Mind your language: the fascinating secrets of our native tongue

Mind your language: the fascinating secrets of our native tongue

Last updated at 23:38pm on 20th August 2007 Comments

Do you remember learning your ABCs? As children we are taught to recite the alphabet forwards, backwards and inside out.

Twenty-six letters which can be arranged in upwards of half a million combinations, many seemingly random, to form the basis of the English language.

A billion people speak English worldwide, making it the third-largest language, behind Chinese and Spanish. But how well do we understand its idiosyncrasies?

For example, can you name a word that contains only consonants? Do you know where the word potato originated?

And, more important, should you really be having your Britney Spears with a Basil Fawlty? Now, an exciting new book answers these questions and charts the secret life of the English language...