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You Say Potato

A Book About Accents

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You Say Potato

By: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
Narrated by: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, Hilton McRae
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About this listen

An authoritative, entertaining book about our accents and what they say about us.

Some people say 'sconn' 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 fascinating facts, You Say Potato is a celebration of the myriad ways in which the English language is spoken - and how our accents, in so many ways, speak louder than words.

©2014 Ben Crystal and David Crystal (P)2015 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Linguistics Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences Witty
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A wonderful, deeply researched and entertainingly brought to life tour of the history and future of British accents. The interplay between Ben and David is uplifting, and the rich disciplinary perspectives they each bring add richness to the narrative. Brava! Or is that bravo?!

fascinating, informative and entertaining

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The English speaking peoples of the world have always fascinated me particularly accents. This is a wonderful book written by Father and Son, it's an excellent listen and a great book to listen to. You can feel the love and respect that Father and Son have for each other. Great listen.

Great Listen

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