‘On Language’ 12/21: books of year
This holiday season, turn page to the new world of words
‘On Language‘
Chicago Tribune
December 21, 2005
By Nathan Bierma
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‘Tis the season of year-end lists and last-minute shopping, so here are the 10 best language books of 2005:
10. “Born to Kvetch: Yiddish Language and Culture in All of Its Moods” (St. Martin’s Press, 320 pages, $24.95). Wex takes a colorful look at Yiddish words and phrases for food, sex and other things to kvetch about, providing a lively addition to Dovid Katz’s more straightforward history published last year: “Words on Fire: The Unfinished Story of Yiddish” (Basic Books, 430 pages, $26.95).
9. “A Natural History of Latin: The Story of the World’s Most Successful Language” by Tore Janson (Oxford University Press, 305 pages, $24). What a long, strange trip it’s been for Latin, from its origins in Rome to its use in the medieval church to its current job helping us name new technology (“television,” “video,” “digital”). Janson tells this intriguing story as well as anyone.
8. “Bad Language: Are Some Words Better Than Others?” by Edwin L. Battistella (Oxford University Press, 240 pages, $29.95). This book reminds us that language is the basis of the last acceptable prejudice: There is no snobbery as safe as looking down your nose at people for their grammar, vocabulary or accent. As Battistella shows, this kind of condescension often comes from misunderstandings and myths about the way language works. An even better myth-buster is still the 1999 book “Language Myths,” edited by Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill (Penguin, 188 pages, $14).
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thanks you admin
Posted by Kamilow on 07/23 at 10:13 AM
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