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Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language

Posted By: tot167
Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language

Kate Burridge “Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language"
Cambridge University Press (June 21, 2004) | ISBN: 0521548322 | 248 pages | PDF | 11,5 Mb

Unlike Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Australian linguist Burridge sees her role regarding language as more descriptive than prescriptive. But Truss’s fans may also enjoy dipping into this look at the ever-morphing English language. Burridge’s book developed from a series of short pieces she wrote for her down-under radio show, and it’s a delightful guide to the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the English language. The author’s own prose is graceful and easygoing as she explains why Eliza Doolittle said "absobloominlutely" and not "abbloominsolutely" and how irregularities in a language "are typically relics of past regularity." Brief sidebars focus on particular illustrations of her subject, such as the 12th-century appearance of the pronoun "she" (which prevented English from having a gender-neutral third-person pronoun) and the mystery of the disappearing l (think of "calm" and "walk"). Anyone fascinated by the vagaries of English will enjoy taking a stroll in Burridge’s blooming linguistic garden.






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