Book picks similar to
Latin for Dummies by Clifford A. Hull


reference
language
for-dummies
non-fiction

Kontakte: A Communicative Approach


Tracy D. Terrell - 1992
    The Natural Approach, widely associated with Tracy Terrell, introduces students to language inductively, by exposing them to vocabulary and structures in the context of lively activities. In this communicative approach, grammar explanations and practice are an aid to leaning the language, not an end in themselves. The Natural Approach in general - and Kontakte 3rd edition in particular - are highly communicative and create a spontaneous and low-anxiety classroom atmosphere in which the focus is first on comprehension, then on communication. Kontakte 3rd edition emphasizes culture as well as communication, with a variety of boxes, readings, and interactive culture-based activities. The third edition of Kontakte also includes a new listening comprehension tape that instructors can use in class as well as a new video, new interactive software and additional new supplements.

Britannia in Brief: The Scoop on All Things British


Leslie Banker - 2009
    Fortunately, now an Anglo-American husband-and-wife team are here to help with a smart, funny, and handy guide that minds the gap between fact and fiction. From Whigs and Windsors to wankers and Wales, this spit-spot-on reference covers all manner of British history, society, culture, language, and everyday life, including• the class system, title envy, and a thumbnail sketch of British dynasties• highlights of the social season (yes, they have a social season)• Parliament, prime ministers, and a wild variety of political parties• British sports 101, including football (by which we mean soccer), cricket, rugby, snooker, and darts• answers to the pressing question: What’s on the telly?• British culinary delights, from Marmite to late-night tikka masala • odd pronunciations (e.g., how “St. John” becomes “Sin Jun”)• cockney slang, or why you should never get caught “telling porkies on the dog” • Londoners’ pride in the Tube and the truth about trainspottingSo whether you’re traveling to England on business or for pleasure, dating a Brit, hoping to comfort a homesick Londoner (whip up a treacle tart, recipe included), or simply curious about life across the pond, Britannia in Brief is the perfect companion.

King Alfred's English, a History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do


Laurie J. White - 2009
    Aimed at students in grades 7-12, "King Alfred's English" is an intriguing look at the development of language--a combination study in both history and English with a bit of linguistics woven throughout.

How to Speak and Write Correctly


Joseph Devlin - 1910
    Poverty thrust them forward instead of keeping them back. Therefore, if you are poor make your circumstances a means to an end. Have ambition, keep a goal in sight and bend every energy to reach that goal. A story is told of Thomas Carlyle the day he attained the highest honor the literary world could confer upon him when he was elected Lord Rector of Edinburgh University. After his installation speech, in going through the halls, he met a student seemingly deep in study.

Breaking Into Japanese Literature: Seven Modern Classics in Parallel Text


Giles Murray - 2003
    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.

All about Particles: A Handbook of Japanese Function Words


Naoko Chino - 1991
    This handbook provides all the information one would need on these tricky units of grammar. All About Particles covers more than 70 particles those that are used regularly as well as those used less frequently in more than 200 uses. The book can be approached as a guiding textbook and studied from beginning to end. It is as a reference book, however, that All About Particles shines. It is light and easy to carry, slim enough to fit into the corner of a shoulder bag, and concise enough to quickly clarify particle-related questions. It is a priceless tool for any serious student of Japanese.

Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style


Tim Gunn - 2007
    As Bravo's style mentor and Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design, Tim delivers advice in a frank, witty, and authoritative manner that delights audiences.Now readers can benefit from Tim's considerable fashion wisdom in Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style. He discusses every aspect of creating and maintaining your personal style: how to dress for various occasions, how to shop (from designer to chain to vintage stores), how to pick a fashion mentor, how to improve your posture, find the perfect fit, and more. He'll challenge every reader-whether a seasoned fashionista or a style neophyte-to "make it work!"

When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge


K. David Harrison - 2007
    The phenomenon known as language death has started to accelerate as the world has grown smaller.This extinction of languages, and the knowledge therein, has no parallel in human history. K. David Harrison's book is the first to focus on the essential question, what is lost when a language dies? What forms of knowledge are embedded in a language's structure and vocabulary? And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever?Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight. He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage (oral histories, poetry, stories, etc.) but very useful knowledge about plants, animals, the seasons, and other aspects of the natural world--not to mention our understanding of the capacities of the human mind. Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers.

Language: The Basics


R.L. Trask - 1995
    It features chapters on 'Language in Use', 'Attitudes to Language', 'Children and Language' and 'Language, Mind and Brain'.

Easy Italian Reader: A Three-Part Text for Beginning Students


Riccarda Saggese - 2005
    This title provides a colorful history of Italy, from the founding of Rome onwards. It contains readings from contemporary literature. It includes exercises that challenge language comprehension and build reading skills.

The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language


Mark Forsyth - 2011
    It's an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language, taking in monks and monkeys, film buffs and buffaloes, and explaining precisely what the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.

Coastal Cruising Made Easy (The American Sailing Association's Coastal Cruising Made Easy)


American Sailing Association
    The text is published in full color and contains striking sailing photography from well-known photographer Billy Black, and world-class illustrations from award-winning illustrator Peter Bull. One of the text's most distinguishing features is its user friendly "spreads" in which instructional topics are self-contained on opposing pages throughout the book. This easy to read learning tool follows the critically acclaimed Sailing Made Easy, which Sailing Magazine called "best in class" upon its release in 2010. Sailing Made Easy is the #1 resource in basic sailing education, and Coastal Cruising Made Easy is poised to become the industry standard in intermediate sailing education.

Kiss My Asterisk: A Feisty Guide to Punctuation and Grammar


Jenny Baranick - 2014
    Its lessons, which are 100 percent free of complicated grammar jargon, have been carefully selected to include today’s most common, noticeable errors—the ones that confuse our readers or make them wonder if we are, in fact, smarter than a fifth grader. What is the proper use of an apostrophe? When should an ellipsis be used instead of an em dash? Why do we capitalize President Obama but not “the president”? And why is that question mark placed outside of the end quote?Author Jenny Baranick is an English professor whose students can’t believe she’s actually that into grammar. Upon experiencing the joys of grammar at an early age, raising grammar awareness became Jenny’s raison d’être. By spreading her remarkably user-friendly and hilarious approach to grammar, she hopes everyone will experience the satisfaction of a properly placed comma, a precisely used semicolon, and a correctly deployed en dash.Kiss My Asterisk shows grammar as it’s never been seen before: uncomplicated, laugh-out-loud funny, and, dare we say, a little risqué.

An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon


Henry George Liddell - 1889
    It includes some discussion of word usage, citing examples and characteristic phrases. Generally speaking, only words used by late writers and scientific terms have been omitted fromthe full lexicon. From Homer downwards, to the close of Attic Greek, care has been taken to include all words, as well as those used by Aristotle, Plutarch in his Lives, Polybius, Strabo, Lucian, and the writers of the New Testament.

Art History For Dummies


Jesse Bryant Wilder - 2007
    Every age, for the last 50,000 years has left its unique imprint on the world, and from the first cave paintings to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, from the Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia, to the graffiti-inspired paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, art history tells the story of our evolving notions of who and what we are and our place in the universe. Whether you're an art enthusiast who'd like to know more about the history behind your favorite works and artists, or somebody who couldn't tell a Titian and a De Kooning--but would like to--Art History For Dummies is for you. It takes you on a tour of thirty millennia of artistic expression, covering the artistic movements, major artists, and indispensable masterworks, and the world events and cultural trends that helped spawn them. With the help of stunning black-and-white photos throughout, and a sixteen-page gallery of color images, it covers:The rise and fall of classical art in Greece and Rome The differences between Renaissance art and Mannerism How the industrial revolution spawned Romanticism How and why Post-Impression branched off from Impressionism Constructivism, Dadaism, Surrealism and other 20th century isms What's up with today's eclectic art scene Art History For Dummies is an unbeatable reference for anyone who wants to understand art in its historical context.