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Book Description
For readers of Bill Bryson, Henry Beard, and Richard Lederer, Forgotten English is an eye-opening trip down a delightful etymological path. Readers learn that an ale connor sat in a puddle of ale to judge its quality, that a beemaster informed bees of any important household events, and that our ancestors had a saint for hangover sufferers, St. Bibiana, a fact pertinent to the word bibulous. Each selection is accompanied by literary excerpts demonstrating the word's usage, from sources such as Shakespeare, Dickens, Chaucer, and Benjamin Franklin. Entertaining as well as educational, Forgotten English is a fascinating addition to word lovers' books.
BARNACLE-GOOSE Name given to a species of wild goose (Anas leucopsis) for their supposed metamorphosis from barnacles. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable...,
By FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Forgotten English (Paperback)
The English language has great diversity, perhaps nowhere as strong and colourful as across the spread of North America, the largest geographic landmass of English-speaking predominance in the world. Like any living language, the 'standard' is not always the one used in everyday speech and communication. The written language itself has differing standards, all at variance in one form or another from the spoken word. Because of this, much of the language gets lost over time. One of the things that makes novelists like Mark Twain memorable is that they captured elements of the informal language, the spoken language, in their text pages - something fairly rarely done, but something that can resonate with the readers. Jeffrey Kacirk states in his introduction that it is this lost and vanishing element of the language that he concentrates upon for this book - not a surprise, really, given that the title of this book is 'Forgotten English'. Part of Kacirk's interest came from his upbringing, in which he lived in several different regions of the country, each geographically and linguistically distinct. Kacirk's introduction traces the development of the language in certain ways, including the fact that what are often considered 'Americanisms' often originated in the British Isles, falling out of use there but thriving in North America. With the advent of modern media (talking motion pictures, radio and television), the re-introduction of American speech patterns as both commonplace and acceptable has occurred, with occasional bumps. The phrases Kacirk has accumulated here include pieces that contain the flavour of life in North America. 'Often containing an abundance of metaphor, simile, and common sense, these distillations of practical experience are easily bandied about by those whose education has not displaced their native intelligence.' These have a tendency to be blended over time into the mainstream, if they survive at all, particularly in an ever more homogeneous media environment. However, language as a living entity continues to grow in wild patches here and there, and Kacirk's collection helps to show some of the more interesting patches in the garden of the English language. This book is one of several Kacirk has written (another good one is 'Informal English'), all of which illustrate the diversity and vitality of the English language.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, but does NOT contain words that you can use every day,
By
This review is from: Forgotten English (Paperback)
I actually purchased the day calendar that was produced from this book by Jeffrey Kacirk. The information he provides about each word is fascinating and wonderful! However, this is a book full of words that are forgotten for a reason...they are no longer of much use to those living in our times! Some could be used, but most refer to things that are no longer in use, or to issues or items that we no longer have knowledge of. For instance, there are many words that refer to horses as a means of transportation--since we rarely use them in this manner, the words are not functional for our society.I would highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in history or etymology, but not to those who, like me, are looking for words to add to their current vocabulary. I enjoy the information, but that enjoyment is soured by my dissapointment in not finding words that I can actually use from day to day.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfection,
By Michael Ezzo (Yokkaichi, Japan) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Forgotten English (Paperback)
Not one to read in large portions, thisunique book is absolutely recommended to anyone who loves the English language. Mr. Kacirk has done a wonderful service to Anglophiles and <Forgotten English>'s virtues are many. He takes each word separately; gives a brief historical description; adds a few excerpts from where the word was used; and polishes it off with a lovely line illustration (printed in green ink which makes for a perfect contrast to the black ink of the text) to give a visual referent to sharpen the reader's focus. I've seen other books similar to this (<Curious Words> is an example) but they usually give you long lists or unnecessary variations and such, that frankly are tiresome to read. Not so with <Forgotten Words>, which has been delivered with perfection. Another strong point about Kacirk is that he is a humble man who doesn't try to wow you with clever anecdotes and provocative statements, a tendency which mars the work of Bill Bryson, in his <Mother Tongue> book. This one is superbly laid out, and a joy to thumb through (but do it slowly -- quality before quantity) and should provide no end of joy and satisfaction.
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