Words on the Move: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally) - Couverture souple

McWhorter, Professor Of Linguistics John

 
9781250143785: Words on the Move: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
Couverture souple
ISBN 10 : 1250143780 ISBN 13 : 9781250143785
Editeur : Picador USA, 2017

Synopsis

Language is always changing, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Whether it's the use of literally to mean "figuratively," or the way young people use LOL or business jargon like What's the ask?--it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes.

But the truth is different and a lot less scary. Drawing examples from everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, John McWhorter shows that these shifts are common to all languages, and that we should embrace these changes, not condemn them.

He opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like?

In Words on the Move, McWhorter encourages us to marvel at the dynamism and resilience of the English language, and his book offers a delightful journey where we see that words are ever on the move and our lives are all the richer for it.

Les informations fournies dans la section « Synopsis » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

À propos de l'auteur

John McWhorter is an associate professor of English and comparative literature at Columbia University and is the author of The Language Hoax, The Power of Babel, and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue. He writes for TIME, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic, and his articles have also appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The Daily Beast.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.

Éditeur
Picador USA
Date d'édition
2017
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1250143780
ISBN 13 
9781250143785
Reliure
Broché
Nombre de pages
272
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
gpsr@libri.de
gpsr@libri.de

Friedensallee 273
Hamburg
22763
Allemagne

Autres éditions populaires du même titre

9781627794718: Words on the Move: Why English Won't - And Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)

Edition présentée

ISBN 10 :  1627794719 ISBN 13 :  9781627794718
Editeur : HENRY HOLT, 2016
Couverture rigide