Book picks similar to
A Learner's Guide to Irish by Donna Wong
language
non-fiction
academia
c-ireland
Sharks (Our Amazing World)
Kay de Silva - 2012
Children are given a well-rounded understanding of this beautiful fish: its anatomy, feeding habits and behavior. The following Sharks are featured:* The swift Black Tip Reef Shark* The dangerous Bull Shark* The resourceful Hammerhead Shark* The feared Great White Shark* The stealthy Lemon Shark* The fanged Nurse Shark* The gentle Whale Shark* The deceptive Wobbegong
Language Hacking Guide
Benny Lewis - 2010
You need to speak the language from day one.No years of studying grammar, no expensive and complicated software, no “magic pill” to master a language while you sleep, you just need to speak it. Speak it regularly, speak it confidently, and speak it immediately. The more you speak, the quicker you will improve.Even though this may be obvious, how you actually speak a language that you have just started to learn seems almost impossible to many people. So they’ll wait until they are “ready”. That wait may be years, or they may simply never even try.But it’s not actually that hard! That’s what the Language Hacking Guide is about.
Balderdash & Piffle
Alex Games - 2006
English is now the world's most popular second language, understood by over 700 million people across the globe. Its use is amazingly broad: not only is it the language of Chaucer and Shakespeare, but also of hip-hop, international business and the internet (over 80% of home pages are in English). So where exactly do English words come from? They come from everywhere. English is a vast, rambling conglomeration of words and phrases from a huge variety of times and places, and every word has its own intriguing history. Balderdash & Piffle is a guidebook—an entertaining look at what falls out of the chaotic family tree of English words when you uproot it and give it a damn good shake. Shaking the tree is writer, humourist and word-sleuth Alex Games. If you've ever wondered who first used 'cuppa' in print, what language gave us 'shampoo', when we started saying 'window', where 'minging' comes from, what Shakespeare had to say about 'geeks' and why 'berk' is really, really rude, you'll find it all (and much more) inside. You'll also have the chance to do your own word-sleuthing, through the BBC Wordhunt appeal. Who knows—if you have written evidence of a 'bouncy castle' from before 1986, you could even re-write history.
The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language
Mark Turner - 1996
Certainly we do not think it is the basis of the mind. We think of stories and parables from Aesop's Fables or The Thousand and One Nights, forexample, as exotic tales set in strange lands, with spectacular images, talking animals, and fantastic plots--wonderful entertainments, often insightful, but well removed from logic and science, and entirely foreign to the world of everyday thought. But Mark Turner argues that this common wisdom iswrong. The literary mind--the mind of stories and parables--is not peripheral but basic to thought. Story is the central principle of our experience and knowledge. Parable--the projection of story to give meaning to new encounters--is the indispensable tool of everyday reason. Literary thoughtmakes everyday thought possible. This book makes the revolutionary claim that the basic issue for cognitive science is the nature of literary thinking.In The Literary Mind, Turner ranges from the tools of modern linguistics, to the recent work of neuroscientists such as Antonio Damasio and Gerald Edelman, to literary masterpieces by Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Proust, as he explains how story and projection--and their powerful combination inparable--are fundamental to everyday thought. In simple and traditional English, he reveals how we use parable to understand space and time, to grasp what it means to be located in space and time, and to conceive of ourselves, other selves, other lives, and other viewpoints. He explains the roleof parable in reasoning, in categorizing, and in solving problems. He develops a powerful model of conceptual construction and, in a far-reaching final chapter, extends it to a new conception of the origin of language that contradicts proposals by such thinkers as Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker.Turner argues that story, projection, and parable precede grammar, that language follows from these mental capacities as a consequence. Language, he concludes, is the child of the literary mind.Offering major revisions to our understanding of thought, conceptual activity, and the origin and nature of language, The Literary Mind presents a unified theory of central problems in cognitive science, linguistics, neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. It gives new and unexpected answers toclassic questions about knowledge, creativity, understanding, reason, and invention.
The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
John Pollack - 2011
But this attitude is a relatively recent development in the sweep of history. In The Pun Also Rises, John Pollack — a former Presidential Speechwriter for Bill Clinton, and winner of the world pun championship — explains how punning revolutionized language and made possible the rise of modern civilization. Integrating evidence from history, pop culture, literature, comedy, science, business and everyday life, this book will make readers reconsider everything they think they know about puns.
Kindle Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts
Michael Gallagher - 2010
Topics include:• Archived Items • Battery Replacement • Calculator Functionality • Checking Your Email • Collections • Contacting Amazon's Kindle Customer Service • Converting PDF Documents to Kindle Format • Discussion Boards • Displaying the Time • Download Problems - What To Do • Formatting Issues in a Kindle Book - What To Do • Games on Your Kindle • Gifting a Kindle Book / Gift Certificates • Internet Access (it’s free) on Your Kindle • Internet Bookmarks• Kindle Reading to You (Text to Speech) • Lending Books• Losing Your Place While Reading • Lost Kindle Tip • Mobile Websites - Access Them on Your Kindle • Password Protection • Permanent Deletion of a Title • Pictures on Your Kindle • Playing Music on Your Kindle • Popular Highlights Feature - Turning it Off • Reset Your Kindle • Samples of Books • Screen Freeze Fix • Screenshots - Printing Out What You See • Social Networking with Facebook and Twitter • Transferring Books to Your Kindle • Transferring Existing Collections to Your New Kindle • Checking the Weather • Wireless Coverage for Your Kindle • Random Tips • Blogs Available on Your KindleMichael Gallagher is the author of several bestselling Kindle “how-to” guides, and his title “Free Kindle Books and How to Find Them” has been the #1 Kindle reference guide for over two years, garnering #53 and #72 on the Top 100 Kindle bestseller lists for all Kindle book titles in 2010 and 2011, respectively. His “Kindle Books and Tips” blog has been the #1 bestselling subscription blog in the Amazon Kindle Store since 2010. You can visit his author page on the Amazon website at http://www.amazon.com/author/gallagher
The Practical Guide to Modern Music Theory for Guitarists: With 2.5 hours of Audio and Over 200 Notated Examples (Guitar Technique)
Joseph Alexander - 2013
Over 200 Notated Audio Examples! + Professional Backing Tracks Guitarists are often very guilty of 'collecting' musical theory without taking the time to learn to apply the information on their instrument. 'Modern Music Theory for Guitarists' combines cutting edge, up to date musical information with over 200 exercises and examples to help you internalise and master the most important concepts in modern guitar playing. There are also bespoke, professional backing tracks from Guitar Techniques Magazine's Quist Know What's Important There are so many sources of information out there these days it's hard to know where to begin and what's important when it comes to applying music theory to the guitar. This book has been designed to take you on a journey from essential first principles through to complex, exciting musical ideas while all the time teaching you the musical application of each concept. Essential Knowledge and Musical Skills The Complete Guide to Modern Music Theory begins with the formation of the Major scale and builds steadily from the concepts taught in the first few chapters to help you master, hear and apply all the essential theory used today. Topics Covered Theory topics covered include
Major and Minor Scale Construction, Harmonisation and How to Name Chords
Constructing Chord Progressions, Modulation and Chord Qualities
Complete Study of Modes with real world examples.
Modes deconstructed into Intervallic and Three and Four Note Soloing Approaches plus Pentatonic Substitutions
A 'Cheat Sheet' of the most common soloing approaches to save you hours in the practice room
Guitar Licks for each mode + Professional Backing Tracks
Check Out 60+ Positive Reviews Below! "Joseph Alexander writes in a very clear and concise style that is easy to follow." - Just one of the many Amazon reviews Scroll Up to Buy it Now Buy now to begin your journey into musical understanding and practical, musical application.
Gray Man: Camouflage for Crowds, Cities, and Civil Crisis
Matthew Dermody - 2017
He hides in the corners of conformity. He only flaunts a quotidian nature. He meanders through the mundane and occupies the ordinary. Individual expression and exceptionalism are his enemies. The Gray Man is the forgettable face, the ghost guy, the hidden human. Implementing the concepts is more than looking less tactical, less hostile, or less threatening. It is the willful abandonment of anything and everything that defines oneself as different. Using his unique "S" word conceptual approach featured in Appear to Vanish, camouflage and concealment expert Matthew Dermody discusses the concepts, tactics and mindset necessary to assimilate into any urban environment. From the safety-conscious international traveler to the SERE contingencies of the deep cover foreign operative, GRAY MAN is the definitive urban concealment resource.
Psycholinguistics
Thomas Scovel - 1998
This brief introduction shows how psycholinguistic research can act as a window to the workings of the human mind and the study of consciousness.
The Secrets of Polyglots
Konrad Jerzak vel Dobosz - 2014
Are you also struggling with the same problems as other people who learn languages? Do you recognize any of these? Many of us have families, a full-time job, and problems finding enough time to study. It’s difficult to ensure that we study regularly and make progress in the new language. We try to force ourselves to study regularly, so we register for language courses and pay for access to Internet apps, but this artificial motivation becomes quickly a flash in the pan. When we try to study we don’t know how to do it efficiently. What techniques should we use? How can we remember the vocabulary? How do we deal with the grammar? We try different solutions, but none brings the desired results. Why is it that some people are able to master more than ten languages? How do the polyglots find the time? What do they do to learn any language in a matter of months? As a teenager, Konrad Jerzak vel Dobosz wanted to become a polyglot, but like most of us he needed to deal with the same challenges: lack of time, lack of an efficient method of learning, difficulties memorizing the vocabulary, lack of motivation and the fear of making mistakes. He decided to analyze the methods of well-known polyglots, including Heinrich Schliemann, Emil Krebs and Giuseppe Mezzofanti. He took a close look at the approaches proposed by modern language learning experts Richard Simcott, Luca Lampariello, Moses McCormick and Benny Lewis. This book, The Secrets of Polyglots is the result of his analysis of the methods developed by the greatest polyglots. You can find here the description of the techniques used by the biggest experts, and also a step-by-step method, which Konrad Jerzak vel Dobosz used himself to learn more than ten languages. The Secrets of Polyglots was written especially for people who: - Need to learn a foreign language, but don’t have much time to study - Have registered for language courses, but aren’t happy with the results - Learn by themselves, but want more efficient techniques - Want to learn several languages simultaneously, but don’t know how to - Desire to be able to master any foreign language in a couple of months The first part is a description of 17 extremely efficient techniques and concepts that will improve your language learning process. The second part explains, step-by-step, the learning system used by the author, including a practical example of how to apply all the “secrets” described in the first part. Testimonials: “I need to say that I skip all kind of self-help guide type of books. But ‘The Secrets of Polyglots’ grabbed immediately my attention and, after reading just a couple of pages, I knew that I needed to buy this book. And it was worth it, because it opened my eyes to many different aspects of language learning that I had ignored previously. The great advantage of this book is lack of catchy slogans promising us language fluency just after a month of study. Instead, the author delivers reliable and very useful knowledge on how to gradually learn vocabulary and grammar, and also how to find motivation and develop our linguistic skills. I myself used the advice from Konrad’s book, and I can proudly say that after 1.5 years of studying Portuguese, I began communicating fluently in this language.
The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses
Harry Blamires - 1988
Harry Blamires helps readers to negotiate their way through this formidable, remarkable novel and gain an understanding of it which, without help, it might have take several readings to achieve. The New Bloomsday Book is a crystal clear, page-by-page, line-by-line running commentary on the plot of Ulysses which illuminates symbolic themes and structures along the way. It is a highly accessible, indispensible guide for anyone reading Joyce's masterpiece for the first time.
The Penguin Guide to Punctuation
R.L. Trask - 1997
Do you find punctuation difficult? Are you puzzled by colons and semicolons? Unsure of where commas should go? Confused by hyphens and apostrophes? If so, then this jargon-free and succinct guide is for you.•Contains precise and up-to-date definitions of every type of punctuation mark and shows how each should be used•Gives numerous examples of good and bad usage•Explains the correct use of capital letters, contractions and abbreviations, italics, boldface and the special characters available on a word processor
The Story of French
Jean-Benoît Nadeau - 2002
After this, Latin was purged from the courts of France by Francois 1st, giving root to French speakers' 21st century obsession with language protection. The obsession progressed as Cardinal Richelieu established the French Academy, a group entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the language pure and eloquent. As French circled the globe, the international cast of characters included Montaigne, Catherine the Great, Frederic II of Prussia, the guides of the Lewis and Clark expedition, Jules Verne, and others. Let Nadeau and Barlow guide you through the story of a language used to write some of the world's great masterpieces of literature, construct some of the most important documents of diplomacy, bedevil millions with its vagaries of pronunciation and beguile everyone with its beauty.
Dead As Doornails
Anthony Cronin - 1980
Anthony Cronin’s account of life in post-war literary Dublin is as funny and colourful as one would expect from an intimate of Brendan Behan, Patrick Kavanagh and Myles na Gopaleen; but it is also a clear-eyed and bracing antidote to the kitsch that passes for literary history and memory in the Dublin of today. Cronin writes with remarkable subtlety of the frustrations and pathologies of this generation: the excess of drink, the shortage of sex, the insecurity and begrudgery, the painful limitations of cultural life, and the bittersweet pull of exile. We read of a comical sojourn in France with Behan, and of Cronin’s years in London as a literary editor and a friend of the writer Julian Maclaren-Ross and the painters Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun. The generation chronicled by Cronin was one of wasted promise. That waste is redressed through the shimmering prose of Dead as Doornails, earning its place in Irish literary history alongside the best works of Behan, Kavanagh and Myles.