| Marta's Reading Insight | number 19 |  |
WHAT DID YOU SAY??
Read these books to sharpen your pen and refine your tongue.
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THE WORD DETECTIVE
by Evan Morris |
Syndicated columnist Morris, son of William & Mary Morris, longtime authors of books about words, is an offbeat and irreverent investigator of words. He entertains at each letter of the alphabet from "amok" (a Malay word meaning a "state of murderous frenzy") to "zarf", the obligatory z word (Arabic for "container"- they are those little plastic cup holders at many offices.) Reading this will cause you to "chortle" - (a cheerful combination of chuckle & snort introduced by Lewis Carroll in Jabberwocky.) Author's website: http://www.word-detective.com/ |
| AMERICA
IN SO MANY WORDS: WORDS THAT HAVE SHAPED AMERICA by David K. Barnhart & Allan A. Metcalf |
Covering the years from 1497- 1998, a newly introduced word is discussed for each year. Did you know that "tamale" was a staple of the Indians in Virginia and mentioned by Captain John Smith as early as 1612? And, yes, it is also a contemporary Mexican dish and the use of red pepper as an ingredient has led to the term "hot tamale" used to refer to a sexy woman. From the Civil War (1862) comes "A.W.O.L." The entry for 1895 is "hot dog" and involves the pranks of those boys at Yale. This is a humorous history. |
| TRACKS
THAT SPEAK: THE LEGACY OF NATIVE AMERICAN WORDS IN NORTH AMERICAN
CULTURE by Charles L. Cutler |
Arranged by subject, this reveals how each word was traditionally used by Native Americans, adopted by European settlers, and survived to be part of our culture today. "Catalpa, squash, quahog, muskrat, kayak, and squaw" are a few examples. If you live in a place named "Manitou", that means holy spirits and perhaps you should plan a "powwow" or a communication with those holy spirits. Strands of our heritage found in the words we use. |
| THE
WAY WE TALK NOW by Geoffrey Nunberg |
Contemporary culture in a collection of NPR broadcasts & magazine pieces by a professor of linguistics. Education-, technology- and business -speak, as well as political. In an observation from 2000 entitled "Only Contract", Nunberg talks about Al Gore's lack of contracted words and his slow paced pronouncements. He contrasts this with the George W. Bush style of all contractions and words with dropped g's. His theory is that Gore's hardscrabble background and W's elite one led each to emphasize the opposite way of speaking. Other topics: the linguistic effects of the Seinfeld show, the "burbs," cigarette advertising. Remember "...like a cigarette should?" |
| THE
SECRET LIVES OF WORDS by Paul West |
Do you know what John Milton called the capital of Hell in Paradise Lost? It was "pandemonium" now familiar as that moment when all Hell breaks loose. West reflects on similar oddities and charms of his favorite words, as he tracks their histories through centuries and around the world. He is truly a language "maven" - from the Hebrew word for "understanding"- confidently doting on his specialty. |
| IN
OTHER WORDS: A LANGUAGE LOVER'S GUIDE TO THE MOST INTRIGUING
WORDS AROUND THE WORLD by Christopher Moore |
For those intrigued by linguistic quirks, Moore has selected words and phrases that are impossible to translate neatly into English because our culture does not share the same experiences. The Cantonese "gagung" literally means "bare sticks," but refers to men who cannot find a wife because China's one-child policy and desire for sons has reduced the proportion of women. You will appreciate the challenges of translations. |
| OXFORD
AMERICAN WRITER'S THESAURUS by Christine A Lindberg |
Organized with 25,000 headwords this reference for writers and other word lovers has 300,000 synonyms, 10,000 antonyms and provocative mini-essays on 240 favorite words by distinguished contemporary writers. A useful tool for writers and a fascinating read for browsers. |
| DO
YOU SPEAK AMERICAN: A COMPANION TO THE PBS SERIES by Robert MacNeil |
MacNeil and Robert Crum traveled from the Northeast, through Appalachia and the Deep South and then west to California to observe everyday verbal interactions and to learn the linguistic habits and traditions of each area. Spanish and African-American influences were noted, as well as regional dialects and gender differences in language use. Can you guess the part of America in which your friends learned to use language? |
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Marta Campbell, Head of Collection Management |  |
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| Tel: 203-291-4842 | E-mail: mcampbell@westportlibrary.org | |||
Updated 1/04/005
dcelia@westportlibrary.org