An insightful, accessible examination of the way in which day-to-day speech is tangled in a complicated web of history,...
A wide-ranging study of language, including the various political dimensions involved in how and why certain languages gain prestige while others become extinct.
How have industrialization and nationalism shaped language variation worldwide? Is the writing system a natural outgrowth of speech, or can it simply be changed by government edict? Is there really one correct way of speaking English? Is the French language being threatened? Are Chinese characters really based on pictographs? These are just a handful of the many intriguing questions, issues and “linguistic myths” that Economist contributor Greene investigates in this fascinating glimpse at the global politics of language variation. Essentially, the book is a course in sociolinguistics and modern international language politics for the layperson. The author, who speaks nine languages, begins by dispelling a variety of language myths that are pervasive and, to the chagrin of many linguists, seemingly unshakeable—that some languages are more primitive than others, that the Qur’an cannot be translated from Arabic, or that the Maori of New Zealand have 35 words for dung. Greene also exposes grammar sticklers—people who are obsessively determined to “purify” language and who are nostalgic for a linguistic utopia that never existed—for the persnickety and curmudgeonly group they really are. The author blends personal narrative, reportage and humor with linguistic analysis, historical research and political punditry, and he surveys some of the most significant issues concerning language today, including the ethnocentrism involved in some English-only activism in America, as well as the draconian—and largely unsuccessful—measures of the French Academy to keep French free of English words. Greene correctly demonstrates that language change, language variety and cross-language borrowing are “highly regular” and, in fact, part of the natural evolution of all languages.
An insightful, accessible examination of the way in which day-to-day speech is tangled in a complicated web of history, politics, race, economics and power.Pub Date: March 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-553-80787-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2011
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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