Blooming English
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- $109.00
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- $109.00
Descripción editorial
A collection of observations on the mysteries and intricacies of English generated from talkback calls to Kate's popular segment on Peter Clarke's evening program on 3LO.
Based on Kate Burridge's ABC Radio call-in show about language, this book reveals the seemingly limitless fascination English speakers have for the language and the joy with which we all work and play with it: punning; telling riddles; using slang, jargon, and secret languages; and examining, and arguing about usage.In Blooming English Kate Burridge not only answers the questions posed by her radio callers, she also deals with critical language topics such as word creation, meaning shifts, language change, colloquial vs. standard English, lexicography, and dirty and taboo language. Combines an impressive breadth and depth of learning with a common touch and a readable style.
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.
