The Story of English in 100 Words
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $15.69
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David Crystal
-
By:
-
David Crystal
About this listen
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.
©2011 David Crystal (P)2012 AudioGOListeners also enjoyed...
-
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
-
-
Wish there were more native recordings.
- By Matt Dobler on 07-01-16
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
The English Language
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Simon Horobin
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today and celebrates the way new speakers and new uses mean that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements or evidence of slipping standards.
By: Simon Horobin
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
The Wordhord
- Daily Life in Old English
- By: Hana Videen
- Narrated by: Sara Powell
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern audiences. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers.
-
-
So Great! More please.
- By Danielle on 05-27-22
By: Hana Videen
-
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
-
-
Wish there were more native recordings.
- By Matt Dobler on 07-01-16
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
The English Language
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Simon Horobin
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today and celebrates the way new speakers and new uses mean that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements or evidence of slipping standards.
By: Simon Horobin
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
The Wordhord
- Daily Life in Old English
- By: Hana Videen
- Narrated by: Sara Powell
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern audiences. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers.
-
-
So Great! More please.
- By Danielle on 05-27-22
By: Hana Videen
-
The Last Wish
- By: Andrzej Sapkowski
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin. And a cold-blooded killer. His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
-
-
Better than the show, of course!
- By Cheryl Dias on 01-07-20
-
Nine Nasty Words
- English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Profanity has always been a deliciously vibrant part of our lexicon, an integral part of being human. In fact, our ability to curse comes from a different part of the brain than other parts of speech - the urgency with which we say "f--k!" is instead related to the instinct that tells us to flee from danger. Language evolves with time, and so does what we consider profane or unspeakable. Nine Nasty Words is a rollicking examination of profanity, explored from every angle: historical, sociological, political, linguistic.
-
-
Wonderful book!
- By BrittPet on 06-25-21
By: John McWhorter
-
The Silmarillion
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien
- Narrated by: Andy Serkis
- Length: 19 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Included on the recording are several shorter works. The Ainulindalë is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age.
-
-
TIPS when reading this book:
- By Anonymous User on 06-29-23
By: J. R. R. Tolkien, and others
-
New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
-
The Books of Enoch: The Angels, The Watchers and The Nephilim
- With Extensive Commentary
- By: Joseph Lumpkin
- Narrated by: Dennis Logan
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The well-known and acclaimed work of Dr. Joseph Lumpkin has been enlarged to include new research on the Books of Enoch, Fallen Angels, the Watchers, and the Nephilim. After presenting extensive historical backgrounds and brilliant translations of The First, Second, and Third Books of Enoch, Lumpkin takes time to piece together a historical narrative of Fallen Angels, the Watcher, and the Nephilim, using his extensive knowledge of ancient texts.
-
-
Lose the echo effect
- By Mark Medbery on 10-29-17
By: Joseph Lumpkin
-
The Book of God
- The Bible as Novel
- By: Walter Wangerin Jr.
- Narrated by: Walter Wangerin Jr.
- Length: 27 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Book of God reads like a novel, dramatizing the sweep of biblical events, bringing to life the men and women of this ancient book in vivid detail and dialogue. From Abraham wandering in the desert to Jesus teaching the multitudes on a Judean hillside, this award-winning bestseller follows the biblical story from start to finish.
-
-
The Book of God: The Bible as Novel (Unabridged)
- By Jane on 12-15-02
-
A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult
- By: DK
- Narrated by: Susie Riddell
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A History of Magic, Witchcraft and the Occult charts the extraordinary narrative of one of the most interesting and often controversial subjects in the world - from ancient animal worship and shamanism, through alchemy and divination to modern Wicca and the resurgence of the occult in 21st-century literature, cinema, and television.
-
-
Decent Primer on Magical Traditions
- By Albert Williams on 04-28-21
By: DK
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
The End Is Always Near
- Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
- By: Dan Carlin
- Narrated by: Dan Carlin
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The End Is Always Near, Dan Carlin looks at questions and historical events that force us to consider what sounds like fantasy; that we might suffer the same fate that all previous eras did. Will our world ever become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore? The questions themselves are both philosophical and like something out of The Twilight Zone.
-
-
Hardcore Histories Greatest Hits
- By Steven Glover on 10-31-19
By: Dan Carlin
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
How to Astronaut
- An Insider's Guide to Leaving Planet Earth
- By: Terry Virts
- Narrated by: Terry Virts
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts offers an insider's guide to astronauting—a behind-the-scenes look at the training, the basic rules, lessons, and procedures of space travel, including how to deal with a dead body in space, what it’s like to film an IMAX movie in orbit, what exactly to do when nature calls, and much more, in 51 brief chapters.
-
-
A Tough Review to Write
- By Todd R Fredricks on 03-27-21
By: Terry Virts
-
The Adventure of English
- The Biography of a Language
- By: Melvyn Bragg
- Narrated by: Robert Powell
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
-
-
Many Of Course monments
- By Leigh A on 10-21-05
By: Melvyn Bragg
Related to this topic
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
The Prodigal Tongue
- The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English
- By: Lynne Murphy
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"If Shakespeare were alive today, he'd sound like an American." "English accents are the sexiest." "Americans have ruined the English language." "Technology means everyone will have to speak the same English." Such claims about the English language are often repeated but rarely examined. Professor Lynne Murphy is on the linguistic front line. In The Prodigal Tongue she explores the fiction and reality of the special relationship between British and American English.
-
-
TOO MUCH BITTERNESS
- By Tina on 08-27-20
By: Lynne Murphy
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
The Prodigal Tongue
- The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English
- By: Lynne Murphy
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"If Shakespeare were alive today, he'd sound like an American." "English accents are the sexiest." "Americans have ruined the English language." "Technology means everyone will have to speak the same English." Such claims about the English language are often repeated but rarely examined. Professor Lynne Murphy is on the linguistic front line. In The Prodigal Tongue she explores the fiction and reality of the special relationship between British and American English.
-
-
TOO MUCH BITTERNESS
- By Tina on 08-27-20
By: Lynne Murphy
-
Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
-
-
Review By a Fan
- By Margaret on 09-25-16
By: John McWhorter
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
The Pun Also Rises
- How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
- By: John Pollack
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pun Also Rises is an authoritative yet playful exploration of a practice that is common, in one form or another, to virtually every language on earth. At once entertaining and educational, this engaging book answers fundamental questions: Just what is a pun, and why do people make them? How did punning impact the development of human language, and how did that drive creativity and progress? And why, after centuries of decline, does the pun still matter?
-
-
Punderful Little Book
- By B. Lane on 01-10-13
By: John Pollack
-
How to Write Short
- Word Craft for Fast Times
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed - from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services.
-
-
Ironically long
- By Amazon Customer on 03-14-16
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
-
-
Wish there were more native recordings.
- By Matt Dobler on 07-01-16
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Groundbreaking anthropologist and memory champion Lynne Kelly reveals how we can use ancient and traditional mnemonic methods to enhance and expand our memory.
-
-
So grateful this is on Audible!
- By happy_reader on 02-19-22
By: Lynne Kelly
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Great resource, but not conducive to audiobook
- By Ashley T. on 04-18-16
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Discovery and Translation of Linear B Script
- By Sires on 01-11-14
By: Margalit Fox
-
The Book of Yokai
- Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
- By: Michael Dylan Foster
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Pt 2 was delightful (+no cringey pronunciations!!)
- By Julieanne on 06-04-19
-
How to Speak and Write Correctly
- By: Joseph Devlin
- Narrated by: Shawn Grisden
- Length: 4 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Heavy on anecdote, light on science
- By S. Yates on 07-15-16
By: Michael Erard
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Powerful and illuminating!
- By Gloria J. Petit-Clair on 12-04-17
By: Martin Puchner
-
Words and Rules
- The Ingredients of Language
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Amazing how much irregular verbs can teach.
- By Tristan on 04-10-16
By: Steven Pinker
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Making Sense
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Making Sense, David Crystal confronts the foe of many: grammar. Once taught relentlessly to all students in the English-speaking world, grammar disappeared from most school curricula, so that terms such as preposition and conjunction now often confound children and adults alike.
-
-
Another delight from David Crystal
- By Emily on 10-23-17
By: David Crystal
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
Everyday Shakespeare
- Lines for Life
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: Ben Crystal, David Crystal, Hillary Crystal
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to a page, and express them so well that still today they can make us feel stunned to be seen. With a quote for every day of the year, this beautiful book gathers the finest lines from the lesser-known corners of Shakespeare's plays and poems. While you may not be familiar with these 400-year-old phrases, you will be surprised by the immediate, easy resonance they have with modern day-to-day life.
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
Walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit
- Ten Classic Sermons
- By: Charles Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
**A never before released volume from Spurgeon on life in the Holy Spirit** "Dear Christian, the Spirit is at work in you. Don't be discouraged. You may feel like God is sick and tired of waiting for you to get it together. Well, remember that the fruit of the Spirit is also a description of the Spirit himself. He is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control. You are in good hands." —J.A. Medders from the Foreword Table of Contents: 1 The Saint and the Spirit 2 Receiving the Holy Ghost 3 The Leading of the Spirit, the Secret Token of the Sons of God 4...
-
-
The Holy Spirit in scriptural perspective!
- By James Gatorman on 08-20-24
By: Charles Spurgeon, and others
-
Making Sense
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Making Sense, David Crystal confronts the foe of many: grammar. Once taught relentlessly to all students in the English-speaking world, grammar disappeared from most school curricula, so that terms such as preposition and conjunction now often confound children and adults alike.
-
-
Another delight from David Crystal
- By Emily on 10-23-17
By: David Crystal
-
The Glamour of Grammar
- By: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrated by: Roy Peter Clark
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
-
-
Wasteful
- By ABID on 12-05-13
By: Roy Peter Clark
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
Everyday Shakespeare
- Lines for Life
- By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrated by: Ben Crystal, David Crystal, Hillary Crystal
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to a page, and express them so well that still today they can make us feel stunned to be seen. With a quote for every day of the year, this beautiful book gathers the finest lines from the lesser-known corners of Shakespeare's plays and poems. While you may not be familiar with these 400-year-old phrases, you will be surprised by the immediate, easy resonance they have with modern day-to-day life.
By: Ben Crystal, and others
-
Walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit
- Ten Classic Sermons
- By: Charles Spurgeon, C. H. Spurgeon
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
**A never before released volume from Spurgeon on life in the Holy Spirit** "Dear Christian, the Spirit is at work in you. Don't be discouraged. You may feel like God is sick and tired of waiting for you to get it together. Well, remember that the fruit of the Spirit is also a description of the Spirit himself. He is loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and in control. You are in good hands." —J.A. Medders from the Foreword Table of Contents: 1 The Saint and the Spirit 2 Receiving the Holy Ghost 3 The Leading of the Spirit, the Secret Token of the Sons of God 4...
-
-
The Holy Spirit in scriptural perspective!
- By James Gatorman on 08-20-24
By: Charles Spurgeon, and others
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.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jack T.
- 02-04-22
Good, but sometimes tediuos
overall pretty good but sometimes obscure and tedious, but generally worth it over all.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
11 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!