The Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of It All at the Oxford English Dictionary
Autor John Simpsonen Limba Engleză Paperback – 16 oct 2017
"A charmingly full, frank, and humorous account of a career dedicated to rigorous lexicographic rectitude. . . .[John Simpson] is an absolute hero." --Lynne Truss,New York Times
Can you drink a glass of balderdash? And what do you call the part of a dog's back it can't scratch? The answers to these questions can be found in the Oxford English Dictionary. There is no better guide to the dictionary's many wonderments than its former chief editor, John Simpson. InThe Word Detective, an intensely personal memoir and a joyful celebration of English, he weaves a story of how words come into being, how culture shapes language, and how technology transforms words. A brilliant and deeply humane expedition through the world of words,The Word Detectivewill delight and inspire any lover of language.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781541697218
ISBN-10: 1541697219
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 140 x 213 x 29 mm
Greutate: 0.32 kg
Editura: BASIC BOOKS
Colecția Basic Books
ISBN-10: 1541697219
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 140 x 213 x 29 mm
Greutate: 0.32 kg
Editura: BASIC BOOKS
Colecția Basic Books
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Notă biografică
John Simpsonis the former chief editor of theOxford English Dictionary, where he helped digitize the dictionary. He lives in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom.
Recenzii
"Compellingly
captures
words
in
all
their
weirdness
and
wonder....
The
book
becomes
a
moving
celebration
both
of
language
and
of
a
love
that
transcends
it."—Observer(UK)
"Delightful...a fitting companion to Elisabeth Murray'sCaught in the Web of Wordsand Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman."—Providence Journal
"Well, I doubt there has ever been a better account of how a person with a capacious brain sits down with a cup of tea and a pile of cards and sets about creating authoritative definitions."—Lynne Truss,New York Times
New York Times'Paperback Row
"A former chief editor of the dictionary, Simpson reflects on nearly four decades as a gatekeeper of the English language. Along the way, he offers insight into how words come into being and a look at origins of a scattering of words: inkling, deadline, apprenticeship, balderdash."
"The memoir of a lexicographer doesn't sound like an enticing prospect (Johnson's famous definition of lexicographer: a harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words'), but Mr. Simpson pulls it off.... An engaging memoir."—Wall Street Journal
"Although Simpson reports in detail on the practical, finicky business of augmenting and improving theOED, the human condition is always in view.... A sustained and sincere reflection on what it means to make a dictionary--the toil, the puzzles, the costs and the profits."—Henry Hitchings,Guardian(UK)
"The book is compulsively readable, especially about the work of the dictionary compiler and the qualifications, or rather the skills, required to become one. I could quote reams of Simpson's well-wrought prose."—
"The best book yet to reveal what a lifetime spent with words is really like."—Erin McKean,20x20
"Delightful...a fitting companion to Elisabeth Murray'sCaught in the Web of Wordsand Simon Winchester's The Professor and the Madman."—Providence Journal
"Well, I doubt there has ever been a better account of how a person with a capacious brain sits down with a cup of tea and a pile of cards and sets about creating authoritative definitions."—Lynne Truss,New York Times
New York Times'Paperback Row
"A former chief editor of the dictionary, Simpson reflects on nearly four decades as a gatekeeper of the English language. Along the way, he offers insight into how words come into being and a look at origins of a scattering of words: inkling, deadline, apprenticeship, balderdash."
"The memoir of a lexicographer doesn't sound like an enticing prospect (Johnson's famous definition of lexicographer: a harmless drudge that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words'), but Mr. Simpson pulls it off.... An engaging memoir."—Wall Street Journal
"Although Simpson reports in detail on the practical, finicky business of augmenting and improving theOED, the human condition is always in view.... A sustained and sincere reflection on what it means to make a dictionary--the toil, the puzzles, the costs and the profits."—Henry Hitchings,Guardian(UK)
"The book is compulsively readable, especially about the work of the dictionary compiler and the qualifications, or rather the skills, required to become one. I could quote reams of Simpson's well-wrought prose."—
Oxford
Times
"The best book yet to reveal what a lifetime spent with words is really like."—Erin McKean,20x20
Descriere
Descriere de la o altă ediție sau format:
Language is always changing. No one knows where it is going but the best way to future-cast is to look at the past. John Simpson animates for us a tradition of researching and editing, showing us both the technical lexicography needed to understand a word, and the careful poetry needed to construct its definition. He challenges both the idea that dictionaries are definitive, and the notion that language is falling apart. With a sense of humour, an ability to laugh at bureaucracy and an inclination to question the status quo, John Simpson gives life to the colourful characters at the OED and to the English language itself. He splices his stories with entertaining and erudite diversions into the history and origin of words such as 'kangaroo', 'hot-dog' , 'pommie', 'bicycle' , not ignoring those swearwords often classed as 'Anglo-Saxon' ! The book will speak to anyone who uses a dictionary, 'word people' , history lovers, students and parents.
Language is always changing. No one knows where it is going but the best way to future-cast is to look at the past. John Simpson animates for us a tradition of researching and editing, showing us both the technical lexicography needed to understand a word, and the careful poetry needed to construct its definition. He challenges both the idea that dictionaries are definitive, and the notion that language is falling apart. With a sense of humour, an ability to laugh at bureaucracy and an inclination to question the status quo, John Simpson gives life to the colourful characters at the OED and to the English language itself. He splices his stories with entertaining and erudite diversions into the history and origin of words such as 'kangaroo', 'hot-dog' , 'pommie', 'bicycle' , not ignoring those swearwords often classed as 'Anglo-Saxon' ! The book will speak to anyone who uses a dictionary, 'word people' , history lovers, students and parents.