A NEW WAY TO BRITISH ENGLISH

by Maxwell Nurnberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 1942

Again a book that -- on this publisher's list -- has a chance for big sales, in spite of the fact that, in the final analysis, it is a glorified grammar! I defy anyone, however, who has an atom of the almost universal interest in words, their meaning and their usage, to dip into this book anywhere without catching the contagion of the author's enthusiasm for his subject. He has covered various aspects of his material -- tools of speech and how they came to be, enunciation, pronunciation, etiquette of language. In alphabetical arrangement, he marshals mistakes often made. He discusses provincialisms, spelling, punctuation. He tells stories about sources of words and how they were brought into our language. He makes the use of a dictionary a zestful game. (I'm sorry for the people who never found it so, and may he have luck in leading them to it.) His appendix includes material about prefixes, suffixes, roots. There are question and answer sections (what a temptation to stop and check one's own prowess). I loved it. I didn't always agree with his rulings, but then -- as he acknowledges, we all have our pet prejudices. So here's to better speech the Nurnberg way. I had a grand time with the book, and think there are thousands like me. A book for the long haul.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1942

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1942

Categories: NONFICTION