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.

    Now this sensational new book strikes back to defend the fascinating, real-life diversity of this most basic human faculty.With the erudite yet accessible style that marks his work as a journalist, Robert Lane Greene takes readers on a rollicking tour around the world, illustrating with vivid anecdotes the role language beliefs play in shaping our identities, for good and ill. Beginning with literal myths, from the Tower of Babel to the bloody origins of the word “shibboleth,” Greene shows how language “experts” went from myth-making to rule-making and from building cohesive communities to building modern nations. From the notion of one language’s superiority to the common perception that phrases like “It’s me” are “bad English,” linguistic beliefs too often define “us” and distance “them,” supporting class, ethnic, or national prejudices. In short: What we hear about language is often really about the politics of identity.Governments foolishly try to police language development (the French Academy), nationalism leads to the violent suppression of minority languages (Kurdish and Basque), and even Americans fear that the most successful language in world history (English) may be threatened by increased immigration. These false language beliefs are often tied to harmful political ends and can lead to the violation of basic human rights. Conversely, political involvement in language can sometimes prove beneficial, as with the Zionist  revival of Hebrew or our present-day efforts to provide education in foreign languages essential to business, diplomacy, and intelligence. And yes, standardized languages play a crucial role in uniting modern societies.As this fascinating book shows, everything we’ve been taught to think about language may not be wrong—but it is often about something more than language alone. You Are What You Speak will certainly get people talking.

    Our beginners guide contains all the essential information you need in order to succeed. It covers the basic techniques, well illustrated with over a hundred images, and explains everything you need to know in an understandable way. Bonsai Empire is the world's most visited Bonsai website and has provided beginners with quality information for over a decade. We have developed this guide to help you get a taste of this fascinating and living art, and hope you'll enjoy it as much as we do! This book includes: - Over 100 stunning images - Over 80 pages - Explanations of the basic techniques - Care guides on the 10 most popular tree species - Background on the history, definition and styles Walter Pall: "Now here is the ultimate book to lead beginners. I am happy to have been able to contribute to this" Mauro Stemberger "Very clear" and "With great quality drawings and pics"

    Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest? Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee. In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.

    Updated to reflect current research and rewritten to further enhance the clarity of presentation, the fifth edition of this best-seller continues to take a linguistic-analysis approach as well and focus on the facts of language rather than theoretical approaches.

    Rarely is there a response from experts in the fields of language and language development. In this book Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill have invited nineteen respected linguists from all over the world to address these "language myths"--showing that they vary from the misconceived to the downright wrong. With essays ranging from "Women Talk Too Much" and "In the Appalachians They Speak Like Shakespeare" to "Italian Is Beautiful, German Is Ugly" and "They Speak Really Bad English Down South and in New York City," Language Myths is a collection that is wide-ranging, entertaining, and authoritative.

    In this quirky new title designer and typographer Teresa Monachino rounds up and breaks down a variety of unruly words: words lacking in integrity, misleading words that do not mean what they say, words that mean more than they say, words with inconsistent pronunciation or spellings that are just plain cruel! Using striking and witty graphic design the author demands answers to such troublesome questions as, why is abbreviation such a long word, does monosyllabic really need five syllables and why is lisp so hard to say if you have one?

    This easy-to-use guide is updated and expanded to include new computer and technology signs and offers a fast and simple approach to learning. Includes:- Vocabulary reviews- Fingerspelling exercises- Sign matching and memory aids- A complete glossary and a comprehensive index- Clear instructive drawings

    An excellent education reference for classroom and homeschool grammar lessons.The Dragon Grammar Book is the perfect grammar study guide to help readers learn the rules of grammar and improve language art skills with ease and enjoyment. From multi-award-winning children's fantasy author, Diane Mae Robinson, The Dragon Grammar Book provides a fun and engaging approach to learning English grammar through easy-to-follow lessons, humorous example sentences, and chapter quizzes to conquer all those tricky grammar rules.- Easy-To-Understand Lessons organized to gradually build on the basic grammar rules toward an intermediate level.- Engaging Examples Sentences explain each grammar rule through a humorous and creative writing style.- An Expansive Resource of grammar terminology, confusing words, punctuation rules, types of sentences and proper structure, parts of speech, verb agreement, and more.- Quizzes with Answer Keys reinforce each lesson before proceeding to the next lesson.Featuring the zany fantasy characters in the author's international-award-winning The Pen Pieyu Adventures series, The Dragon Grammar Book is sure to be enjoyed by kids, teens, young adults, and the whole kingdom.2018 Book Excellence Awards, Winner, Education & Academics2018 Readers' Favorite Book Awards, Gold Medal, Children-Education2018 Literary Classics International Book Awards, Gold Medal, Educational Books2018 Lumen Award for Literary Excellence"Oriented toward pragmatic, real-world usage,The Dragon Grammar Book is a great resource for kids, their teachers, and anyone else who'd like to know more about language and how to use it. Most highly recommended."--Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite."With clear examples and fun activities, this book is a must-have for readers and aspiring writers."-Peter Takach, English Teacher and Grammarian"Having a useful resource that engages students and includes a wide variety of grammar rules with short, fun examples is difficult to find. Robinson has produced a winner with this easy-to-navigate, all-inclusive, grammar book for kids."-Literary Titan"I've rarely come across as well presented and entertaining an approach to what can be an intimidating subject, particularly for a young audience or for adults learning English as a second language. Robinson gets to the heart of the really puzzling aspects of grammar and offers them up in a format designed to make learning grammar more fun."-Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite"As a homeschool mom, I love using this book to teach my kids homeschool grammar because it is fun and engaging and helps them actually understand grammar while having fun! "-Christine Suarez

    And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon, which was nothing more than a television show's attempt to create a tough-sounding language befitting a warrior race with ridged foreheads. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. In In The Land of Invented Languages, author Arika Okrent tells the fascinating and highly entertaining history of man's enduring quest to build a better language. Peopled with charming eccentrics and exasperating megalomaniacs, the land of invented languages is a place where you can recite the Lord's Prayer in John Wilkins's Philosophical Language, say your wedding vows in Loglan, and read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Lojban. A truly original new addition to the booming category of language books, In The Land of Invented Languages will be a must-have on the shelves of all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.

    The devices presented allow the speaker of a foreign language to demonstrate the level of his/her language more impressively. These techniques were developed and tested by the author with adult professionals in such varied fields as journalism, diplomacy, government, and international business.

    Come for the trials, tribulations, and trivia! Stay for the mysteries, magic, and mayhem! You’ll go behind the scenes for the sordid scandals, biggest bombs, greatest triumphs, and the unsung heroes who make it all come together. Featuring quotes, puzzles, quizzes, and Uncle John’s famous “running feet” facts at the bottom of every page, this book will give you a new appreciation for the Silver Screen (and you’ll know exactly what a gaffer and best boy do). What else is in here? Check out these previews!Bad boys on locationThe origin of VarietyThe biggest cult movie of all timeThe “Blond Bombshell Murder Mystery”How Ray Harryhausen brought fantasies to lifeWretched reviews (for what are now considered great films)The strange Pink Floyd and Wizard of Oz connectionThe “Taglines of Terror” quizBathrooms on the big screenUnfortunate remakesHaunted HollywoodAnd much, much more!

    This handy paperback dictionary is designed to meet the needs of the growing number of people now learning tospeak Hindi. It provides translations for over 36,000 headwords, using illustrative material to show words in use. Students of Hindi and South Asian studies of all kinds will find extensive coverage of historical Hindi, together with the most up-to-date colloquial and literary vocabulary. In addition, the Urdu vocabulary of Hindi is well represented. Providing contemporary, idiomatic Hindi and English, TheOxford Hindi-English Dictionary is the perfect reference guide for students, businesspeople, and travelers alike.

     While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing them is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography--from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define (have you ever tried to define is ?), how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. Throughout, Stamper brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a world inhabited by quirky, erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. A sure delight for all lovers of words, Word by Word might also quietly improve readers grasp and use of the English language."

    They give greater emphasis to the systemic perspective, in which grammaticalization is understoodin the context of an overall model of language. Their description of grammar is grounded in a comprehensive theory, but it is a theory which evolves in the process of being applied.