Arika Okrent is a linguist and author of In the Land of Invented Languages. She worked in a brain research lab on her way to a Psycholinguistics PhD from the University of Chicago, and now writes about language for various publications including Mental Floss, The Week, Smithsonian Magazine, Popular Science, Slate, and Aeon. Sean O'Neill is an illustrator and writer living in Chicago. He is the creator of the Rocket Robinson series of graphic novels for young readers. Arika and Sean are also known for their series of live-drawing whiteboard videos on language and other topics, produced by mentalfloss.com.
I love everything about this book. Arika Okrent is insightful, funny, and answers questions you didn't even know you had! * Mignon Fogarty, author of Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better * Arika Okrent is the best at taking oft-repeated stories about English and pushing them a step deeper. If you buy one 'fun facts about English' book, make it this one. Lively explanations from Okrent plus charming drawings by O'Neill make for a highly engaging book perfect for answering your (or your kid's) questions about the oddities of the English language. * Gretchen McCulloch, author of Because Internet and host of Lingthusiasm * Don't let the joy of reading these stories fool you. Arika Okrent brings real intellectual heft to researching them. As you find yourself eagerly passing them on, you'll realize how much serious stuff about language you've learned too. * Lane Greene, author of Talk on the Wild Side and You Are What You Speak * Arika Okrent has done the magic trick of compiling the kinds of questions the general public actually asks about language, instead of the kinds of questions we linguists would LIKE the public to ask. Everybody-including many linguists!-will feast on every page. * John McWhorter, Professor of Linguistics at Columbia University, host of the language podcast Lexicon Valley, and Contributing Editor at The Atlantic *