Product Description

English is the most creative, changeable and imaginative of languages. Some words are invented to meet temporary needs and are quickly discarded; others carry meanings hundreds of years old. Language fascinates us, and we spend a lot of time playing with it, concocting everything from puns, riddles and secret languages to wonderful prose and poetry. We also worry about it a great deal, looking up and checking words in dictionaries and usage guides, occasionally arguing about definitions. This book celebrates our capacity to play with language, as well as examining the ways we use it: in slang and jargon, swearing, speaking the unspeakable, or concealing unpleasant or inconvenient facts. It is a book for browsing, for finding beguiling snippets about language, history and social customs, and for using as a formidable weapon in word games.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #332198 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 252 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Unlike Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Australian linguist Burridge sees her role regarding language as more descriptive than prescriptive. But Truss’s fans may also enjoy dipping into this look at the ever-morphing English language. Burridge’s book developed from a series of short pieces she wrote for her down-under radio show, and it’s a delightful guide to the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the English language. The author’s own prose is graceful and easygoing as she explains why Eliza Doolittle said "absobloominlutely" and not "abbloominsolutely" and how irregularities in a language "are typically relics of past regularity." Brief sidebars focus on particular illustrations of her subject, such as the 12th-century appearance of the pronoun "she" (which prevented English from having a gender-neutral third-person pronoun) and the mystery of the disappearing l (think of "calm" and "walk"). Anyone fascinated by the vagaries of English will enjoy taking a stroll in Burridge’s blooming linguistic garden.
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Review
"Unique among books about the social aspects of the English language published in this decade, this work combines an impressive breadth and depth of learning with a common touch and a readable style." Library Journal

"Popular treatments of English usage abound. But this book brings a fresh perspective to the topic drawing an analogy between 'weeds' in a garden and so-called errors of English usage. This metaphor is sustained throughout the book and really helps the reader understand that many usages that we condemn as 'weeds' (e.g. ain't or double negatives) were at one time quite ordinary members of the linguistic 'garden'." Charles F. Meyer, University of Massachusetts

"Popular treatments of English usage abound. But this book brings a fresh perspective to the topic drawing an analogy between 'weeds' in a garden and so-called errors of English usage. This metaphor is sustained throughout the book and really helps the reader understand that many usages that we condemn as 'weeds' (e.g. ain't or double negatives) were at one time quite ordinary members of the linguistic 'garden'." Charles F. Meyer, University of Massachusetts

About the Author
Kate Burridge is Professor of Linguistics at Monash University. She is well known for her broadcasts on ABC Radio's Soundback.

Customer Reviews

Delightfully addictive
I had the pleasure of hearing Kate present many of her radio segments, which were always filled with intriguing snippets about the English language. Now she has made this information available to a wider public. Her writing style is very easy-going, and each chapter in the book can be dipped into individually. There were so many fascinating parts that it would be hard to single out my favourite, although the range of language used in St Valentine's Day messages was eye-opening and hilarious, and the way letters appear and disappear through the centuries was fascinating. I was taught very correct grammar and it was very interesting to discover that many of these "golden rules" have no basis for their adoption and in fact in some cases are totally wrong.
A delightful book from beginning to end.

Good layman's tour through linguistic territory
Burridge writes about linguistically interesting phenomena, but in a style that a layman reader can grasp without much difficulty. She packs each page with copius examples that run the gamut of our fascinating English language. As a linguistics instructor, I intend to hang on to this one for the clarity of its style and substance of content. As an American English speaker I also find her Australianisms very interesting!