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A Short History of Nearly Everything written by Bill Bryson performed by Bill Bryson on CD (Abridged)

A Short History of Nearly Everything written by Bill Bryson performed by Bill Bryson on CD (Abridged)£6.99  -  £14.99

In A Short History of Nearly Everything, beloved author Bill Bryson confronts his greatest challenge yet: to understand—and, if possible, answer—the oldest, biggest questions we have posed about the universe and ourselves. Taking as his territory everything from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, Bryson seeks to understand how we got from there being nothing at all to there being us. The result is a sometimes...

Journeys in English written by Bill Bryson performed by Bill Bryson on CD (Abridged)

Journeys in English written by Bill Bryson performed by Bill Bryson on CD (Abridged)
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ISBN:  9780563496267
Genre - Main:  Non-Fiction
Genre - Specific:  Language
Duration:  180 mins
Length:  Abridged
Author:  Bill Bryson
Narrator 1:  Bill Bryson

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This highly entertaining BBC Radio 4 series is written and presented by Bill Bryson and based on his bestselling book, 'Mother Tongue'. In it he romps through the history of Britain to reveal how English became such an infuriatingly complex – but ultimately world-beating – language.

But why English? Why don’t we speak Gallic, or any other of the European languages? According to Bryson, it’s down to the remarkable ability for the English language to assimilate other vocabularies, to adapt and – above all – to survive.

From the old English words that are still in everyday use, such as ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘man’ and ‘wife’, to the current hybrid language of the 21st century with its many diverse dialects, Bryson, in his unique and ever-affable style, guides us through the development of English into a rich and expressive language.

Bryson explains how English has been shaped through invasion and conquest, as well as the rules that brought order to a disorderly language, the million and one ways to have fun with the English language, and the struggle with phrasal verbs (including the way things often get lost in the translation).

And finally, he contemplates the future of English. Does Estuary English really Rule OK? '...Worth a listen for anyone who is interested in how we came to have such a rich language' -

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