Tag Archives: language

Book Review: Oregon’s Names

Posted on August 11, 2017 by

Oregon’s Names:  How To Say Them & Where Are They Located:  An Illustrated Pronunciation Guide, by Bert Webber As a relative newcomer to Oregon, from time to time I seek to burnish my local knowledge through reading [1].  Perhaps a … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Universe According To G.K. Chesterton

Posted on July 25, 2017 by

The Universe According To G.K. Chesterton:  A Dictionary Of Te Mad, Mundane, And Metaphysical, edited by Dale Ahlquist Admittedly, this book is a bit slight.  More to the point, this book is admitted to be a bit slight by the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: The Story Of Yiddish

Posted on June 21, 2017 by

The Story Of Yiddish:  How A Mish-Mosh Of Languages Saved The Jews, by Neal Karlen My own relationship with Judaism and the Jewish culture have long been deeply ambivalent and complicated.  Belonging from birth to an religious tradition that has … Continue reading →

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Book Review: By Hook Or By Crook

Posted on June 21, 2017 by

By Hook Or By Crook:  A Journey In Search Of English, by David Crystal As someone who greatly enjoys reading about the origins and the tortured history of the English language [1] and languages in general, I found this book … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Inventing English

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

Inventing English:  A Portable History Of The Language, by Seth Lerer Fond readers of this blog, at least those who pay attention to my book reviews, will likely note that I am fond of reading about linguistics for fun [1]. … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Language Matters

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

Language Matters:  A Guide To Everyday Questions About Language, by Donna Jo Napoli and Vera Lee-Schoenfeld As someone who reads a fair amount of material concerning the practical implications for linguistics [1], even if I am generally far more interested … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Do You Speak American?

Posted on June 9, 2017 by

Do You Speak American, by Robert MacNeil and William Cran As I have noted before on occasion, my native American accent is Western Pennsylvanian [1], one of the dialects spoken of in this book.  There are some dialects, and this … Continue reading →

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Book Reviews: English Accents And Dialects

Posted on June 9, 2017 by

English Accents And Dialects:  An Introduction To Social And Regional Varieties Of English In The British Isles, by Arthur Hughes, Peter Trudgill, and Dominic Watt Admittedly, I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to linguistics, as will … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Sequoyah’s Gift

Posted on May 3, 2017 by

Sequoyah’s Gift:  A Portrait Of The Cherokee Leader, by Janet Klausner Given the importance of Sequoyah as one of the most notable figures in American Indian history, as well as the only known inventor of an alphabet (technically a syllabary … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Sequoyah And The Cherokee Alphabet

Posted on May 3, 2017 by

Sequoyah And The Cherokee Alphabet, by Robert Cwiklik I sincerely hope that this author didn’t receive any taxpayer money in order to write this book, because if so he deserves to be sued for restitution.  As someone who reads more … Continue reading →

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