Book Review: You Say Potato by Ben Crystal & David Crystal

Format: Hardback
Release Date: October 9th, 2014
Age: Adult
Genre: Non-Fiction – History – Language
Goodreads

Rating: 5/5 Stars

As someone who doesn’t have a stand-out, clear accent (I was told at university, “You sound Welsh when someone knows your Welsh. Otherwise you…don’t.” This was not the time I got drunk, slipped into a South Wales valleys accent, and somehow found myself kind of stuck in it. I was very homesick at the time) accents are something I am fascinated by. I love them. I love hearing different accents, I love British regional accents, different European accents, different American ones, I really could go on. They fascinate me, and I think they’re pretty awesome.

So, I was very excited to learn more about accents through this book, and the authors – father and son team Ben and David Crystal – did not disappoint. Ben Crystal is an actor, with his own blended accent thanks to moving to various places as a kid, settling in North Wales, then going to university. His father is a linguist, and the way their different experiences come together makes for a fun, enjoyable, and very informative read.

Partly, however, I kind of wish I had listened to this on audio, and it’s maybe one I’ll return to and listen to in the future, especially as the authors read the audio themselves. As it is, the book itself is still great, and it’s a lot of fun sounding out the way they write various accents, going through the broad differences in various parts of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The book was previously subtitled The Story of English Accents, but it’s good to see this has changed, especially as the other accents get mentioned a fair bit and they dive into accents further afield, as well.

There’s a good section on Birmingham, and a fair bit of consideration of why people react to the Brummie accent the way they do (personally, I love it! It’s a lovely accent!), and there’s a great bit on ‘Original Pronunciation’, which if you Google it, the first video that comes up is actually an introduction by the same authors of this book to the OP production of Shakespeare (here’s a handy link if you want to check it out!).

I really feel like I could rave about this book for hours. I’m definitely going to keep it handy, as it provides some excellent insights into accents that could be particularly useful as a writer, and I really recommend picking it up if you’ve ever wondered why accents are how they are, whether it’s various English-speaking countries or the massive differences you can find if you travel just a few miles down the road in the UK.

Reading Challenge
The Disney Reading Challenge
Prompt: Aladdin – Genie – a book with a blue spine

Progress: 15/40 Completed