- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: HarperCollins Canada / Trade; illustrated edition edition (May 17 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0007235585
- ISBN-13: 978-0007235582
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 16.2 x 3.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 599 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #765,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Linguist Crystal (How Language Works) elucidates the serendipitous nature of language study as he meanders from Wales to San Francisco by way of England and Poland, taking every opportunity for linguistic exploration. A somewhat rambling travelogue is paired with Crystal's idiosyncratic thought processes, and the book is full of descriptive anecdotes culminating in linguistic intrigue. Often something simple such as an impromptu Good morning from a Welsh shepherd is the trigger, in this case prompting the history of the shepherd's crook of the book's title. Crystal searches for—and finds—surprising topics in the lush cultures surrounding him, including the etymology of the name of a Welsh town which contains 58 letters (it's Llanfairpwll for short), causing him to speculate on why words containing consonants like m, n, l, and r are considered the most beautiful, to discuss the linguistic processes of a wordplayer and to conclude with a version of Hamlet in which every word begins with h. In a conversational style that includes plenty of quirky facts, Crystal captures the exploratory, seductive, teasing, quirky, tantalizing nature of language study, and in doing so illuminates the fascinating world of words in which we live. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.
Review
Praise for 'The Stories of English': 'A marvellous book!for anyone who loves the English language(s) it will be a treasure-house.' Philip Pullman 'Reads like an adventure story. Which, of course, it is.' Roger McGough 'Rejoices in dialects, argots and cants!enlightening -- in a word, excellent.' Sunday Times 'A spirited celebration!Crystal gives the story of English a new plot.' Guardian 'Simply the best introductory history of the English language family that we have. The plan of the book is ingenious, the writing lively, the exposition clear and the scholarly standard uncompromisingly high.' J.M.Coetzee
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Davad Crystal: Walking English, Jun 14 2010
By Stephen A. Stomps - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Walking English: A Journey in Search of Language (Paperback)
Very well written, informative and interesting. Although the book is very Britain-centric, not surprising since this is a trip through England and Wales, there are many examples of the roots of American and other developing International English-es.Highly recommended and I will certainly read other books by David Crystal.
SWalking English: A Journey in Search of Language
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely for Anglophiles, Mar 11 2012
By Littlemouse - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: By Hook Or By Crook A Journey In Search Of England (Paperback)
Read it with map of Great Britain in hand. Crystal would be my perfect man if only he would shave his long beard. Love, love, love the funny linguists.And now I know where they filmed "The Prisoner" t.v. series and I must go there.
Sadly I have finished, didn't want to say goodbye. Now plan to read all of Crystal's books.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Box of Delights, Feb 7 2011
By L. M Young - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Walking English: A Journey in Search of Language (Paperback)
For someone like me, who loves language, geography, and history and who is, if not a born one, at least a long-time Anglophile, this book is the literary equivalent of an angel presenting me with a box of dark chocolates filled with all my favorite fillings--mint, orange, coffee, caramel, and that heavenly lime from Sanborn's Candies--and telling me I can eat all I feel comfortable doing so, since they have no calories and no fat! Basically Crystal starts off in Wales and relates travels through England as well as in Poland, San Francisco, and South Africa in a narrative of place names, word origins, history, changes in word meaning, Shakespearan plays and names, natural and man-made landmarks, that Welsh town with the long name that the locals just refer to as "Llanfair,' placing people by accents, sheep with accents, and more, all in a delightful candy-box jumble. I enjoyed it all with a big grin.A big plus: learning about the humanitarian poet John Bradburne and the book town of Hay-on-Wye. I think I'd like to spend a week in the latter, thank you. :-)
[Note: Apparently Crystal titled this book BY HOOK OR BY CROOK, and refers to it as such in the introduction. Oddly, there is nothing on the title page or colophon that reflects a title change.]
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
