Book Review: The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between British and American English, Lynne Murphy
Nonfiction: The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between British and American English, Lynne Murphy
The Prodigal Tongue is one of the funniest books I have read in a long, long time! Lynne Murphy writes with her own (prodigal?) tongue planted firmly in cheek, or does she write with a cheeky style? Regardless, NOT irregardless!, read this book prepared to laugh. I recommend you not read it while lying next to your loved one in bed, as you will disturb her sleep by laughing aloud or immediately reading aloud a paragraph. Or more. You might read more than just a paragraph. Trust me, and learn from my errors.
Lynne Murphy is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex in England. She also writes the blog, “Separated by a Common Language,” which provide her observations on the differences between British and American English. She is quite well-positioned to opine on these matters. She is an American who teaches English to the English in England! Armed with her expertise, her experience, her sharp wit (Hey! There’s part of a chapter devoted to the word “sharp.”), and her boldness, Murphy has stormed the shores of our linguistic motherland ready to uphold the integrity and validity of American English. As our two-year-old granddaughter says in another context, “she’s feisty.”
Murphy stands firm in her defense of American English as being a legitimate heir to the English of Chaucer and Shakespeare. This is not to rate American English as better than “English English,” but neither is it worse. Despite the naysayers and pooh-poohers who scoff at the sundry sins and crimes committed (they say) by Americans every time we open our mouths, Murphy refuses to back down. England is welcome to her “colours” and her “labours” and her “-ise” endings on words that sound like “-ize” and “-ice.” American colors are just as crisp and our labors are just as strong and our language is not inferior to that spoken on the airwaves of the BBC. So have some apple pie and watch some baseball and call your mum. I mean, your mom. Lynne Murphy has got our linguistic backs.
Don’t let the fun and the funny in the book or this review fool you, though. The Prodigal Tongue is deeply researched and very well argued. Etymology and logic guide the rhetoric. Murphy’s task is made much harder by the misinformation about the two expressions of English, misinformation fed by an often gullible press. Many UK commentators express worry about the “Americanisms” that are invading “their” language. Many of their concerns are poppycock. Often, the words they use as examples of this are words that actually originated in the UK (or, less often, in Australia or another of the many countries speaking English today). The “American” penchant for removing “u” from “-our” words (colo/u/r, labo/u/r, etc.) actually began in England and migrated across the pond. American dictionaries adopted the practice, while their British counterparts reversed course.
There are certainly differences in idiom, spelling, and usage between the US and the UK. Just as profound, if not more so, are the differences within each country. Texas and Maine are further apart geographically than Scotland and Wales, but linguistically the differences are just as striking. This is more noticeable in spoken language than in written, which is true for both countries. Differences and distinctions are not errors, nor do they indicate less intelligence, education, character, or any other lack of virtue by others. Murphy calls us to celebrate the richness of a language that can accept, adapt, adopt, and become indeed a lingua franca–a phrase unironically used on both sides of the ocean to now describe English.
Murphy’s prime mission is to remind all of us blessed with this rich linguistic heritage that it is, still, a common language. We may not all carry a bumbershoot onto the lift, but we can all fix a flat. Of course, “bumbershoot” is actually an American word, and whether the flat is your car tire (tyre?) or your apartment will affect whether you need a lift or an elevator, but those are small matters.
Whether you are a Brit trying to understand your American friend, or you are an American prepping for a holiday-er, vacation-in London, The Prodigal Tongue is an enjoyable trip through the delights of our uncommon language. And stand tall, Americans! Your English is real English, no better and no worse than any other English. (Even if English accents do sound really, really cool! There’s a chapter about that.)
Note: I have corrected Dr. Murphy’s employer in this review. An earlier posted version of this review had her at the wrong university. She is at the University of Sussex. My thanks to Lynne Murphy for correcting my mistake.