But where did English come from? And how has it evolved into the language used today? In Do You Speak English? Simon Horobin investigates the evolution of the English language, examining how the language continues to adapt even today, as English continues to find new speakers and new uses. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements, or evidence of slipping standards. What is the future for the English Language? Will Standard English continue to hold sway, or are we witnessing its replacement by newlyemerging Englishes?

    This otherwise daunting task is made easier by the use of techniques based on the psychology of leaning and memory. key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building up of more complicated characters from basic building blocks.Although Learning Chinese Characters is primarily a book for serious learners of Mandarin Chinese, it can be used by anyone with an interest in Chinese characters, without any prior knowledge of Chinese. It can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. All characters are simplified (as in mainland China) but traditional characters are also given, when available.Key features:-Specially designed pictures and stories are used in a structured way to make the learning process more enjoyable and effective, reducing the need for rote learning to the absolute minimum.-The emphasis throughout is on learning and remembering the meanings and pronunciations of the characters. Tips are also included on learning techniques and how to avoid common problems.-Characters are introduced in a logical sequence, which also gives priority to learning the most common characters first.-Modern simplified characters are used, with pronunciations given in pinyin. Key information is given for each character, including radical, stroke—count, traditional form, compounds, and guidance on writing the character.This is a practical guide with a clear, concise and appealing layout, and it is well—indexed with easy look—up methods. The 800 Chinese characters and 1,033 compounds specified for the original HSK Level A proficiency test are covered.

    --The New Yorker Can help you make friends [and] avoid travel trouble. --BusinessWeek Helpful.fun to read. --Steve Birnbaum The first two editions of Do's and Taboos Around the World helped thousands of high-powered executives and tourists avoid the missteps and misunderstandings that plague the world traveler. This updated and expanded Third Edition provides even more facts, tips, and cautionary tales--gleaned from the experiences of more than five hundred international business travelers--as well as: * Information on protocol, customs, and etiquette; hand gestures and body language; tipping; American jargon; and the international communications crisis * Up-to-date advice on dealing with the monumental changes in Russia, Germany, Eastern Europe, the People's Republic of China, and other locales * A new chapter on business gift-giving and gift-receiving customs, with country-by-country gift suggestions and precautions * A special quick reference guide to customs and mores in 96 countries, including revisions and updates from foreign embassies and consulates

    This deluxe collection of Shakespeare’s most dazzling insults is neatly separated into sections for quick retrieval when a stinging retort is demanded. Become the master of your own villainy with creative insults that will show those rogues and ruffians who’s in charge!

    From drills and shape-up exercises, to helpful tips on safety and injuries, this book is packed with information for every rugby admirer. Explanations in plain English.The Dummies Way(R)"Get in, get out" information Icons and other navigational aids Tear-out cheat sheet Top ten lists A dash of humor and fun Get smart! @ www.dummies.comFind listings of all our books Choose from many different subject categories Sign up for eTips at etips.dummies.com

    

    Nearly half a million entries provide standard and variant pronunciations, etymologies, comprehensive definitions, updated usage illustrations, and synonym articles.

    Here is the Vietnam War, in the air and on the ground: gritty, urgent, genuine, a story torn from the hearts and minds of those who served.

    Learning what it means to fully surrender character defects frees you to make amends with Steps 8 and 9, realize the Big Book’s “Promises,” and move on to Step 10.In this new follow-up resource, Fred H. explores what he calls “the ripple effect” that can be created by using Step 10 to practice Steps 6 and 7 every day and avoid picking up “the rock” again. Drawing on his years of lecturing on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, he reveals Step 10 as the natural culmination of working the previous Steps. providing a crash course on renewing your recovery program through the daily practice of Twelve Step principles.Like its predecessor, Drop the Rock—The Ripple Effect provides multiple perspectives from people successfully working a Twelve Step Program, showing Step 10 as a key to a sober life free of fear and resentment and filled with serenity and gratitude.Fred H. has worked in the field of addiction and recovery for over three decades and is the director of the retreat center for a leading addiction treatment program. He is a popular international speaker on the Big Book and the principles of the Twelve Steps.

    In Tharoorosaurus, he shares fifty-three examples from his vocabulary: unusual words from every letter of the alphabet. You don't have to be a linguaphile to enjoy the fun facts and interesting anecdotes behind the words! Be ready to impress-and say goodbye to your hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia!

    Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the moldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meager iron bed. His ears were growing sensitive to a preternatural and intolerable degree, and he had long ago stopped the cheap mantel clock whose ticking had come to seem like a thunder of artillery. At night the subtle stirring of the black city outside, the sinister scurrying of rats in the wormy partitions, and the creaking of hidden timbers in the centuried house, were enough to give him a sense of strident pandemonium. The darkness always teemed with unexplained sound—and yet he sometimes shook with fear lest the noises he heard should subside and allow him to hear certain other fainter noises which he suspected were lurking behind them.

     The American response: IMPERATOR … the most advanced weapon ever devised in submarine warfare. As large as an aircraft carrier, it glides silently along the ocean floor, and within it is a dazzling arsenal of weaponry, years ahead of Soviet technology. But the Russians only have one course of action: they must destroy IMPERATOR!

    Bernstein’s A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, an Economist and Financial Times Best Book of the Year, placed him firmly among the top flight of historians like Jared Diamond and Bill Bryson, capable of distilling major trends and reams of information into insightful, globe-spanning popular narrative. Bernstein explains how new communication technologies and in particular our access to them, impacted human society. Writing was born thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia. Spreading to Sumer, and then Egypt, this revolutionary tool allowed rulers to extend their control far and wide, giving rise to the world’s first empires. When Phoenician traders took their alphabet to Greece, literacy’s first boom led to the birth of drama and democracy. In Rome, it helped spell the downfall of the Republic. Later, medieval scriptoria and vernacular bibles gave rise to religious dissent, and with the combination of cheaper paper and Gutenberg’s printing press, the fuse of Reformation was lit. The Industrial Revolution brought the telegraph and the steam driven printing press, allowing information to move faster than ever before and to reach an even larger audience. But along with radio and television, these new technologies were more easily exploited by the powerful, as seen in Germany, the Soviet Union, even Rwanda, where radio incited genocide. With the rise of carbon duplicates (Russian samizdat), photocopying (the Pentagon Papers), the internet, social media and cell phones (the recent Arab Spring) more people have access to communications, making the world more connected than ever before. In Masters of the Word, Bernstein masterfully guides the reader through the vast history of communications, illustrating each step with colorful stories and anecdotes. This is a captivating, enlightening book, one that will change the way you look at technology, history, and power.

    And that’s exactly why we created this book. Short Stories + Foreign Language = Faster Learning We know how difficult it may seem to learn a foreign language from scratch, let alone trying to put all that learning into practice. But what you might not realize is that it's fairly easy to fully incorporate the essentials of a language once you frame that learning into a certain context (for example, a short story). Short stories allow you to put what you’ve learned so far into practice, allowing you to expand your vocabulary quickly, make sense of ideas, understand new concepts, and overall get a better grasp of the French language. Short stories work because they eliminate the stress of forcing yourself to learn. Instead, when you read the 9 captivating short stories we’ve prepared for you, you will learn French without even realizing you’re learning it! Your goal is to simply focus on a single story at a time (they only a take few minutes to read). The stories consist of multiple genres, including adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance, just to name a new. We wanted these stories to be fun, interesting, and appealing, motivating you to keep on reading to find out what happens next. That’s the very best way to learn, don’t you think? BONUS: Vocabulary Lists, Multiple Choice Exercises & Summaries of Each Story In this book you’ll find a total of 9 short stories in French. Each story is divided into three chapters. You start by reading Chapter one, then you go to the Annex, and you’ll find there a quick summary of what you just read, a vocabulary list, and several multiple choice exercises intended to help you forge a deeper understanding of the story as it goes. Once you’re done with this section, you move on to Chapter 2, then Chapter 3, and then you move on to the next story. It’s so easy and fun you won’t believe it. READ: French Short Stories For Beginners - 9 Captivating Short Stories to Learn French & Expand Your Vocabulary While Having Fun "French Short Stories For Beginners" contains a multitude of vocabulary lists including words and phrases you can incorporate to grow your French vocabulary to unprecedented levels. We chose each of those words carefully, aiming to support the beginner and intermediate student alike. We are absolutely sure will love all our stories, and we sincerely hope they help you learn French much, much faster. How Will You French Skills Improve? You will learn new words without even realizing it You will incorporate key phrases of the French language You will understand how context affects the meaning of certain words You will get a break from all those dusty French grammar books you own You will have fun reading entertaining stories on multiple genres You will get a chance to apply what you already know Most importantly,you will get a better overall grasp of the French

    The Hebrew version of Matthew survives in at least twenty-eight manuscripts copied by Jewish scribes in the Middle Ages. Among the most important manuscripts of Hebrew Matthew is the one preserved in the British Museum Library. A full-color photograph of this manuscript is now available for the first time in this book. The book looks at the naming of Jesus as told in Hebrew Matthew 1:18-25 and includes the original form of Jesus' Hebrew name: Yeshua. Learn about the unique features of Hebrew Matthew, about the traditions that guided the Jewish scribes who transmitted this ancient text, and how the name Yeshua became "Jesus".