emigranten. Vor allem Ortsnamen sind vermehrt auf indianische Sprachen zurückzuführen, wobei der Einfluss der Sprachen der Urbevölkerung eher als gering einzustufen ist. Je mehr wir uns der Moderne nähern, umso mehr beeinflussen nichtlinguistische Entwicklungen und Erfindungen die Sprache. Dementsprechend gibt es Kapitel über die Küche, die Elektrifizierung, Baseball und andere Sportarten oder Werbung. Mich persönlich interessieren diese Themen weniger stark als die geschichtlich weiter zurückliegenden Aspekte, weshalb das Buch mich in seinem Verlauf nicht mehr ganz so stark fesseln konnte. Die Themen fächern sich außerdem immer mehr auf, sodass sie einen Hauch von Aufzählcharakter gewinnen.

Was in dem Buch noch fehlt, ist der Einfluss der Cyberwelt und der hochgradigen Vernetzung durch das Internet. Das kann man dem Buch jedoch nicht vorwerfen, denn es ist von 1994 und konnte diese Entwicklungen daher nicht erfassen. In dieser Hinsicht wäre eine Neuauflage mit einem ergänzenden Kapitel interessant.

Ein weiteres unterhaltsames und kompetent verfasstes Sachbuch von Bill Bryson.

[Lars Guthrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What bothered me in "The Mother Tongue" was more irritating in this companion piece: the laundry lists of words categorized in catch-all bins. Exhausting for this reader. Also, this time, Bryson's blithe and breezy commentary seemed less witty and more shallow. He appears determined to shoot down myths of American cultural history, but looking at the footnotes, the research is weak. One example: Bryson dismisses Zane Grey as "a New York dentist who knew almost nothing of the West but refused to let that get in the way of a good tale." I've read Grey's accounts of his cougar hunting trips into the Grand Canyon and visited the recreation of his cabin on the Mongollon Rim in Payson, Arizona, so I knew that isn't really true. A cursory investigation would have changed Bryson's judgment, but it wouldn't have been as amusing. Nevertheless, Bryson is amusing and entertaining.

[Jaylia3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, interesting and informative. One fact that sticks with me is that every town in America had its own time until the railroad decided clock time needed to be standardized. What that has to do with American English I don't remember, but that's how Bryson's writing is--there are lots of fascinating side stories.

[Annk · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Bill Bryson. His narratives are rich with cultural tidbits and historical wonders. Unfortunately, this book crawled. I felt like I was on a car ride with my favorite uncle who told a bunch of amusing anecdotes that were amusing when we were just on the way to the beach, but became insufferable on a long, cross-country drive.

Good in small doses. The tidbits are great. But boy, it was hard to stick with this one.

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the author who consistently manages to write the exact sort of nonfiction I enjoy comes a history of American, that very specific form of linguistic mutilation bestowed upon proper English by our fair nation. This isn't just a linguistic study though, this is very much an American history book told from a perspective of a linguist and/or etymologist. While American history doesn't interest me all that much (which didn't preclude me from learning about as much as a person can about it through books, after all it's only 500some years to cover), in one or more parallel universes I'm probably some sort of linguist/etymologist, so from that perspective the book was fascinating and positively crammed with information in Bryson's inimitable anecdotal style. He's also inimitably something of a crank (though notably less so in this book) and a man who is always right, but so be it, if that's the price of a admittedly one sided discourse with an intelligent and funny person, it's worth it. It's even worth the time and this book took hours and hours, densely populated with facts and figures and opinions. The book is strikingly patriotic (particularly for a man who spent so long living abroad or maybe precisely due to it), specifically at some point where the story turns to how rude Europeans found Americans it quite deliberately and tellingly turns to praising American innovations of the time, as if technology ever made for good manners. It also speaks quite highly of the American education system, even high school one, which from personal experience leaves much to be desired, although it doesn't make light of the quite dire lack of literacy found statistically across the nation and particularly in the South. Overall, it's a very progressive, informative and diverting look at the history of a nation through word colored lenses and a compelling look at how progress defines language and, occasionally, language restricts progress. Bryson has many kind things to say about immigrants and their contribution to the our society, linguistically and economically among other things, which is all the more poignant to read about in 2017. The book was published 22 years ago (its old enough to drink book ale) and I can't help but wish Bryson would revisit it adding some chapters for the subsequent years, utilizing modern neologisms, maybe even addressing the gender neutrality so prevalent nowadays and all the modern political nuances. Mind you, it isn't dated so much as it just doesn't have the up to date information. Learning should be entertaining and this book achieves that goal awesomely, it's highly educational and very amusing with its multiple tangents and digressions. I've learned a good amount, let's see how much of it sticks in memory. Amateur armchair historians and linguists should enjoy this greatly. Recommended.

[Vasco Simões · Rating 5 out of 5]

Para quem gosta de história como eu e tem sempre curiosidade por saber de onde vêm as coisas então este é definitivamente um livro que vão gostar. Tenho a sensação de que acabei de ler uma enciclopédia. Desde os colonos até ao nosso século há tanta referência a tanta coisa. Pessoas, palavras, expressões, comidas, locais, objetivos...um mundo de conhecimento ao nosso dispôr e de forma acessível. É para mim um dos melhores do Bill Bryson e com muito mais ritmo e interesse (a meu ver) do que Notas da Pequena Ilha. Espero que gostem tanto como eu gostei deste pequeno mas super interessante "calhamaço"!

[Tanja Berg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty interesting book on how the English language has changed and the historical events and technological advances that influenced these changes. I thought it was more on the manufacturing side, not having read the entire title before starting reading, so was taken a back for a minute. Absolutely worth reading!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Bill Bryson and his dry wit and his need to find out every little thing about every little thing. This book was long and not as funny as some of his other ones, but it was still very worth it. The beginning, especially, had me reading long passages aloud to my family because the evolution of place names and slang terms that have been around for hundreds of years was really fascinating. Towards the end of the book it was more of a history of the 20th century, which was fine but not as like, "Hey, WHAT?"

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I don’t live in America, it is obvious that they have had a big influence on the English language. Bill Bryson’s ‘Made In America’ explores the history of America and the effects it had on the language. I found the most interesting parts to do with censorship in America, from titbit becoming tidbit, cockroach becoming roach and to the extreme case of political correction which wanted to stop the use of terms like blackeye and blacksmith (but interestingly enough, not blackout). I feel I’ve gained some valuable insight into why American English is different to the commonly used Queens’ English, while getting a history into commonly used terms. Bill Bryson writes in such a way that it makes this book easy to read and at times humorous, which I feel is what you want in a Non Fiction book.

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book by Bryson that I read - and I loved it immediately. The author takes us on a guided tour through American history to show us the stories behind great national institutions such as Kellogg's Corn Flakes and Coca Cola.

Recommended for all lovers of quirky historical information.

[Niranjan M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that takes you quite a while to read, but not because its slow. The information contained in the 400-odd pages is simply too much to digest in one go. Bryson takes us from the 1500s till the early 1990s, taking us through each and every American thing there is in between. Funny thing is, this is meant to be a book on the evolution of American English, but it is also one about history. I learnt more about American history, or rather, what made America what it is today, from this book than from any other I've read previously. This is a must-read for everyone Period.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my gosh I finally finished this book. It’s not that it was a bad book. It actually was quite informative and entertaining. I have read many Bryson books and I know he is a detailed guy but this book was the king of detail. Kind of a slog at times. Lots of cool facts though, if only I could remember them.

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of my favourite authors, this book fills me with facts and figures that never tire me.
UPDATE 21.12.2023 - such an interesting history!

[David Rubenstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hugely entertaining book, with more bits of trivia than you can shake a stick at. The subtitle is An Informal History of the English Language in the United States. While the subject of language fills up about half of the book, the other half is not really about language at all; it is a collection of anecdotes about American history. Bryson blends the subjects of language and history together rather well, but it sometimes seems like the same strategy that various TV dramas use nowadays; multiple plots running simultaneously. This strategy helps to keep people with short attention spans engaged, and it may be necessary for the average TV viewer--but is it really necessary for a well-documented, well-written book? Probably not, but it does help keep up the book's momentum from slowing down.

I did learn all sorts of amazing things; jumbo jets are named after a famous elephant! The Smithsonian Institution did not recognize the invention of the airplane by the Wright Brothers until 1942! Shopping carts were first introduced into a grocery store in Oklahoma City in 1936; customers were reluctant to use them, so the manager hired people to push the shopping carts around, pretending to shop! Every page of this book is dripping with these interesting tidbits that will keep you talking at your next cocktail party.

[Sarina M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful Bryson book. I simply adore his writing style. His books are like candy. The one detraction from this book is the length. I wish that this was a history of the US, instead of a history of the English language in the US. Some of the etymology is truly interesting, but the long lists of words and fixation of spelling variances throughout history are tedious. If this was taken out (or slimmed down) it would be a much better book. Even so, this is a really enjoyable book as underneath is a wonderfully comprehensive history of the United States and the Americas.

[Anna-Maria Popova (Bookfan.tasy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books so far! "Made in America" is not only a great-written story about American English and the history of the USA, but it's also a rich guide to political life, culture and modern inventions on a continent far far away.
I recommend Bill Bryson and all of his fantastic books!

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linguistics has moved along a bit since this was written, so it isn't current after 22 years, but it is still fun to read.


Personal copy

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating. I loved it.

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much, MUCH, MUCH more than a history of the English language in America! Bryson with magical and funny writing links the evolution of language with the evolution of culture, science, recreation, food, politics. His controversial or almost heretical debunkings of accepted history are supported with an extensive bibliography of the sources.

The debunking is endless! Barely a page was turned that didn't leave me amazed at how much I don't know, and just how far away from documented history is the accepted and taught history of just about every aspect of the Europeans' settlement of the 'new' world. About the only thing somewhat factually correct about the white man's settlement of North America is that Europeans came and decimated and displaced the natives. As an example, one of the unknown reasons that the Natives were able to help the first American settlers was that one of them spoke very good English. That synopsis does Bryson's writing a severe injustice, so here is his (slightly abbreviated) telling:

"... Before long, as every [American] schoolchild knows, the Pilgrims were thriving, and Indians and settlers were sitting down to a cordial Thanksgiving feast. Life was grand.

"A question that naturally arises is how they managed this. Algonquian, the language of the eastern tribes, is an extraordinarily complex and agglomerative tongue... full of formidable consonant clusters that are all but unpronounceable by the untutored...

"...The answer, surprisingly glossed over by most history books, is that the Pilgrims didn't have to learn Algonquian for the happy and convenient reason that Samoset and Squanto spoke English — Samoset only a litte, but Squanto with total assurance (and some Spanish into the bargain.) (4)

I also learned that the so-called Christian purity that, amongst other things, has been accused of distorting American English into using euphemism in place of body part words, originally spoke sexually explicit language enough to make fans of Playboy blush. And, even more astonishing, that the Puritans actively encouraged premarital sex in the 18th century as an accepted method of testing physical compatibility.

"Sex among the Puritans was considered as natural as eating, and was discussed about as casually, to the extent that, the historian David Fischer writes, 'the writings of the Puritans required heavy editing before they were thought fit to print even in the mid-twentieth century.' Premarital intercourse was not just tolerated but was effectively encouraged. Couples who intended to marry could take out something called a pre-contract — in effect, a license to have sex. It was the Puritans, too, who refined the intriguing custom of bundling, or tarrying as it was also often called, in which a courting pair were invited to climb into bed together...

"As one seventeenth-century observer explained it: 'When a man is enamoured of a young women, and wishes to marry her, he proposes the affair to her parents; if they have no objections they allow him to tarry the night with her, in order to make his court with her. After the young ones have sat up as long as they think proper, they get into bed together, also without pulling of their undergarments in order to prevent scandal. If the parties agree it is all very well; the banns are published and they are married without delay. If not they part, and possibly never see each other again; unless, which is an accident that seldom happens, the forsaken fair proves pregnant, and then the man is obliged to marry her.'
...
"Although never expressly countenanced, fornication was so common in Puritan New England that at least one parish had forms printed up in which the guilty parties could confess by filling in their names and paying a small fine... "(305-6).

Bryson defrocks most of Kroc's reputed claims to fame, critically examines myths around the evils of immigrants, suggests that one of the best living examples of how 'real' English may have been spoken is to listen to Yosemite Sam, points out that the famous 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' was in fact the miss-heard version of 'That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.' Bryson also wades into the issue of politically correct language with intelligence, diplomacy, and razor sharp observations — and, of course, humour.

This books re-affirms the vivifying joy and beauty and aliveness of the English language. A gem of a book, and one I will now go out and buy.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Considering how crucial it is to our every day lives, we know precious little about language. Where certain words come from, why they are used in specific ways, etc. Take "OK" for instance--the most famous English phrase in the world, and perhaps American English's most lasting and pervasive contribution to English usage ever--and no one knows exactly where it came from. There are ideas, of course, ranging from a 19th century campaign slogan to a possible West African origin via slavery. But astonishingly, we don't really know.

This is remarkable given how strongly people feel about language and words, and how to use them. I admit to being irritated when someone mixes up their/there/they're, for example, but the fury with which some descend on others for "getting it wrong" when it comes to English seems to assume a unity, permanence, and linearity, that quite frankly has never existed. Take this passage from the book, which I found to be one of the most interesting as an example of this:

"One of the more breathtakingly complex of these early adaptations was maroon. In the sense of being stranded, it began life as the Spanish cimarron (literally 'one who lives on the mountaintops'), and originally signified a fugitive slave in the West Indies. Then it came to mean the offspring of such a slave. Finally it evolved into the sense of suffering abandonment. (The Spanish also applied cimarron to a tribe of Muskhogean Indians, the ones we know as Seminoles, from which comes the name of the Cimarron River.) In the meantime, the French had picked up cimarron and changed it to marron, their word for chestnut, and it then passed into English as maroon, with two quite separate meanings--a chestnutlike color and the act of being abandoned. By such convoluted means do languages sometimes grow."

English, being a complicated mish-mash of various languages and ultimately most closely related to German, is weird and inconsistent. American English is especially so, given the strong role immigrants have played in our history. This can be a source of both frustration and delight. I find it to be more the latter; little anecdotes like the following are a case in point: "limousine" comes from a coat worn by shepherds in Limousin, France, because that same coat was favored by early chauffeurs. Why? Because the driver's seat on the first such vehicles were open-air. So you have a type of luxury vehicle named for a coat, worn by shepherds in another country, then worn by drivers, who no longer wear such coats today.

Maybe this doesn't impress you, and I suppose in the long run knowing such facts is of little practical value. Outside of idle dinner-talk, designed to momentarily awe your friends for all of two seconds with your intellect, what good does learning about this sort of thing do? Again, nothing directly. But each tiny fact is like a piece of a puzzle. Once you put them together you have a grander view of things, and in this case it's the very means by which you communicate.