Wordwatching Field Notes From An Amateur Philologist

Download or read book Wordwatching written by Julian Burnside and published by Scribe Publications. This book was released on 2013-12-05 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bonzer discussion of the strange pedigree of the naughty, nice, and, sometimes, obscene English language. We live in a torrent of words — from radio and television, books and newspapers, and now from the internet. But, as Julian Burnside reminds us in this new edition of the bestselling Wordwatching, words are a source of both pleasure and power, and can be deployed for good or for ill. Comprising many essays, dealing with a vast array of subjects as diverse as deadlines, fancy words, the problems with ‘issue’, odd sounds, oxymorons, and the fallacy of ‘wading in’, Wordwatching is a fascinating demonstration of the power and the pleasure of the English language. Told with Julian Burnside’s sparkling wit, it is lively, illuminating, and perfect for every book-lover.