num_pages: 224
description: An extremely funny history of so-called bad language by a European author. He asserts that Europeans try to get along but keep treading on each other's toes. In this tour of anger, exasperation, prejudice, irony &amp; loathing as expressed in some 20 European tongues, we learn that what is invective in one country is sweet talk in another. A single currency in Europe? Yes. A common language? Not on your life. The Guardian review states that the book's "His gently comic tone recognizes how funny, how much of a release, much bad language can be." "Entertaining, widely informed."
language: English
title: Your Mother's Tongue
titlecomplete: Your Mother's Tongue
genres: Language, Linguistics
ratings_count: 36
publisher: Phoenix