A Really Short History of Words An illustrated edition of the bestselling book about the English language

<p><b>Adapted from Mother Tongue this stunningly illustrated book by Bill Bryson tells the story of English, from the first words ever spoken to the very first dictionaries.</b><br><br></p><p>Perfect for ages 8 to 80!<br><br>Every day, you do something incredible, and I bet you barely ever think about it: you speak. But have you ever wondered why the English language turned out like it did?<br><br><b>If so, this is the book for you. It will also answer some VERY important questions . . .</b><br><br>? Why do we have the Vikings to thank for words like glitter and sky?<br>? Why did goodbye used to be god be with you?<br>? Why did LOL originally mean little old ladies?<br>? And why did no one know what majestic meant until Shakespeare came along?<br><br>In this epic journey through words, rhymes - and even a few jokes - Bill Bryson will teach you how the English language came to be (clue: lots of invasions) and what makes it a rich and beautiful thing (lots of Shakespeare).<br><br><b>Get ready . . . because the story of the English language is an EXTRAORDINARY one.</b><br></p>