My Favorite Language Books

Here are a few of the better books I've read on language. They're sort of ranked, but it's difficult to do accurately since they discuss widely different aspects of language.


(1) The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind's Greatest Invention by Guy Deutscher

"A fascinating look at how languages have evolved and become more complex throughout human history. I liked this book because it includes a wider array of languages than most of the books I've read--examples include obscure African, Semitic, and Asian languages."

(2) Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages by Mark Abley

"A look at some of the rapidly vanishing languages in the world, from Aboriginal tongues, to Manx, to Yiddish. Abley aptly conveys a sense of loss at the disappearance of many minor languages, and a sense of hope that perhaps some of them, such as Welsh, can be revived."

(3) Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson

"Bill Bryson at his best: both informative and hilarious. An excellent look at English words that were (you guessed it) Made in America. Bryson discusses the effects of immigration, revolution, democracy, and innovation on creating American English as a very distinct entity."

(4) The Story of French by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow

"An overview of the history of the French language that neatly ties historical context into the development of the language. It gets a bit redundant toward the end with its insistence that English is not taking over as the only global language, but the first two thirds of the book are great."

(5) Talk Talk Talk: Decoding the Mysteries of Speech

"Less about words, and more about the brain: a layman's guide to how the brain processes language. Clear, concise, and with interesting case examples from "wild" children to churchgoers who speak in tongues."

(6) The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got That Way

"I realize that I already have another Bill Bryson book on this list, but I feel that he can't be beat for informal yet erudite looks at the etymology and history of the English language."

(7) Word Watching: Field Notes of an Amateur Philologist by Julian Burnside

"A fun look at some of the more unusual words in the English language. I especially liked the chapter on Australian slang, since that is the 'branch' of English with which I am least familiar."

(8) Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages by Ammon Shea

"I haven't finished this book yet, but so far it's awesome. Ammon Shea undertook the amazing feat of reading the entire OED in one year, and then wrote this book about some of the more unusual or memorable entries. As he put it in his introduction, "I read the OED so you don't have to.""