ENGLISH

Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language

By Kate Burridge

Book information

Year
2004
ISBN
9780521548328, 0521548322, 0521839483, 9780521839488
LCC
PE1072 .B83 2004
Open Library ID
OL22591237M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1161119 bytes)
Pages
252\249
Time added
2011-06-04 13:46:07

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.

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