A foreword by Stephen Fry, with a caricature of himself on the jacket, sets the style for this most fascinating book about language. The subtitle, 'The story of language from the earliest grunts to Twitter and beyond', lets you know you're in for a fun and educational ride.

Everything you wanted to know about language, its origins, changes, slang and more is in here.

There are secret codes, invented languages, back slang, rhyming slang and much more you’d never even think about. There are taboo words, euphemisms and jargon, both medical and legal.

Words and their beginnings are described from the Rosetta Stone through Penny Dreadful books, to the latest Japanese Thumb novel. Meanwhile, buried deep in the Mojave Desert is a stash of high-level radioactive waste. How to warn future generations a thousand years hence was a puzzle.

No one knows what, if any, language will be spoken then, so symbols were decided upon. There’s even a chapter on Aussie slang. And how about the latest online ‘Oxford English Dictionary’, which introduces graphic symbols for example the heart symbol to denote ‘love’.  

Verdict:  Love it and learn from it. Here is a book that any reader, talker, educator or just plain lover of language will adore.   

Planet Word, by JP Davidson, is published by Michael Joseph, Price $45.

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