A Mouthful of Air (book)

A Mouthful of Air

First edition (UK)
Author	Anthony Burgess
Language	English
Subject	Linguistics
Publisher	Hutchinson (UK) William Morrow & Co (US)
Publication date	October 1992 (UK) August 1993 (US)
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	352
ISBN	0-09-177415-2
OCLC	27224188
Dewey Decimal	420 20
LC Class	PE1072 .B796 1992

A Mouthful of Air: Language and Languages, Especially English is a book on linguistics by Anthony Burgess published in 1992.^[1][2]

Topics

Topics covered in the book include:

• the mechanics of linguistic sounds;^[3]
• the development of the English language, and its connections with other languages;
• the making of dictionaries;
• the importance of slang;
• the International Phonetic Alphabet;
• the role of dialect;
• the best way to learn a foreign language;
• and a look at specific languages, (including Russian, Japanese, and Malay).

References

1. "BOOK REVIEW / Whistles while you work and other wizard prangs: 'A Mouthful of Air' - Anthony Burgess: Hutchinson, 16.99". The Independent. 31 October 1992.
2. "Books of The Times; Two English Languages, A Vast and Fertile Field". The New York Times. 27 July 1993.
3. "Sound and fury: how pronunciation provokes passionate reactions". The Guardian. 13 January 2018.