Words Words Words

Although we're missing a glorious opportunity for a pun, BITB isn't going to lower its standards by self proclaiming itself to be a cunning linguist (d'oh), but this month's reading matter is authored by one of the country's most prolific writers on the English language - David Crystal.

Words Words Words is a cornucopia of musings and exploration into the English language (or should I say languages), their history, evolution, roots and branches of what we say, hear, read and write. My first dabbling with language and linguistics was at university, being poked into reading Steven Pinker and Noam Chomsky, and a little bit about how our brains react and perceive language at a degree level. However, if you think studying neurolinguistics is tad beyond your toilet reading level, Words Words Words is a fantastic introduction to the fascinating world of language, with plenty of handy factoids for bringing up at dinner parties.

I was fortunate enough to wade into a conversation between a Brit and American last week on the topics of the use of the letter Z in words such as 'standardise' and 'organize' as well as the ever popular topic of a severe lack of U's in the American "English" dictionary. I nipped into the loo, whipped out this little gem of a book and prompty handed it to the couple. There were bemused looks, but toilet reading matter once again saves the day.

The books discusses a really wide range of subjects, from American English, to text messaging, from dialects to pneumosilicosis, and handles each topic in a truly BITB friendly way. This edition of the book is hardback, and its size provides perfect handling. Chapters are short enough to read in a single session, and doesn't suffer from any real linear reading requirement. If you're already into linguistics, its probably far too simplistic, but even if you do know your nouns from your past-participles, its still an enjoyable read. Spot on BITB material.

Matthew Knight