Making Sense of "Bad English"

Making Sense of Author: Elizabeth Peterson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000652319
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Why is it that some ways of using English are considered "good" and others are considered "bad"? Why are certain forms of language termed elegant, eloquent or refined, whereas others are deemed uneducated, coarse, or inappropriate? Making Sense of "Bad English" is an accessible introduction to attitudes and ideologies towards the use of English in different settings around the world. Outlining how perceptions about what constitutes "good" and "bad" English have been shaped, this book shows how these principles are based on social factors rather than linguistic issues and highlights some of the real-life consequences of these perceptions. Features include: an overview of attitudes towards English and how they came about, as well as real-life consequences and benefits of using "bad" English; explicit links between different English language systems, including child’s English, English as a lingua franca, African American English, Singlish, and New Delhi English; examples taken from classic names in the field of sociolinguistics, including Labov, Trudgill, Baugh, and Lambert, as well as rising stars and more recent cutting-edge research; links to relevant social parallels, including cultural outputs such as holiday myths, to help readers engage in a new way with the notion of Standard English; supporting online material for students which features worksheets, links to audio and news files, further examples and discussion questions, and background on key issues from the book. Making Sense of "Bad English" provides an engaging and thought-provoking overview of this topic and is essential reading for any student studying sociolinguistics within a global setting.

Making Sense of "Bad English"

Making Sense of Author: Elizabeth Peterson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000652319
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 136

Get Book

Book Description
Why is it that some ways of using English are considered "good" and others are considered "bad"? Why are certain forms of language termed elegant, eloquent or refined, whereas others are deemed uneducated, coarse, or inappropriate? Making Sense of "Bad English" is an accessible introduction to attitudes and ideologies towards the use of English in different settings around the world. Outlining how perceptions about what constitutes "good" and "bad" English have been shaped, this book shows how these principles are based on social factors rather than linguistic issues and highlights some of the real-life consequences of these perceptions. Features include: an overview of attitudes towards English and how they came about, as well as real-life consequences and benefits of using "bad" English; explicit links between different English language systems, including child’s English, English as a lingua franca, African American English, Singlish, and New Delhi English; examples taken from classic names in the field of sociolinguistics, including Labov, Trudgill, Baugh, and Lambert, as well as rising stars and more recent cutting-edge research; links to relevant social parallels, including cultural outputs such as holiday myths, to help readers engage in a new way with the notion of Standard English; supporting online material for students which features worksheets, links to audio and news files, further examples and discussion questions, and background on key issues from the book. Making Sense of "Bad English" provides an engaging and thought-provoking overview of this topic and is essential reading for any student studying sociolinguistics within a global setting.

Between You and I

Between You and I PDF Author: James Cochrane
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 9781402203312
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description
In the spirit of the bestselling Eats, Shoots & Leaves, this is an informative and highly amusing little book about bad English, full of examples of the incorrect grammar and usage that often pervades modern radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, classroom discussions and political speeches. As the author explains, he does not take issue with the so-called "educated or uneducated" uses of the English language. Between You and I is more concerned with theparticular form of English debasement we now have, which might be called the "half-educated" uses of language. Readers may be surprised to find that much of what they thought was "bad" English is in fact perfectly good, and that what they have learned to think of as "good" English is sometimes ignorant, dishonest or just plain stupid.

Making Sense

Making Sense PDF Author: David Crystal
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190660570
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
In this book, David Crystal confronts the foe of many : grammar. Once taught relentlessly to all students in the English-speaking world, grammar disappeared from most school curricula, so terms such as "preposition" and "conjunction" now often confound children and adults alike. In this breezy, entertaining book, Crystal proves that grammar needn't make us uneasy--we can all make sense of how we make sense. -- Provided by publisher.

Making Sense of Grammar

Making Sense of Grammar PDF Author: David Crystal
Publisher: Longman
ISBN:
Category : English
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
The author explains structure and then shows how it works in different language contexts - the literary, the non-literary, the spoken and the written. He explores a wide range of linguistic themes including sociolinguistics, language acquisition and register, and shows how our language can be interpreted.

Making Sense of English Usage

Making Sense of English Usage PDF Author: David Crystal
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789810120597
Category : English language
Languages : en
Pages : 127

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Book Description


Making Sense

Making Sense PDF Author: Sam Harris
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062857800
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 435

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Book Description
A New York Times New and Noteworthy Book From the bestselling author of Waking Up and The End of Faith, an adaptation of his wildly popular, often controversial podcast “Sam Harris is the most intellectually courageous man I know, unafraid to speak truths out in the open where others keep those very same thoughts buried, fearful of the modish thought police. With his literate intelligence and fluency with words, he brings out the best in his guests, including those with whom he disagrees.” -- Richard Dawkins, author of The Selfish Gene “Civilization rests on a series of successful conversations.” —Sam Harris Sam Harris—neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author—has been exploring some of the most important questions about the human mind, society, and current events on his podcast, Making Sense. With over one million downloads per episode, these discussions have clearly hit a nerve, frequently walking a tightrope where either host or guest—and sometimes both—lose their footing, but always in search of a greater understanding of the world in which we live. For Harris, honest conversation, no matter how difficult or controversial, represents the only path to moral and intellectual progress. This book includes a dozen of the best conversations from Making Sense, including talks with Daniel Kahneman, Timothy Snyder, Nick Bostrom, and Glenn Loury, on topics that range from the nature of consciousness and free will, to politics and extremism, to living ethically. Together they shine a light on what it means to “make sense” in the modern world.

Making Sense of People

Making Sense of People PDF Author: Samuel Barondes
Publisher: FT Press
ISBN: 0132172879
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Every day, we evaluate the people around us: It's one of the most important things we ever do. Making Sense of People provides the scientific frameworks and tools we need to improve our intuition, and assess people more consciously, systematically, and effectively. Leading neuroscientist Samuel H. Barondes explains the research behind each standard personality category: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness. He shows readers how to use these traits and assessments to do a better job of deciding who they'll enjoy spending time with, whom to trust, and whom to keep at a distance. Barondes explains: What neuroscience and psychological research can tell us about how personality types develop and cohere. The intertwined roles of genes, nurture, and education in personality development. How to recognize troublesome personality patterns such as narcissism, sociopathy, and paranoia. How much a child's behavior predicts their adult personality, and how personality stabilizes in young adulthood. How to assess integrity, fairness, wisdom, and other traits related to morality. What genetic testing may (or may not) teach us about personality in the future. General strategies for getting along with people, with specific tactics for special circumstances. Kirkus Reviews A succinct look at personality psychology. As a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at the University of California, Barondes (Molecules and Mental Illness, 2007, etc.) has spent years studying human behavior, and this book reflects his systematic, scientific approach for personality assessment. The average person isn't likely to have time to research a difficult boss or potential love interest, but the author supplements intuition with a useful cornerstone for gauging human behavior: a table of the "Big Five" personality traits, among them Extraversion vs. Introversion and Agreeableness vs. Antagonism. To learn how to apply the Big Five, Barondes supplies a link for a professional online personality test, in addition to a basic introduction of troubling personality patterns–e.g., narcissism and compulsiveness. While genetics may play a heavy hand in influencing personality, Barondes writes, it's awareness of a person's background, character and life story that is paramount in unearthing reasons for adult behavior. Readers might like to see the author weave more everyday examples into the text–his exercise in fostering compassion by imagining an adult as a 10-year-old child is a gem–but there is plenty here to ponder. Those looking for traditional "self-help" advice won't find it here, but this book clearly lays the groundwork for deeper human interaction and better life relationships.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense (Bad Arguments)

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense (Bad Arguments) PDF Author: Ali Almossawi
Publisher: The Experiment, LLC
ISBN: 1615192263
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
“This short book makes you smarter than 99% of the population. . . . The concepts within it will increase your company’s ‘organizational intelligence.’. . . It’s more than just a must-read, it’s a ‘have-to-read-or-you’re-fired’ book.”—Geoffrey James, INC.com From the author of An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language, here’s the antidote to fuzzy thinking, with furry animals! Have you read (or stumbled into) one too many irrational online debates? Ali Almossawi certainly had, so he wrote An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments! This handy guide is here to bring the internet age a much-needed dose of old-school logic (really old-school, a la Aristotle). Here are cogent explanations of the straw man fallacy, the slippery slope argument, the ad hominem attack, and other common attempts at reasoning that actually fall short—plus a beautifully drawn menagerie of animals who (adorably) commit every logical faux pas. Rabbit thinks a strange light in the sky must be a UFO because no one can prove otherwise (the appeal to ignorance). And Lion doesn’t believe that gas emissions harm the planet because, if that were true, he wouldn’t like the result (the argument from consequences). Once you learn to recognize these abuses of reason, they start to crop up everywhere from congressional debate to YouTube comments—which makes this geek-chic book a must for anyone in the habit of holding opinions.

Making Sense

Making Sense PDF Author: David Crystal
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190660597
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
In Making Sense, David Crystal confronts the foe of many: grammar. Once taught relentlessly to all students in the English-speaking world, grammar disappeared from most school curricula, so that terms such as "preposition" and "conjunction" now often confound children and adults alike. Explaining the nuts and bolts of grammar presents a special challenge, because - far more than is the case with spelling and punctuation - the subject is burdened with a centuries-old history of educational practice that many will recall as anything but glamorous. One of the world's foremost authorities on the English language, Crystal sets out to rid grammar of its undeserved reputation as a dry and intimidating subject, pointing out how essential grammar is to clear and effective speech and writing. He moves briskly through the stages by which children acquire grammar, along the way demystifying grammar's rules and irregularities and showing us how to navigate its snares and pitfalls. He offers the fascinating history of grammar, explaining how it has evolved from the first grammarians in ancient Greece to our 21st century digital environment of blogging, emailing, and texting. Many find grammar to be a daunting subject, but in this breezy, entertaining book, Crystal proves that grammar doesn't need to make us uneasy-we can all make sense of how we make sense.

Making Sense of Japanese

Making Sense of Japanese PDF Author: Jay Rubin
Publisher: Vertical Inc
ISBN: 1568366086
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Book Description
Making Sense of Japanese is the fruit of one foolhardy American's thirty-year struggle to learn and teach the Language of the Infinite. Previously known as Gone Fishin', this book has brought Jay Rubin more feedback than any of his literary translations or scholarly tomes, "even if," he says, "you discount the hate mail from spin-casters and the stray gill-netter." To convey his conviction that "the Japanese language is not vague," Rubin has dared to explain how some of the most challenging Japanese grammatical forms work in terms of everyday English. Reached recently at a recuperative center in the hills north of Kyoto, Rubin declared, "I'm still pretty sure that Japanese is not vague. Or at least, it's not as vague as it used to be. Probably." The notorious "subjectless sentence" of Japanese comes under close scrutiny in Part One. A sentence can't be a sentence without a subject, so even in cases where the subject seems to be lost or hiding, the author provides the tools to help you find it. Some attention is paid as well to the rest of the sentence, known technically to grammarians as "the rest of the sentence." Part Two tackles a number of expressions that have baffled students of Japanese over the decades, and concludes with Rubin's patented technique of analyzing upside-down Japanese sentences right-side up, which, he claims, is "far more restful" than the traditional way, inside-out. "The scholar," according to the great Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, is "one who specializes in making the comprehensible incomprehensible." Despite his best scholarly efforts, Rubin seems to have done just the opposite. Previously published in the Power Japanese series under the same title and originally as Gone Fishin' in the same series.