As photographed; a very little gentle wear and creasing to covers; pages a little browned; unmarked and clean throughout; private ownership; xiii + 202.

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Bibliographic Details

Title

Unlocking the English Language

Publisher

Faber & Faber

Publication Date

1989

Language

English

ISBN 10

0571144160

ISBN 13

9780571144167

Binding

Soft cover

Condition

Good

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Language & Usage

About this title

Synopsis

At a time when many people fear that the English language is entering a period of serious decline, the author of this book takes a more optimistic view. He believes that it is imperative to see modern English as a rich and diverse linguistic system deposited on our shores some 1,500 years ago, and left with us unweakened, though substantially changed, by the social and political events of the intervening period. Part 1 of this book is based on the T.S. Eliot Memorial Lectures delivered at the University of Kent at Canterbury in November 1988, which cover a wide range of topics in English lexicography and grammar. Part 2 consists of eight essays written between 1973 and 1987 and now brought together for the first time.

From Publishers Weekly

"Phooey," "airport" and "pacifism" are among the words that entered the English language between 1900 and 1930; more recent coinages include "hi-fi," "baby boom" and "yuppie." Language, we are shown here, is a fast-changing medium, and not only in the area of vocabulary: lexicography is a battlefield where different social classes, schools of grammar, philosophies and far-flung speakers vie to impose their viewpoints. In an elegant, involving introduction to some of the thorniest issues in modern language use and abuse, Burchfield, who has served as chief editor of the Oxford English Dictonary , ponders the "fast speech rules" that govern daily conversation and bemoans the "devastating loss of religious mystery" in modernized versions of sacred texts. How should lexicographers deal with derogatory racial, ethnic and religious terms? At what historical point did American English become different from British English? Burchfield tackles these and other questions in scholarly essays sure to intrigue anyone who loves words and language.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

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Campbell & Buccleuch is a subsidiary of Sholto Campbell Books (which specialises in Latin and Greek and the Ancient World). Campbell & Buccleuch is a larger and more general bookstore, with our main sections on Africana, Arabic and Semitic languages, European languages (French, Italian, some German), English novels and poetry, English letters and diaries, History, Biography, Cookery, Travel and Exploration. All our books are second-hand, and are in good, very good or as-new condition. All of our books are checked before being entered on Abebooks and we discard any books that are damaged, not clean, or have markings to the text. With very rare exceptions, we do not sell books that have previously come from a public library. We photograph all of our books before entering them and show details of any defects. We charge postage at the rates provided by Royal Mail, and our online pricing takes this extra postal charge into account.

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