Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare

by Jeremy Butterfield | Education |
ISBN: 0199239061 Global Overview for this book
Registered by HI77 of Fort Myers, Florida USA on 11/5/2014
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by HI77 from Fort Myers, Florida USA on Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The words are a drip

of the lip,
and sometimes as wet!

Journal Entry 2 by HI77 at Fort Myers, Florida USA on Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Released 9 yrs ago (12/2/2014 UTC) at Fort Myers, Florida USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This lucky little book has been chosen to become part of the 2014 Birthday Rabck!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I hope your day today goes down as one of the best ones you've ever had! May you eat more cake and good food than is good sense, and have a wonderful time doing it! :D

Journal Entry 3 by wingeponine38wing at Winchester, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, December 11, 2014
Thank you so much, HI77! I've been wishing for this for quite some time, and I love anything to do with language. I'm so excited to receive this!

Journal Entry 4 by wingeponine38wing at Winchester, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Very interesting in parts - I just love thinking about and "dissecting" languages. This is a British book, so a few things were different from what we Americans say. I loved the chapter on Idiomatic phrases, especially the equivalent of "raining cats and dogs" in other languages.
Spanish: It's raining sticks tip downwards.
French: It's raining ropes/It's raining nails/It's raining toads and cats/It's raining cows
German: It's raining pieces of string.
Welsh: It's raining knives and forks/It's raining old women and sticks.

They seem to fall into two broad categories: raining animals, or raining things that actually are thin/narrow like string, sticks, ropes. Love this stuff!

Another favorite chapter was on the origins of English words, coming from Anglo-Saxon, Danish, Norman French, as well as Latin and Greek.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this, HI77!
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Amazon:
When James Murray compiled the OED in the 19th century, he used a small army of volunteers--and thousands upon thousands of paper slips--to track down the English language. Today, linguists use massive computer power--including the world's largest language databank, the Oxford Corpus, which contains more than two billion words--to determine for the first time definitively how the English language is used.
From evidence contained in the gargantuan Oxford Corpus, Jeremy Butterfield here uncovers a wealth of fascinating facts about the English language. Where does our vocabulary come from? How do word meanings change? How is our language really being used? This entertaining book has the up-to-date and authoritative answers to all the key questions about our language. Butterfield takes a thorough look at the English language and exposes its peculiarities and penchants, its development and difficulties, revealing exactly how it operates. We learn, for instance, that we use language in chunks of words--as one linguist put it, "we know words by the company that they keep." For instance, the word quintessentially is joined half the time with a nationality--something is "quintessentially American" or "quintessentially British." Likewise, in comparing eccentric with quirky, the Corpus reveals that eccentric almost always appears in reference to people, as an "eccentric uncle," while quirky usually refers to the actions of people, as in "quirky behavior." Using such observations, Butterfield explains how dictionary makers decide which words to include, how they find definitions, and how the Corpus influences the process.
Covering all areas of English, from spelling and idioms to the future of English, and with entertaining examples and useful charts throughout, this compelling and lively book will delight word lovers everywhere.

Journal Entry 5 by wingeponine38wing at Little Free Library, Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington, Massachusetts USA on Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Released 6 yrs ago (2/28/2018 UTC) at Little Free Library, Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington, Massachusetts USA

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left at about 4:00. Hope it finds a new reader!

Released for Keep Them Moving Challenge hosted by booklady331.
Released for February 2018 Ultimate Challenge hosted by jumpingin. This month's theme is By Air or By Sea.
Released for 2018 Wine+Food Release Challenge hosted by GoryDetails.


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