Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
Anything related to Language
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3,198 ratings
score: 397,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
What the F: What Swearing Reveals About Our Language, Our Brains, and Ourselves
by
3.74 avg rating — 1,753 ratings
score: 394,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language
by
Gretchen McCulloch (Goodreads Author)
4.05 avg rating — 12,332 ratings
score: 394,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
Lingo: A Language Spotter's Guide to Europe
by
Gaston Dorren (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 4,601 ratings
score: 393,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
by
Mark Forsyth (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 12,189 ratings
score: 390,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Words on the Move: Why English Won't—and Can't—Sit Still
by
4.14 avg rating — 1,927 ratings
score: 390,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
In the Land of Invented Languages: Adventures in Linguistic Creativity, Madness, and Genius
by
4.10 avg rating — 2,958 ratings
score: 386,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
by
Kory Stamper (Goodreads Author)
4.19 avg rating — 9,100 ratings
score: 385,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
by
3.99 avg rating — 3,828 ratings
score: 380,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing
by
Melissa Mohr (Goodreads Author)
3.88 avg rating — 2,285 ratings
score: 295,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language
by
Steven Pinker (Goodreads Author)
4.01 avg rating — 22,368 ratings
score: 294,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages
by
3.91 avg rating — 7,252 ratings
score: 294,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind's Greatest Invention
by
4.22 avg rating — 4,011 ratings
score: 293,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
Swearing Is Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language
by
Emma Byrne (Goodreads Author)
3.48 avg rating — 2,018 ratings
score: 291,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
by
3.91 avg rating — 43,778 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It
by
4.08 avg rating — 12,549 ratings
score: 199,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World
by
Ella Frances Sanders (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 3,997 ratings
score: 199,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Vulgar Tongues: An Alternative History of Slang
by
3.11 avg rating — 140 ratings
score: 199,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
by
3.83 avg rating — 7,131 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
How Language Began: The Story of Humanity's Greatest Invention
by
3.43 avg rating — 989 ratings
score: 195,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World
by
4.06 avg rating — 3,062 ratings
score: 191,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
The Horologicon: A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language
by
Mark Forsyth (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 2,512 ratings
score: 189,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Let's Bring Back: The Lost Language Edition: A Collection of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful Words, Phrases, Praises, Insults, Idioms, and Literary Flourishes from Eras Past
by
3.61 avg rating — 266 ratings
score: 186,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
by
James Gleick (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 16,925 ratings
score: 186,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
The Vulgar Tongue: Green's History of Slang
by
3.62 avg rating — 32 ratings
score: 174,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English
by
3.66 avg rating — 155 ratings
score: 162,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: Words We Pinched From Other Languages
by
3.59 avg rating — 254 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
What Is Lojban?
by
Nick Nicholas (Editor)
3.60 avg rating — 30 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary
by
3.83 avg rating — 468 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization
by
3.92 avg rating — 1,859 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The American Language
by
4.12 avg rating — 547 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
by
3.84 avg rating — 120,980 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
Babel
by
R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author)
4.16 avg rating — 419,341 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
A Little Book of Language
by
3.75 avg rating — 2,300 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Is That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything
by
3.78 avg rating — 2,772 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
How Language Began: Gesture and Speech in Human Evolution
by
4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language
by
3.94 avg rating — 5,110 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English
by
3.70 avg rating — 541 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
Babel No More: The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners
by
Michael Erard (Goodreads Author)
3.54 avg rating — 1,477 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
Passwords to Paradise: How Languages Have Re-invented World Religions
by
3.64 avg rating — 42 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English, from Shakespeare to South Park
by
4.05 avg rating — 672 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
The Stories of English
by
4.04 avg rating — 1,425 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language
by
3.65 avg rating — 183 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States
by
3.92 avg rating — 15,868 ratings
score: 96,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
How to Learn Any Language: Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively, Enjoyably and on Your Own
by
3.81 avg rating — 861 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human
by
3.79 avg rating — 773 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Wordcatcher: An Odyssey into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words
by
Phil Cousineau (Goodreads Author)
3.57 avg rating — 185 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Written in Stone: A Journey Through the Stone Age and the Origins of Modern Language
by
3.25 avg rating — 197 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 47 |
|
Genie: A Scientific Tragedy
by
3.92 avg rating — 1,117 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 50 |
|
Words in Time and Place: Exploring Language Through the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary
by
3.96 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 93,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages
by
3.67 avg rating — 182 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
The Emoji Code: The Linguistics Behind Smiley Faces and Scaredy Cats
by
Vyvyan Evans (Goodreads Author)
3.33 avg rating — 125 ratings
score: 92,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language
by
3.68 avg rating — 333 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 53 |
|
The Loom of Language: An Approach to the Mastery of Many Languages
by
4.18 avg rating — 388 ratings
score: 89,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
The Illustrated Book of Sayings: Curious Expressions from Around the World
by
Ella Frances Sanders (Goodreads Author)
4.09 avg rating — 673 ratings
score: 88,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
In Praise of Profanity
by
3.30 avg rating — 100 ratings
score: 87,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
Will's Words: How William Shakespeare Changed the Way You Talk
by
Jane Sutcliffe (Goodreads Author)
4.21 avg rating — 426 ratings
score: 86,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
From Skedaddle to Selfie: Words of the Generations
by
3.47 avg rating — 49 ratings
score: 85,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Sequoyah and His Talking Leaves: A Play about the Cherokee Syllabary
by
Wim Coleman (Goodreads Author)
3.52 avg rating — 23 ratings
score: 84,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation
by
3.66 avg rating — 681 ratings
score: 82,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 61 |
|
Spell It Out: The Curious, Enthralling and Extraordinary Story of English Spelling
by
3.96 avg rating — 889 ratings
score: 81,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends
by
3.46 avg rating — 348 ratings
score: 79,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Alphabetical Order
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10 ratings
score: 78,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 64 |
|
Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling
by
David Wolman (Goodreads Author)
3.62 avg rating — 303 ratings
score: 77,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 65 |
|
Do You Speak American?
by
3.70 avg rating — 346 ratings
score: 76,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 66 |
|
There's a Word for It: The Explosion of the American Language Since 1900
by
3.66 avg rating — 32 ratings
score: 75,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
Found in Translation: How Language Shapes Our Lives and Transforms the World
by
Nataly Kelly (Goodreads Author)
3.81 avg rating — 774 ratings
score: 74,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 68 |
|
The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the World's Most Endangered Languages
by
3.87 avg rating — 452 ratings
score: 73,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
68 books ·
30 voters ·
list created October 29th, 2017
by deleted user.
Tags:
history-of-language
Brent
60918 books
779 friends
779 friends
~☆~Autumn
8006 books
144 friends
144 friends
Andréa
50379 books
547 friends
547 friends
Sarah
4409 books
267 friends
267 friends
Kirsten
2010 books
63 friends
63 friends
Saturday's
2227 books
67 friends
67 friends
Taylor
1751 books
82 friends
82 friends
Madeline
3878 books
45 friends
45 friends
More voters…
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
