I love this book. It’s witty and informative, with a wealth of engaging comments on all things language-related on our continent.

Take Ludovit Stur, linguistic hero of the Slovaks, whose poems every citizen of that country can recite by heart: “Writing poetry was what public figures did in those days, much like appearing on television today,” he says of the literary past. Or, for “extreme athletes of linguistics,” there’s a section where the challenge of languages such as Faroese comes under scrutiny.

In following Gaston Dorren’s peregrinations through “lingo,” it’s handy to have a thorough knowledge of at least some part of the subject matter for an indication as to its general accuracy.