Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

The Untold History of English

By: John McWhorter

Narrated by: John McWhorter

Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar. Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.

Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century A.D., John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor.

Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research, as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English - and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for. (And no, it's not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition.)

©2008 John McWhorter (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"McWhorter's iconoclastic impulses and refreshing enthusiasm makes this worth a look for anyone with a love for the language." (Publishers Weekly)

"McWhorter’s energetic, brash delivery of his own spirited and iconoclastic text will appeal to everyone who appreciates the range and caliber of today’s audio production. In some ways, audio is superior to printed text in portraying tone, attitude, values, and in this case, a discussion whose theme is the sound and grammar of words." (AudioFile magazine)

Interesting, but a bit much

This book was super interesting, but clearly written for people who are very into linguistics and grammar. I'm a fan of history and etymology, but this book was a bit much for me. Was well done though and feel the audio version of this book is a must as the narrator pronounces old or foreign words that I would be lost on.

very interesting over view of the English language

good narration, by a very knowledgeable professor.

overall a good over view of how the English language came to be the way it is.

Why is English so weird

The author does an amazing job of describing why English is so weird. I loved hearing about the Celtic influence the Viking influence the conjecture on the Phoenicians. I'm an engineer by day so this isn't something I get to do all the time and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. highly recommended.

Great for language lovers

Doesn’t disappoint. McWhorter is a superb writer and storyteller. His hypotheses are well-supported and his delivery is always clear and entertainingly light-hearted, despite the subject matter—language evolution, details of grammar, etc.. Great gift for those who enjoy learning languages, whether native English speakers or not.

McWhorter is my spirit animal

Whether you agree with his conclusions or not, his logic is compelling and presentation irresistible. I highly recommend this and any other work of his you can find. He’s a real treasure and we’re all the richer for him

Rethinking language

McWhorter takes on some of the lazy, established theories of language usage and development in a breezy, comparative analysis of proto-Germanic language history. Benjamin Whorf takes a huge hit, and rightly so.

Meaningless Do

I found this quite interesting, but it drives me crazy listening to him talk seemingly non stop about meaningless do and why the English language is so odd for having this quirk.

Did I Learn More About My Language? Yes.

If you could sum up Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue in three words, what would they be?

The Celtic impact

What did you like best about this story?

This story attempts to trace connections to root languages for some of the more unique features of English grammar and word usage. It points out features of the language that most native speakers rarely consider, particularly "meaningless do", and "ing". Overall I enjoyed how the story explored the English language as a work in progress, rather than the state of perfection which is often taught in grammar school.

Which scene was your favorite?

Over the course of the story, the author is very fluid in describing what linguists understand about the ways languages interact with and around each other. It was interesting to hear how languages that coexist with a significant number of native speakers tend to be stable, although flavored with grammar from each side.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Amn't I?

Any additional comments?

A fun story, if you can have fun retracing the steps of a language going back two or three generations. If you're looking for a book on conventional usage, details on word roots, or don't have any interest in grammar - this isn't the book for you.

Very interesting, great listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'll definitely be recommending this book to my friends. I don't usually write reviews, but this is one of the best books I've heard this year. I enjoy learning about alternative theories that challenge the established wisdom in a compelling way, and this book fits that bill perfectly. The only thing I didn't love about this book is that it was too short--I didn't want it to end!

What did you like best about this story?

The author is so passionate about his topic and seems to be having a blast, which makes for a great listen. He has a gift for explaining even pretty technical issues in his field in layman's terms, making them funny and memorable. It's like listening to your favorite uncle hold forth, if he just happens to be an eccentric linguistics professor with a great sense of humor who speaks multiple languages brilliantly.

For me one of the best parts of the book was the author's impressive facility at pronouncing phrases from a wide range of languages. I guess that shouldn't be surprising since he is a professional linguist. But this guy is pretty amazing. He not only does Old and Middle English, but ancient and modern versions of Celtic, Gaelic, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Hebrew, Afrikaans, Armenian, Akkadian, Yiddish, and many more. (Although I'm not a linguist, I've studied a handful of these languages, and all his accents sounded pitch-perfect to me.) There was only one point where I noticed that he used a "voice double" (I think for a Chinese phrase, if I recall correctly), and I really wondered why, lol, since up to that point he seemed to be able to do everything.

Any additional comments?

I almost didn't buy this book because I saw a review that said the author spent too much time attacking the standard interpretation, and that it got to be too much in the last part of the book. I'm thinking that reviewer must not have listened through to the end, because the last topic he discusses is more speculative, and he isn't combative about it at all. (In fact, he's downright polite, lol.)

Also, although the author is certainly passionate about his subject, his arguments throughout are quite logical, based on historical evidence and common sense. I was always learning something new and never found his presentation to be grating or repetitive.

I do think he could have cut short his discussion of a side topic--whether language forms the way we think. Not because that discussion wasn't interesting (it was fascinating)--but because it is covered in another book he wrote, and now I feel like I've heard the highlights and it might not be worth buying that book. Also, I just wanted to hear more about the topic of THIS book.

But overall, I really enjoyed this book from start to finish and am going to go buy another one of this author's books now. :)

listen on double speed

Another book where a smart person tells how everyone else is wrong..... better to listen on double speed to get it over quickly. At least the topic was interesting.