Book picks similar to
Start To Sign! by Richard A. Magill


british-sign-language
dictionaries
language-and-linguistics
languages

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable


Ebenezer Cobham Brewer - 1870
    Celebrating the 125th anniversary of its original publication, this expanded and updated edition of a classic reference features a new, simplified organization.

Spanish-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary


D.K. Publishing - 2005
    The Spanish-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary introduces a range of useful current vocabulary in thematic order, using full-color photographs and artworks to display and label all the elements of everyday life — from the home and office to sport, music, nature, and the countries of the world — with panel features on key nouns, verbs, and useful phrases.The Spanish-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary features:A quick and intuitive way to learn and remember thousands of words. A complete range of illustrated objects and scenes from everyday life. Fast and effective learning for any situation, from home and office to shopping and dining out. Detailed index for instant reference. Handy size ideal for travel. The illustrations in the Spanish-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary provide a quick and intuitive route to learning a language, defining the words visually so it is easier to remember them and creating a colorful and stimulating learning resource for the foreign-language and EFL/ESL student.

From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages


Michael Adams - 2011
    Now, in From Elvish to Klingon: Exploring Invented Languages, a group of leading linguists offers a lively investigation of all manner of invented languages. Each chapter focuses on a different language, or group of languages, and explores the origins, purpose, and usage of these curious artifacts of culture. We learn about the new languages invented to enhance the experience of video and online games, from the complexities of Gargish, the language of gargoyles in Ultima VI, to Simlish, the emotionally expressive language of The Sims, and 1334, the entirely exclusionary and satirical language of international gamers. We also learn about the futuristic languages, Newspeak and Nadsat, invented by George Orwell and Anthony Burgess in their dystopian novels 1984 and A Clockwork Orange, and many more. The book explores all aspects of invented languages--their unique grammar, vocabulary, and usage--and includes fascinating analysis of sample dialogues and expressions. Written by experts in their fields, chapters cover such topics as International Auxiliary Languages, Invented Vocabularies, Literary "Nonsense," and Language Reconstruction and Renewal. It's all "maj" (good) as the Klingons would say, or "doubleplusgood," as a "duckspeaker" in Orwell's 1984 might observe. For anyone wanting to understand more fully the intricacies and attractions of invented languages, From Elvish to Klingon offers the most thorough study of the subject available today.

Understanding Grammar for Powerful Communication (The Modern Scholar: Way with Words, Vol. 3)


M.D.C. Drout - 2008
    

And God Said: How Translations Conceal the Bible's Original Meaning


Joel M. Hoffman - 2010
    Now And God Said provides readers with an authoritative account of significant mistranslations and shows how new translation methods can give readers their first glimpse into what the Bible really means.And God Said uncovers the often inaccurate or misleading English translations of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament that quotes from it. Sometimes the familiar English is just misleading. Other times the mistakes are more substantial. But the errors are widespread. This book tackles such issues as what's wrong with the Ten Commandments (starting with the word "commandments"), the correct description of the "virgin" birth, and the surprisingly modern message in the Song of Solomon, as well as many other unexpected but thought-provoking revelations.Acclaimed translator Dr. Joel M. Hoffman sheds light on the original intention of the text and the newly developed means that readers can use to get closer to it. In And God Said his fresh approach has united the topics of religion, language, and linguistics to offer the first modern understanding since the Bible was written.

The Complete Dictionary of Symbols


Jack Tresidder - 1998
    Drawing on classical mythologies, Biblical themes, and traditional symbols from cultures worldwide, this user-friendly, attractively priced reference has comprehensive entries on everything from individual animals, plants, and objects to gods, goddesses, supernatural creatures, heroes, heroines, mythical episodes, prophets, saints, miracles, and myriad other subjects. Whether the topic at hand is Mercury or Merlin, the Egyptian ankh or the humble ant, engaging text reveals the origins and meaning of each symbol. Interspersed with the main entries are short articles on themes of special interest, such as the Sun, Moon, and stars, or common vices. Three hundred illustrations, an intuitive system of cross-referencing, and authoritative research make The Complete Dictionary of Symbols a reliable resource for school, home, or library.

The American Heritage Dictionary


American Heritage - 1969
    This all-new fourth edition of the best-selling classic continues that tradition with its clear and precise definitions, its expert usage guidance, and its wealth of illustrations. Newly updated to reflect our changing language, this revised edition is the most up-to-date and authoritative dictionary available today.* More than a thousand new entries for such terms as e-tailer, zine, bioreserve, chatroom, red card, domestic partner * More biographical and geographical entries than any other paperback, thoroughly updated for the new millennium* The most lavishly illustrated dictionary on the market -- with over 400 images* Expert usage guidance based on the American Heritage® Usage Panel* Regional notes from around the country* Hundreds of synonym lists, fascinating etymologies, and much more

A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary


J.R. Clark Hall - 1894
    Variant dialectic forms are given, together with variant forms found in the same dialect. Purely poetic words and words not common in prose are indicated, and references are given to the passages in which they occur. First published in 1894, this is a reprint of the fourth edition (Cambridge University Press, 1960).

English Words from Latin and Greek Elements


Donald M. Ayers - 1965
    Its second edition, published in 1986, has confirmed that vocabulary is best taught by root, not rote. The importance of learning classical word roots is already acknowledged by vocabulary texts that devote chapters to them. Why a whole book based on this approach? Ayers' text exposes students to a wider range of roots, introduces new English words in context sentences, and reinforces vocabulary through exercises. It promotes more practice with roots so that students learn to use them as tools in their everyday encounters with new words. English Words is written from the standpoint of English; it neither attempts to teach students Latin or Greek nor expects a knowledge of classical languages on the part of instructors. Its success has been demonstrated at both the secondary and college levels, and it can be used effectively with students in remedial or accelerated programs. An Instructor's Manual (gratis with adoption) and a Workbook are also available.

An Introduction to Elvish and to Other Tongues, Proper Names and Writing Systems of the Third Age of the Western Lands of Middle-Earth as Set Forth in the Published Writings of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien


Jim Allan - 1978
    Book by

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics


Ronald Wardhaugh - 1986
    This fully revised textbook is a new edition of Ronald Wardhaugh's popular and accessible An Introduction to Sociolinguistics.Provides an accessible, comprehensive introduction to sociolinguistics that reflects new developments in the field.Fully revised, with 130 new and updated references to bring the book completely up-to-date.Includes suggested readings, discussion sections, and exercises.Features increased emphasis on issues of identity, solidarity, and powerDiscusses topics such as language dialects, pidgins and creoles, codes, bilingualism, speech communities, variation, words and culture, ethnographies, solidarity and politeness, talk and action, gender, disadvantage, and planning.Designed for introductory and post-introductory students, and ideal for courses including introduction to sociolinguistics, aspects of sociolinguistics, and language and society.

Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder


Mary Wood Cornog - 1994
     Example sentences and brief explanatory comments provide a rich context to bring the words to life, and quizzes are provided to encourage reuse and recall of words and to reinforce memory of them. All of these features combine to make this a valuable tool for students preparing for standardized tests or simply seeking to expand their English vocabulary.

The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language


Geoffrey K. Pullum - 1991
    Geoffrey K. Pullum's writings began as columns in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory in 1983. For six years, in almost every issue, under the banner "TOPIC. . .COMMENT," he published a captivating mélange of commentary, criticism, satire, whimsy, and fiction. Those columns are reproduced here—almost exactly as his friends and colleagues originally warned him not to publish them—along with new material including a foreword by James D. McCawley, a prologue, and a new introduction to each of these clever pieces. Whether making a sneak attack on some sacred cow, delivering a tongue-in-cheek protest against current standards, or supplying a caustic review of some recent development, Pullum remains in touch with serious concerns about language and society. At the same time, he reminds the reader not to take linguistics too seriously all of the time. Pullum will take you on an excursion into the wild and untamed fringes of linguistics. Among the unusual encounters in store are a conversation between Star Trek's Commander Spock and three real earth linguists, the strange tale of the author's imprisonment for embezzling funds from the Campaign for Typographical Freedom, a harrowing account of a day in the research life of four unhappy grammarians, and the true story of how a monograph on syntax was suppressed because the examples were judged to be libelous. You will also find a volley of humorous broadsides aimed at dishonest attributional practices, meddlesome copy editors, mathematical incompetence, and "cracker-barrel philosophy of science." These learned and witty pieces will delight anyone who is fascinated by the quirks of language and linguists.

The Oxford Book of Aphorisms


John Gross - 1983
    This delightful anthology demonstrates just how rewarding the aphorism can be and how brilliantly the aphorist can illuminate a hidden truth or reveal the ironies of life. Whatever the situation, whatever the mood, the reader will find in this international array of aphorisms just the right words to give his or her feeling pungent expression. The classic aphorists--La Bruy�re, Nietzsche, both Samuel Butlers, La Rochefoucault, Emerson--are here in abundance, as are the philosophers from the Greeks of Paul Val�ry, the social commentators from Edmund Burke to Walter Benjamin. Statesmen and scientists, Olympians and gadflies, mystics and boulevardiers--this collection brings together the most diverse figures, drawing freely on ancients and moderns, on the widsom of East and West, juxtaposing viewpoints as different as those of Jean Cocteau and George Orwell, Ambrose Bierce and Marcus Aurelius, Lord Chesterfield and Elias Canetti. Profound, provocative, and vastly entertaining, The Oxford Book of Aphorisms will lure the reader back to its pages time and again. The book is fully indexed, and wherever possible, sources, dates, and complete names are supplied.

Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind


George Lakoff - 1987
    In addition, it should have repercussions in a variety of disciplines, ranging from anthropology and psychology to epistemology and the philosophy of science. . . . Lakoff asks: What do categories of language and thought reveal about the human mind? Offering both general theory and minute details, Lakoff shows that categories reveal a great deal."—David E. Leary, American Scientist