From Library Journal
Hargraves, a lexicographer and cohabitant of the United States of America and Britain, has written a well-organized guide to the differences between American and British English. The historical introduction makes for interesting reading, and Hargraves has clearly made an effort to provide an unbiased account. In fact, instead of suggesting that the two dialects should move toward uniformity, he declares that native speakers of each would be enriched by an understanding of the other. The subsequent two chapters on lexicography and syntax would be helpful for nonnative speakers of English, although knowledge of grammatical terms is assumed. The majority of the book, however, is devoted to lexical variations between the dialects, organized by subject/ theme, such as "Money, Business and Work" and "Education." There is even a wittily written chapter on "what you don't say." Perhaps from a linguist's point of view, Hargraves is too quick to dismiss other, less dominant regional dialects such as Australian, Canadian, and South African English. Nevertheless, on what could have been a rather dry and technical subject, Hargraves has written a very readable book that is as entertaining for native speakers to dip into as it is informative for nonnative speakers or editors.
Rebecca Bollen, Jersey City, NJCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"A well-organized guide to the differences between American and British English....A very readable book that is as entertaining as it is informative."--Library Journal "A scholarly but highly readable dissection of the differences between British and American English."--Copyeditor
