Journeys in English

This had a strong beginning, but the repetition became a bit tedious, especially for a series that spanned fewer than three hours. It was interesting to hear some academic talk about linguistics and state that something was ‘absolutely unique'.

I did find it interesting though and it may just help me become a descriptive linguist rather than a prescriptive one. The piece about apostrophes was quite eye-opening. I've been entrenched in my battle against misused apostrophes, but I know that ultimately it's a losing battle and I ought to let it go. I can't win and the affect it has on my serenity is ultimately a matter of choice: I either LET it bother me, or I let it go. Sounds easy, but, up until now, it hasn't been.

But seriously, I could listen to this sort of thing all day long, which is why I've just started Bill Bryson's other book on the subject, The Mother Tongue