The Prodigal Tongue: The Love–Hate Relationship Between British and American English
‘The first and perhaps only book on the relative merits of American and British English that is dominated by facts and analysis rather than nationalistic prejudice. For all its scholarship, this is also a funny and rollicking read.’
The Economist, Books of the Year
Only an American would call autumn fall or refer to a perfectly good pavement as a sidewalk… Not so, says Lynne Murphy. The English invented sidewalk in the seventeenth century and in 1693 John Dryden wrote the line, ‘Or how last fall he raised the weekly bills.’
Perhaps we don’t know our own language quite as well as we thought.
Murphy, an American linguist in Britain, dissects the myths surrounding British and American English in a laugh-out-loud exploration of how language works and where it’s going.
Review
‘The first and perhaps only book on the relative merits of American and British English that is dominated by facts and analysis rather than nationalistic prejudice. For all its scholarship, this is also a funny and rollicking read.’
(The Economist, Books of the Year)
‘[Murphy’s] delivery is sparkling, her approach mischievous, her material brightened by the unexpected…a potpourri of enchanting, counterintuitive surprises…The Prodigal Tongue is playful, funny, smart and often humbling…Murphy’s prose is beguiling, and sprinkled with sprightly quotations...before the apocalypse, you could do worse than read Lynne Murphy’s delightful book.’
(Times Literary Supplement)
‘Witty and erudite...what lifts The Prodigal Tongue is Murphy’s deep learning, lightly worn, in linguistics and linguistic history...fascinating.’
(Financial Times)
‘A fun, practical and intelligent book which reminds us it’s OK to say tomato both ways.’
(The American, Books of the Year)
‘Murphy ranges far and wide, with much wonderful detail and colour. She is particularly good on sport, manners, class and death, and her observations on food are fascinating.’
(The Times)
‘Murphy’s book is pedantic, but for once the definition is positive: she gets things right, offers proof and skewers inaccuracy, and does so with wit and erudition.’
(Daily Telegraph)
‘A fascinating book.’
(SORTED Magazine)
‘Delightful… Murphy’s great love for language radiates from these pages… Her examples are often funny and always apt…[her] book serves as an open-minded argument for tolerance and understanding.’
(New York Times Book Review)
‘Entertaining and sometimes gleeful…The Prodigal Tongue is ultimately a celebration of the richness and diversity of English.’
(New Statesman)
‘Fascinating and surprising…a witty and erudite celebration of the English language.’
(i)
About the Author
Lynne Murphy is a professor in linguistics at the University of Sussex. She blogs at separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com and tweets @lynneguist. A dual British/American citizen, she lives in Brighton.
Podrobnosti
| Autor |
Lynne Murphy |
|---|---|
| Vydavatel |
Oneworld |
| Jazyk | anglicky |
| Vazba | měkká |
| Počet stran | 368 |
| Formát | 13 × 19,8 cm |
| EAN | 9781786074973 |
| Rok vydání | 2019 |
| Edice |
Osobnostní rozvoj Společnost a společenské vědy Humor, citáty, dárkové knihy |
Autor
Lynne Murphy
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