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Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsLanguage and its diversity
ByHans Weberon May 3, 2018
Fifteen brilliant essays about diverse aspects of language, including sign language, esperanto, the almost dead language of Manx, Tammet's introduction to Lithuanian, his mastery of French, and much more. In every essay Tammet familiarizes himself extensively with the subject. Having synesthesia and a wide-ranging memory he easily picks up foreign languages. He befriends Les Murray, an Australian poet, and translates Murray's poetry into French. In his essay about the French novel, La Disparition, which entirely omits the letter "e", Tammet pulls the same trick, and it's barely noticeable.
Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsPurchased this book due to notable reviews which I no ...
Bykenneth loukon February 28, 2018
Purchased this book due to notable reviews which I no longer follow. I believed to be a history source of word origins but it is nothing but a self appraising autobio!
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ByHans Weberon May 3, 2018
Fifteen brilliant essays about diverse aspects of language, including sign language, esperanto, the almost dead language of Manx, Tammet's introduction to Lithuanian, his mastery of French, and much more. In every essay Tammet familiarizes himself extensively with the subject. Having synesthesia and a wide-ranging memory he easily picks up foreign languages. He befriends Les Murray, an Australian poet, and translates Murray's poetry into French. In his essay about the French novel, La Disparition, which entirely omits the letter "e", Tammet pulls the same trick, and it's barely noticeable.
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Bykenneth loukon February 28, 2018
Purchased this book due to notable reviews which I no longer follow. I believed to be a history source of word origins but it is nothing but a self appraising autobio!
ByPecoeon December 14, 2017
Extraordinarily insightful and informative book - great read!
ByTerry B.on February 9, 2018
Present for my Dad. He said he is enjoying the book.
ByRobert D Bennetton January 12, 2018
Very interesting book, but a little high priced in my opinion.
Daniel Tammet’s world is judgment-free. He observes and absorbs. He is fascinated by the tiny, and digs until he finds it. It blooms in his hands, taking on all kinds of attributes. He assigns connections and relationships to ever-smaller units of his observations. He delights in his manufactured cosmos of letters, numbers and colors. But there it ends.
He is an interesting character. In his first public speech, he recited the value of pi. To 22,000 places. From memory. Over a five hour period. His particular flavor of autism has given him great powers. But very little of this book is about him.
Every Word Is A Bird We Teach To Sing is a survey of interpersonal communications. There are chapters on telephone etiquette, the deaf, OuLiPo (fun exercises with words and letters) and various foreign languages. Tammet likes words and he has long chains of them (with translation) that he appreciates for their sound or their spelling or their power. So he is especially appreciative of poetry and its multipurposed words. He cites many snippets of poems, translating when necessary.
But it is just a survey. He draws no conclusions. He does not leverage or even connect. The endless chains of foreign words are totally forgettable. Everything he writes about is covered in far greater depth elsewhere. And it is all much less interesting than his own stories of adapting to society, for example, teaching English to Lithuanian women at the age of 19 - knowing no Lithuanian at all. So the best chapters are the first three – about him. The rest are linked in that he discusses means of interpersonal communication. But don’t ask why, because he doesn’t say. It is not very satisfying.
David Wineberg
He is an interesting character. In his first public speech, he recited the value of pi. To 22,000 places. From memory. Over a five hour period. His particular flavor of autism has given him great powers. But very little of this book is about him.
Every Word Is A Bird We Teach To Sing is a survey of interpersonal communications. There are chapters on telephone etiquette, the deaf, OuLiPo (fun exercises with words and letters) and various foreign languages. Tammet likes words and he has long chains of them (with translation) that he appreciates for their sound or their spelling or their power. So he is especially appreciative of poetry and its multipurposed words. He cites many snippets of poems, translating when necessary.
But it is just a survey. He draws no conclusions. He does not leverage or even connect. The endless chains of foreign words are totally forgettable. Everything he writes about is covered in far greater depth elsewhere. And it is all much less interesting than his own stories of adapting to society, for example, teaching English to Lithuanian women at the age of 19 - knowing no Lithuanian at all. So the best chapters are the first three – about him. The rest are linked in that he discusses means of interpersonal communication. But don’t ask why, because he doesn’t say. It is not very satisfying.
David Wineberg
BySusan Seraphine-Kimelon November 7, 2017
For those who love words and languages, Daniel has again hit a homerun with this book and its delightful title. You will learn more about Icelandic than you ever thought possible, including the fascinating "naming committee" which aims to keep the pool of names as pure as possible, and the resurgence of interest in Manx, the language of the Isle of Man. Well done, Daniel!
ByRigelon July 8, 2018
I'm in awe. A beautiful book, once you get past chapter 1. The author's intellect and soul are brilliantly illumined. A must read.
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