Description

Book Synopsis

Some people say scohn, 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.

Everyone has an accent, though many of us think we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes about the way other people speak, and everyone has something to say about 'correct' pronunciation. But how did all these accents come about, and why do people feel so strongly about them? Are regional accents dying out as English becomes a global language? And most importantly of all: what went wrong in Birmingham?

Witty, authoritative and jam-packed full of fascinati

You Say Potato

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    A Paperback by Ben Crystal

    £9.49

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    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Fri 11 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Pan Macmillan
      Published 5/21/2015
      ISBN-13 9781447255468
      978-1447255468
      ISBN-10 1447255461
      Also in:
      Dictionaries, Reference & Language Sociolinguistics

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Some people say scohn, 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.

      Everyone has an accent, though many of us think we don't. We all have our likes and dislikes about the way other people speak, and everyone has something to say about 'correct' pronunciation. But how did all these accents come about, and why do people feel so strongly about them? Are regional accents dying out as English becomes a global language? And most importantly of all: what went wrong in Birmingham?

      Witty, authoritative and jam-packed full of fascinati

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