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The Story of English in 100 Words
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
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In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere"), and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language via the rude, the obscure, and the downright surprising.
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Wish there were more native recordings.
- By Matt Dobler on 07-01-16
By: Ben Crystal, and others
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Memory Craft
- Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History
- By: Lynne Kelly
- Narrated by: Nancy Linari
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Groundbreaking anthropologist and memory champion Lynne Kelly reveals how we can use ancient and traditional mnemonic methods to enhance and expand our memory.
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Best
- By Phil F. on 01-31-22
By: Lynne Kelly
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The Art of Language Invention
- From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building
- By: David J. Peterson
- Narrated by: David J. Peterson
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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From master language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans, writers, game creators, and language lovers. Peterson offers a captivating overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien's creations and Klingon to today's thriving global community of conlangers.
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Great resource, but not conducive to audiobook
- By Ashley T. on 04-18-16
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Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty 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.
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Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
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The Riddle of the Labyrinth
- The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code
- By: Margalit Fox
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In the tradition of Simon Winchester and Dava Sobel, The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language, masterfully blending history, linguistics, and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative. When famed archaeologist Arthur Evans unearthed the ruins of a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on Crete 1,000 years before Greece's Classical Age, he discovered a cache of ancient tablets, Europe's earliest written records.
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Discovery and Translation of Linear B Script
- By Sires on 01-11-14
By: Margalit Fox
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The Book of Yokai
- Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
- By: Michael Dylan Foster
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, listeners will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries on more than 50 individual creatures.
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Pt 2 was delightful (+no cringey pronunciations!!)
- By Julieanne on 06-04-19
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How to Speak and Write Correctly
- By: Joseph Devlin
- Narrated by: Shawn Grisden
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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This book has no pretension about it whatever -- it is neither a Manual of Rhetoric, expatiating on the dogmas of style, nor a Grammar full of arbitrary rules and exceptions. It is merely an effort to help ordinary, everyday people to express themselves in ordinary, everyday language, in a proper manner.
By: Joseph Devlin
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Babel No More
- The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners
- By: Michael Erard
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages...or seventy? In Babel No More, Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages; Emil Krebs, a pugnacious German diplomat, who spoke sixty-eight languages; and Lomb Kat, a Hungarian who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels.
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Heavy on anecdote, light on science
- By S. Yates on 07-15-16
By: Michael Erard
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The Written World
- The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization
- By: Martin Puchner
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Martin Puchner leads us on a remarkable journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creating the world we have today. Puchner introduces us to numerous visionaries as he explores 16 foundational texts selected from more than 4,000 years of world literature and reveals how writing has inspired the rise and fall of empires and nations, the spark of philosophical and political ideas, and the birth of religious beliefs. Indeed, literature has touched generations and changed the course of history.
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Powerful and illuminating!
- By Gloria J. Petit-Clair on 12-04-17
By: Martin Puchner
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Words and Rules
- The Ingredients of Language
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 2000, Words and Rules remains one of Pinker's most provocative and accessible books, illuminating the fascinating relationship between the brain, the mind, and how language makes us humans.
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Amazing how much irregular verbs can teach.
- By Tristan on 04-10-16
By: Steven Pinker
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Hits all the right marks
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Well Thought, Well Spoken
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What is our species' greatest invention? Medicine, computers, space travel? Not even close. The innovation that underlies each of our past achievements and those we still aspire to is language. Language is the ultimate invention of Homo sapiens - one that has allowed us to change the physical and social world around us in every conceivable way, and an invention that has fundamentally changed us, as well.
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Great book - mediocre narration
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The Middle Ages Around the World
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more examples than content
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Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
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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.
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Great for casual linguists
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What listeners say about The Story of English in 100 Words
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ted
- 12-17-20
Extremely charming...
… in the fascinating and colorful tidbits of information it provides (via 100 easy-to-digest short takes), charming in the author's likably modest, often witty style, and charming, finally, in the author’s narration. It turns out that Crystal possesses the absolutely perfect voice with which to present his own writing. (P.S. It’s a book to dip into and snack on; it’s probably not the sort of book that you’d want to listen to straight through.)
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- Cynthia P.
- 12-19-22
history and derivation of words from several eras
Fun to hear about the history and derivation of Words in English. Modern words and text speak are also included, along with historical development of word families.
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- John
- 02-25-23
The book is exactly what it says it is & done well
A lovely trip through the history of the English language by looking at individual words, where they came from and how they've changed, and stories about them. Great for short listens, as only a few minutes can be given to each word, so there is almost always a close "stopping point" coming up. a fun approach to the language! The author reads his own work very clearly with a nice, occasionally dry, voice. Very glad I got it and listened!
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- Pam
- 11-19-21
Throughly delightful
Despite a not-so-subtle straw man representation of the political Right in the entry for “PC” (these NPR vets just can’t keep anything neutral), this was an enlightening and playful read. I absolutely loved it!
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- Mrox
- 08-21-22
Very Interesting!
Usually I enjoy listening to a novel, or non-fiction about animals; however, this story about English words was very fascinating. I only knew a few bits and pieces, now I know much more.
I enjoyed David Crystal’s voice and the way he emphasized words and phrases with various inflection and intonation to keep my interest, I imagine he’s a pleasant man to be in conversation with. So hats off!
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- Jack T.
- 02-04-22
Good, but sometimes tediuos
overall pretty good but sometimes obscure and tedious, but generally worth it over all.
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- Sharpie
- 06-17-23
Soothing voice and interesting insights
I like to listen to audible at night and look for books that are engaging but not such page-turners that they keep me awake. This is a perfect blend for that. You can catch a chapter here or there without feeling you’ve missed a crucial plot point - and each time you still feel that you’ve learned something new.
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- Sean
- 04-01-13
Random but entertaining
The book is well suited to intermittent listening because each word gets it's own 4-5 minute chapter without any overlap. Conversely, just as each etymology becomes interesting it's time to move on, which gets frustrating.
He uses obscure words as well as current coinage (such as "blogoshpere") to demonstrate all the various ways words enter our language. There is really no grand conclusion about the history of the language so a better title might be "The story of 100 English words."
It's entertaining and light and the performance is very good.
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11 people found this helpful
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- KellysHero718
- 01-11-21
100 Words Covers It
The story of these 100 words can be described, however inadequately, with one: fascinating. The story is fast-paced, even gripping at times, with just enough erudition to be compelling without losing accessibility. Well done. Of course, part of the fun is questioning which words were left out.
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- A. Yoshida
- 12-19-21
For Lovers of English Words
This book is filled with fascinating facts about English words. For example, "lea" means a grassy meadow or open track of land (also spelled as ley, leigh, lee, lees, lease, ly, and lay). This word is often used for a place's name. Dun lived at Dunley, ash trees grew in Ashley, oak trees grew in Oakley, and finches can be found in Finchley.
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