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Horrible Words
A Guide to the Misuse of English
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Gewicht:
292 g
Format:
205x136x21 mm
Beschreibung:
Rebecca Gowers is the author of The Swamp of Death , shortlisted for the CWA non-fiction Golden Dagger Award, and of two novels, When to Walk and The Twisted Heart , both longlisted for the Orange Prize. She is also the most recent editor of Plain Words , the classic guide to the use of English by her great-grandfather Sir Ernest Gowers.
A brilliant history and witty guide to the English language, masquerading as mischievous advice on its misuse and abuse.
Nothing rouses the wrath of pedants more than coinages such as 'operationalisation', slipslops like 'a steep learning kerb', or - most heinous of all - the widespread confusion over 'disinterested' and 'uninterested'. For pedants, these horrible words must be kept out of the English language at all costs. But are they right?
In this provocative and hugely entertaining book, Rebecca Gowers shows that linguistic pedantry is often based on misinformation, illogical reasoning and straight-up snobbery. A tongue-in-cheek call to arms to the abusers and misusers of the language, her book is also a fascinating history of English, an accessible guide to linguistics and above all, a bold manifesto about what language is and how it should be used.
Nothing rouses the wrath of pedants more than coinages such as 'operationalisation', slipslops like 'a steep learning kerb', or - most heinous of all - the widespread confusion over 'disinterested' and 'uninterested'. For pedants, these horrible words must be kept out of the English language at all costs. But are they right?
In this provocative and hugely entertaining book, Rebecca Gowers shows that linguistic pedantry is often based on misinformation, illogical reasoning and straight-up snobbery. A tongue-in-cheek call to arms to the abusers and misusers of the language, her book is also a fascinating history of English, an accessible guide to linguistics and above all, a bold manifesto about what language is and how it should be used.
Nothing inflames the language gripers like a misplaced disinterested , an illogical irregardless , a hideous operationalisation . To purists these are 'howlers' and 'non-words', fit only for scorn. But in their rush to condemn such terms, are the naysayers missing something?
In this provocative and hugely entertaining book, Rebecca Gowers throws light on a great array of horrible words, and shows how the diktats of the pedants are repeatedly based on misinformation, false reasoning and straight-up snobbery. The result is a brilliant work of history, a surreptitious introduction to linguistics, and a mischievous salute to the misusers of the language. It is also a bold manifesto asserting our common rights over English, even as it questions the true nature of style.
In this provocative and hugely entertaining book, Rebecca Gowers throws light on a great array of horrible words, and shows how the diktats of the pedants are repeatedly based on misinformation, false reasoning and straight-up snobbery. The result is a brilliant work of history, a surreptitious introduction to linguistics, and a mischievous salute to the misusers of the language. It is also a bold manifesto asserting our common rights over English, even as it questions the true nature of style.