From bloopers and blunders to Signs of the Times to Mixed Up Metaphors...from Two-Headed Headlines to Mangling Modifiers, Anguished English is a treasury of assaults upon our common language.

    Public anger is rising and faith in conventional political leaders and parties is falling. Anti-politics, and the anti-politicians, have arrived. In Enough Said, President and CEO of The New York Times Company Mark Thompson argues that one of most of significant causes of the crisis is the way our public language has changed.Enough Said tells the story of how we got from the language of FDR and Churchill to that of Donald Trump. It forensically examines the public language we’ve been left with: compressed, immediate, sometimes brilliantly impactful, but robbed of most of its explanatory power. It studies the rhetoric of western leaders from Reagan and Thatcher to Burlesconi, Blair and today’s political elites on both sides of the Atlantic. And it charts how a changing public language has interacted with real world events – Iraq, the financial crash, immigration – and a mutual breakdown of trust between politicians and journalists, to leave ordinary citizens suspicious, bitter and increasingly unwilling to believe anybody. Drawing from classical as well as contemporary examples, and ranging across politics, business, science, technology and the arts, Enough Said is a smart and shrewd look at the erosion of language, by an author uniquely placed to measure its consequences.

    Mixed-up, mangled expressions; foreign-language faux pas; confused and confusing terms; commonly mispronounced words - they're all explained in this useful guide.

    But linguist Daniel Everett argues that, like other tools, language was invented by humans and can be reinvented or lost. He shows how the evolution of different language forms—that is, different grammar—reflects how language is influenced by human societies and experiences, and how it expresses their great variety.  For example, the Amazonian Pirahã put words together in ways that violate our long-held under-standing of how language works, and Pirahã grammar expresses complex ideas very differently than English grammar does. Drawing on the Wari’ language of Brazil, Everett explains that speakers of all languages, in constructing their stories, omit things that all members of the culture understand. In addition, Everett discusses how some cultures can get by without words for numbers or counting, without verbs for “to say” or “to give,” illustrating how the very nature of what’s important in a language is culturally determined. Combining anthropology, primatology, computer science, philosophy, linguistics, psychology, and his own pioneering—and adventurous—research with the Amazonian Pirahã, and using insights from many different languages and cultures, Everett gives us an unprecedented elucidation of this society-defined nature of language. In doing so, he also gives us a new understanding of how we think and who we are.

    This e-book is a completely new way to learn Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary fast - and for free! Start speaking Brazilian Portuguese in minutes with the powerful learning methods you will master in this book.The vocabulary words you’ll find in Learn BrazilianPortuguese - Word Power 101 were hand selected by our Brazilian Portuguese language teachers as the top 101 most frequently used words in the Brazilian Portuguese language. With each entry, you’ll see the word and a vibrant image to help remember the meaning. You’ll hear the word (separate free download) to master the pronunciation. Then you’ll see how the word is actually used in everyday speech with sample sentences and phrases. Learning Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary has never been easier!In this book, you’ll get: - 101 of the most frequently used Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary words - Audio with authentic native Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation *Supplementary mp3 audio files are a separate download - Vibrant photos and images to help memorization - Useful and practical sample sentences and phrases Purchase Learn BrazilianPortuguese - Word Power 101 today to start mastering Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary in the fastest, easiest and most fun way possible!

    Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. If You Don't Have Kindle You Can Still Read This Book On Your Web Browser using Amazon Free Cloud ReaderThis book contains proven steps and strategies on how to pronounce French vowels and consonants, how to pluralize nouns, and how to get around your way in France, using all the helpful examples of phrases and dialogues provided in this book.Through this manual you will learn the basics of the romantic French language and gain confidence as you speak. To facilitate learning, easy-to-follow pronunciation guides have been included. Tips for tourists and other pertinent information about the City of Lights were extensively researched for your convenience. Here Is A Preview Of What You'll Learn Inside ✔ Numbers and Gender✔ Plural Forms of Nouns✔ Pronouns✔ Verbs✔ Prepositions✔ Useful Expressions✔ Much, much more! Take Action Right Away and START your amazing journey with French!

    The book is conveniently divided into three sections: Section one shows how language is used in multilingual speech communities and explains the varying patterns of language use. Janet Holmes examines how and why languages change within society and highlights the factors that lead to the displacement of one language by another and sometimes the death of a language. Section two explores social reasons for language change, looking at language change in monolingual communities and the features of a variety of dialects. The author shows how and why differing racial and social groups develop and maintain speech variations. The final section assesses how attitudes to language affect speech and shows that linguistic responses depend on a variety of contextual factors - for example, the status of the person being addressed and our re

    Budge gives the history of hieroglyphic writing, its evolution into hieratic and demotic scripts, and the fascinating tale of its decipherment by Young, Champollion, Åkerblad, and others.

    By making use of a method of "imaginative memory," introduced in this book, you will be saved from the order of repetition. Following the method, you will be able to write and read all Japanese Kana in three hours and retain them by means of the incredible mnemonic methods. Instructions at the bottom of each page will ask you to skip backwards and forwards through the book, following the best "learning order." The lessons will guide you step by step through this process. As an added bonus, the book includes a supplement on "Learning How to Remember."

    All the tips, techniques, strategies and advice are focused on maximizing students' score by increasing their task-solving speed and efficiency, and preventing typical mistakes.

    A ground-breaking book that sets out to demonstrate that Japanese is “simple, logical and beautiful” and that most of the apparently “arbitrary rules” that you “just have to learn” can be reduced to simple, easily intuitive patterns if you just understand how the language really works.

    Reading and Writing Chinese has been the leading text for foreign students and teachers of the Chinese writing system since it was first published in 1978. This completely revised edition draws on the lessons learnt from the use of the book in classrooms so as to provide a more convenient and up–to–date introduction to the Chinese writing system. Over 1,100 new combinations of characters have been added, increasing the total vocabulary significantly to about 4,500 items. There are also new notes on usage to give students insight into the contemporary state of the language. The student's ability to read Chinese and write Chinese are reinforced throughout. For each of the basic 1,062 characters, the pronunciation, definition and derivation are given, with examples of the use of most words and a chart showing how to write each character. Memorization tips and cautionary cross–reference to look–alike characters are also provided, as well as notes to help clarify those overlooked aspects of the Chinese writing system. Key features of this book:-The Student's 1,020 List.-The Official 2,000 List.-Over 2,000 characters and 2,500 combinations.-Definitions and explanations. Standard Hanyu Pinyin romanization.-Memorization hints and stroke–order diagrams.-Hong Kong/Taiwan and China/Singapore forms.-Traditional and modern radical systems.

    Normally, the learner must memorize numerous compounds as unrelated units. A unique feature of this dictionary that overcomes this difficulty is the core meaning, a concise keyword that defines the dominant sense of each character, followed by detailed character meanings and numerous compounds that clearly show how thousands of building blocks are combined to form countless compound words.Another unique feature is the System of Kanji Indexing by Patterns (SKIP), an indexing system that enables the user to locate characters as quickly and as accurately as in alphabetical dictionaries.Modern linguistic theory has been effectively integrated with sophisticated information technology to produce the most useful kanji learner's dictionary ever compiled. For the first time, learners have at their fingertips a wealth of information that is linguistically accurate, easy to use, and carefully adapted to their practical needs.FEATURESo 2,230 entry characters, including all the kanji in the Joyo and Jinmei Kanji listso 41,000 senses for 31,300 words and word elements show how each character contributes to the meanings of compounds o 1,200 homophones with core meanings explain differences between closely related characters o 386 variant forms used in prewar literature and in names o 1,945 stroke order diagrams show you how to write each kanji stroke by stroke o 7,200 character readings, including name readings o Over 2,000 cross-references and five appendixes give instant access to a mass of useful reference data

    Breaking into Japanese Literature is specially designed to help you bypass all the frustration and actually enjoy classics of Japanese literature.Breaking into Japanese Literature features seven graded stories covering a variety of genres: whether it's the spellbinding surrealism of Natsume Soseki's Ten Nights of Dreams, the humor of Akutagawa Ryunosuke's fable of temple life (The Nose), or the excitement of his historic thrillers (In a Grove and Rashomon), you are sure to find a story that appeals to you in this collection.The unique layout-with the original Japanese story in large print, an easy-to-follow English translation and a custom dictionary-was created for maximum clarity and ease of use. There's no need to spend time consulting reference books when everything you need to know is right there in front of your nose.To make Japanese literature fun, Breaking into Japanese Literature also has some unique extra features: mini-biographies to tell you about the authors' lives and works, individual story prefaces to alert you to related works of literature or film, and original illustrations to fire your imagination. Best of all, MP3 sound files of all the stories have been made available for FREE on the Internet.Breaking into Japanese Literature provides all the backup you need to break through to a new and undiscovered world-the world of great Japanese fiction. All the hard work has been taken care of so you can enjoy the pleasures of the mind. Why not take advantage?Learn o 50% of all common-use kanji covered o Kanji entry numbers given for follow-up study o Japanese + English translation + custom dictionary on the same page o Every single kanji word explainedListen o Free download of sound files from the NetLook o 7 original atmospheric illustrationsLink o Original stories for Kurosawa's Rashomon and DreamsAll the stories in this book are available on the Internet as MP3 sound files read by professional Japanese actors.For students who want to consolidate their understanding of kanji, the entry numbers for any of the 2,230 characters in The Kodansha Kanji Learner's Dictionary have been provided when those characters feature in Breaking into Japanese Literature. This makes cross-referencing a matter of seconds.

    We think nothing of jumping on a plane to travel to another country or continent. The most exotic locations are now destinations for mass tourism. Small business people are dealing across frontiers and language barriers like never before. The Internet brings different languages and cultures to our finger-tips. English, the hybrid language of an island at the western extremity of Europe seems to have an unrivalled position as an international medium of communication. But historically periods of cultural and economic domination have never lasted forever. Do we not lose something by relying on the wide spread use of English rather than discovering other languages and cultures? As citizens of this shrunken world, would we not be better off if we were able to speak a few languages other than our own? The answer is obviously yes. Certainly Steve Kaufmann thinks so, and in his busy life as a diplomat and businessman he managed to learn to speak nine languages fluently and observe first hand some of the dominant cultures of Europe and Asia. Why do not more people do the same? In his book The Way of The Linguist, A language learning odyssey, Steve offers some answers. Steve feels anyone can learn a language if they want to. He points out some of the obstacles that hold people back. Drawing on his adventures in Europe and Asia, as a student and businessman, he describes the rewards that come from knowing languages. He relates his evolution as a language learner, abroad and back in his native Canada and explains the kind of attitude that will enable others to achieve second language fluency. Many people have taken on the challenge of language learning but have been frustrated by their lack of success. This book offers detailed advice on the kind of study practices that will achieve language breakthroughs. Steve has developed a language learning system available online at: www.thelinguist.com.