LINGUIST List 17.1226

Sun Apr 23 2006

Books: Sociolinguistics: Burridge

Editor for this issue: Maria Moreno-Rollins <marialinguistlist.org>

Directory         1.    Joyce Reid, Weeds in the Garden of Words: Burridge
Message 1: Weeds in the Garden of Words: Burridge
Date: 23-Apr-2006
From: Joyce Reid <jreidcup.org>
Subject: Weeds in the Garden of Words: Burridge


Title: Weeds in the Garden of Words Subtitle: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language Published: 2005 Publisher: Cambridge University Press
                http://us.cambridge.org

Book URL: http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521853133

Author: Kate Burridge, Monash University Hardback: ISBN: 0521853133 Pages: 206 Price: U.S. $ 60.00
Paperback: ISBN: 0521618231 Pages: 206 Price: U.S. $ 19.99
Abstract:

Kate Burridge follows the international success of Blooming English withanother entertaining excursion into the ever-changing nature of thecomplex and captivating English language. If language is a gloriousgarden, filled with exotic hybrids as well as traditional heritagespecimens, then weeds will also thrive on its fertile grounds. Linguisticweeds may be defined as pronunciations or constructions that are no longerused. For example, Burridge points out how "aint" or double negatives wereat one time quite acceptable in everyday speaking and writing but are nowclassified as "weeds" that should no longer have a place in ourvocabulary. And, as she so deftly accomplished in Blooming English,Burridge goes on here to further celebrate our capacity to play withlanguage, and to examine the ways we use it: in slang and jargon,swearing, speaking the unspeakable, or concealing unpleasant orinconvenient facts.

In this new volume she gives us another fun and informative work forenjoyable browsing; for discovering intriguing trivia about language,history, and social customs; and for employing as a peerless weapon inword games. Kate Burridge is the Chair of Linguistics at Monash Universityand a regular presenter of segments on the Australian Broadcast Company.

Reviews"Popular treatments of English usage abound. But this book brings a freshperspective to the topic, drawing an analogy between 'weeds' in a gardenand so-called errors of English usage. This metaphor is sustainedthroughout the book and really helps the reader understand that manyusages that we now condemn as 'weeds' ...were at one time quite ordinarymembers of the linguistic 'garden'." Professor Charles F. Meyer,University of Massachusetts, Boston

"[Burridge's] astute observations, dry humor, clear prose and fushion(yes!) combine to make Burrdige's well indexed book an enjoyable treat forlogophiles." --Catholic Library World

Contents1. Introduction to the weedy traits of the English language;2. Lexical weeds: the world of jargon, slang and euphemism;3. More lexical weeds: word origins and meaning shifts;4. Our grammatical weeds;5. Weeds in our sounds and spelling;6. The truly nasty weeds of the English language?;7. W(h)ither our weeds?


Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics
Subject Language(s): English (eng)
Written In: English (eng )

See this book announcement on our website: http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=19236


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