The Language Hoax

The Language Hoax PDF Author: John H. McWhorter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199361606
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Japanese has a term that covers both green and blue. Russian has separate terms for dark and light blue. Does this mean that Russians perceive these colors differently from Japanese people? Does language control and limit the way we think? This short, opinionated book addresses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that the language we speak shapes the way we perceive the world. Linguist John McWhorter argues that while this idea is mesmerizing, it is plainly wrong. It is language that reflects culture and worldview, not the other way around. The fact that a language has only one word for eat, drink, and smoke doesn't mean its speakers don't process the difference between food and beverage, and those who use the same word for blue and green perceive those two colors just as vividly as others do. McWhorter shows not only how the idea of language as a lens fails but also why we want so badly to believe it: we're eager to celebrate diversity by acknowledging the intelligence of peoples who may not think like we do. Though well-intentioned, our belief in this idea poses an obstacle to a better understanding of human nature and even trivializes the people we seek to celebrate. The reality -- that all humans think alike -- provides another, better way for us to acknowledge the intelligence of all peoples.

The Loom of Language

The Loom of Language PDF Author: Frederick Bodmer
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 9780393300345
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 724

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Book Description
Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages -- Teutonic, Romance, Greek -- helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a language as it is actually used in everyday life.

Watch Your Words

Watch Your Words PDF Author: Marda Dunsky
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Click here for updates to this edition. Journalists trade in words. Using language accurately, clearly, and consistently is part of their job--and this skill is equally important for writers and editors. Watch Your Words is designed as a handbook for quick and accessible classroom and newsroom use. Consistent with The Associated Press Stylebook, it establishes a baseline for language-skills knowledge in the areas of punctuation, grammar and usage, as well as AP style. Self-tests, answer keys, and sections on spelling and copyediting symbols are also included. Mastery of the material in Watch Your Words can equip the student or professional with the basic tools for producing clean copy. For information on how to bundle this book with other Rowman & Littlefield textbooks, contact [email protected].

Watch Your F*cking Language

Watch Your F*cking Language PDF Author: Sterling Johnson
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 1429997508
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
Let the squeamish beware! Watch Your F*cking Language takes a no-holds-barred approach to taboo words and expressions. It shows you how to use them to your advantage -- and have fun doing so. Building on the lessons learned in English as a Second F*cking Language, this book emphasizes traditional English swears as well as powerful (and hidden) expressions from other cultures and languages. Through numerous examples, it puts the real language of real people into context: FLOYD: I just heard a Dan Quayle speech. It was really f*cking confusing. RUBY: I just got back from a Mongolian cluster f*ck. It was really confusing f*cking. The name of the game is communication, and Watch Your F*cking Language shows readers how to hammer home their messages with confidence and gusto. Among its features: *Numerous examples of proper (and so-called improper) usage *An Idioms section that emphasizes the niceties of swearing *A "Need to Know, "Nice to Know," and "Forget It" system for identifying swear words *A Final F*cking Exam

For God's Sake, Watch Your Language!

For God's Sake, Watch Your Language! PDF Author: Elizabeth Urch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780715203668
Category : Christian life
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description


The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu

The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu PDF Author: Dan Jurafsky
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 039324587X
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
A 2015 James Beard Award Finalist: "Eye-opening, insightful, and huge fun to read." —Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork Why do we eat toast for breakfast, and then toast to good health at dinner? What does the turkey we eat on Thanksgiving have to do with the country on the eastern Mediterranean? Can you figure out how much your dinner will cost by counting the words on the menu? In The Language of Food, Stanford University professor and MacArthur Fellow Dan Jurafsky peels away the mysteries from the foods we think we know. Thirteen chapters evoke the joy and discovery of reading a menu dotted with the sharp-eyed annotations of a linguist. Jurafsky points out the subtle meanings hidden in filler words like "rich" and "crispy," zeroes in on the metaphors and storytelling tropes we rely on in restaurant reviews, and charts a microuniverse of marketing language on the back of a bag of potato chips. The fascinating journey through The Language of Food uncovers a global atlas of culinary influences. With Jurafsky's insight, words like ketchup, macaron, and even salad become living fossils that contain the patterns of early global exploration that predate our modern fusion-filled world. From ancient recipes preserved in Sumerian song lyrics to colonial shipping routes that first connected East and West, Jurafsky paints a vibrant portrait of how our foods developed. A surprising history of culinary exchange—a sharing of ideas and culture as much as ingredients and flavors—lies just beneath the surface of our daily snacks, soups, and suppers. Engaging and informed, Jurafsky's unique study illuminates an extraordinary network of language, history, and food. The menu is yours to enjoy.

My Language, Your Language

My Language, Your Language PDF Author: Lisa Bullard
Publisher: Lerner Digital ™
ISBN: 1512477567
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience! There's a new girl in Romelie's class named Camila. Camila speaks Spanish, and she's teaching it to Romelie. That gets Romelie thinking. What other languages do people speak? Her own family uses English and American Sign Language. Her mom's friend knows Somali and Arabic. Can Romelie discover more languages in her city? How are they like her own? How are they different? A diverse cast gives multiple points of comparison.

Watch Your Language

Watch Your Language PDF Author: Terrance Hayes
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593511859
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
“Dazzling . . . a verbal and visual feast that defies genres.” —The Washington Post From the National Book Award–winning author of Lighthead, Terrance Hayes, a fascinating collection of graphic reviews and illustrated prose addressing the last century of American poetry—to be published simultaneously with his latest poetry collection, So to Speak Canonized, overlooked, and forgotten African American poets star in Terrance Hayes's brilliant contemplations of personal, canonical, and allegorical literary development. Proceeding from Toni Morrison's aim to expand the landscape of literary imagination in Playing in the Dark ("I want to draw a map, so to speak, of a critical geography"), Watch Your Language charts a lyrical geography of reading and influence in poetry. Illustrated micro-essays, graphic book reviews, biographical prose poems, and nonfiction sketches make reading an imaginative and critical act of watching your language. Hayes has made a kind of poetic guidebook with more questions than answers. "If you don't see suffering's potential as art, will it remain suffering?" he asks in one of the lively mock poetry exam questions of this musing, mercurial collection. Hayes's astonishing drawings and essays literally and figuratively map the acclaimed poet's routes, roots, and wanderings through the landscape of contemporary poetry.

Watch Your Language

Watch Your Language PDF Author: Rob Kendall
Publisher: Watkins Media Limited
ISBN: 1786787911
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
The most accessible and practical book on the market about improving your personal and professional conversations, by internationally respected conversation expert Rob Kendall. Watch Your Language makes good communication easy, offering a huge range of case studies, easy-to-absorb concepts such as the Bad Place and the Tangle, and a unique "talking heads" page design that dissects examples of problematic conversations. It explains exactly why our daily conversations go wrong, how to respond when they do and provides tips on how to stop them from deteriorating in the first place. Communications expert Rob Kendall draws on over 30 years of experience to reveal: How to avoid conversations escalating into destructive arguments How to prepare for and conduct challenging conversations How to avoid defensiveness and emotional lockdown How to read the warning signals that a conversation is going off-track Short digestible chapters look at a wide variety of conversational scenarios, showing how to have rewarding and effective interactions with everyone in your life – from your partner, parents and children to your colleagues, boss and neighbours.

Watch Your Language

Watch Your Language PDF Author: Johnny Joe Gallagher
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 1462039758
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This fun book is about words: their origins, histories, surprises, colorful use and misuse. It may alter your mental landscape for several months or less.

How to Speak Any Language Fluently

How to Speak Any Language Fluently PDF Author: Alex Rawlings
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1472138570
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This book will give you the skills to learn to speak any language with confidence. It uses techniques that can easily be incorporated into your daily life, while making use of whatever resources you have available. Whether you are starting out with your first foreign language or wishing to add to your repetoire, you'll find a wealth of easy-to-follow advice and achievable goals. Discover how to: -Speak with greater confidence and accuracy -Effectively learn vocabulary and grammar -Use time on the internet and social media to learn a language -Read real books, websites and articles in a foreign language -Pass exams that certify your language skills