Talk on the Wild Side
Why Language Can't Be Tamed
New York : Public Affairs, 2018.
Format: Book
Edition: First US edition.
Description: 232 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
"Language is a wild thing. It is vague and anarchic. Style, meaning, and usage are continually on the move. Throughout history, for every mutation, idiosyncrasy, and ubiquitous mistake, there have been countervailing rules, pronouncements and systems making some attempt to bring language to heel. From the utopian language-builder to the stereotypical grammatical stickler to the programmer trying to teach a computer to translate, Lane Greene takes the reader through a multi-disciplinary survey of the many different ways in which we attempt to control language, exploring the philosophies, motivations, and complications of each. The result is a highly readable caper that covers history, linguistics, politics, and grammar with the ease and humor of a dinner party anecdote. Talk on the Wild Side is both a guide to the great debates and controversies of usage, and a love letter to language itself. Holding it together is Greene's infectious enthusiasm for his subject. While you can walk away with the finer points of who says "whom" and the strange history of "buxom" schoolboys, most of all, it inspires awe in language itself: for its elegance, resourcefulness, and power."--publisher's description.
Contents:
Introduction: The Case of the Missing Whom -- Bringing the universe to order -- Is language logic? -- Machines for talking -- Buxom, but never nice -- Language tamers with armies and navies -- Whom in a biker bar -- Apologies to Orwell -- Conclusion: Weirder and more wonderful.
ISBN:
9781610398336
Availability | |||
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Call Number | Location | Shelf Location | Status |
LANGUAGE Gre | St. Andrews Indoors | Nonfiction | In |
"The Economist. Books."
Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-222) and index.
Includes bibliographical references (pages [217]-222) and index.