Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I


Maurice Balme - 1990
    Carefully designed to hold students' interest, the course begins in Book I with a fictional narrative about an Attic farmer's family placed in a precise historical context (432-431 B.C.). This narrative, interwoven with tales from mythology and the Persian Wars, gradually gives way in Book II to adapted passages from Thucydides, Plato, and Herodotus and ultimately to excerpts of the original Greek of Bacchylides, Thucydides, and Aristophanes' Acharnians. Essays on relevant aspects of ancient Greek culture and history are also provided.New to the Second Edition: * Short passages from Classical and New Testament Greek in virtually every chapter * The opening lines of the Iliad and the Odyssey toward the end of Book II * New vocabulary and more complete explanations of grammar, including material on accents * Many new exercises and additional opportunities for students to practice completing charts of verb forms and paradigms of nouns and adjectives * Updated Teacher's Handbooks for Books I and II containing translations of all stories, readings, and exercises; detailed suggestions for classroom presentation; abundant English derivatives; and additional linguistic information * Offered for the first time, Student Workbooks for Books I and II that include self-correcting exercises, cumulative vocabulary lists, periodic grammatical reviews, and additional readings

German: How to Speak and Write It


Joseph Rosenberg - 1962
    Working on the principles that a person learns more quickly by example than by rule, the author has put together a book that abounds in immediately usable German sentences and phrases on a wide variety of subjects.The student will find pleasure in the amusing sketches and drawings used to imbed new vocabulary firmly in the student's mind, in the many excellent photographs of cities and landmarks in German-speaking countries, and in the glimpses of German culture and custom subtly interwoven into the conventional material.The book, though eminently useful for self-study, is especially amenable to classroom use or study with a private tutor. The variety of teaching aids that this book places at the teacher's disposal is remarkable. The lessons contain dialogues, grammar and idiom studies (replete with examples), and extensive practice exercises. In addition there are 28 full-page and double-page sketches of specific scenes (a harbor, a zoo, a theatre, etc.) with pertinent items numbered and identified in German and English; sketches and photographs, which the student is asked to describe in German; German proverbs, jokes, and more.The dialogues and reading material encompass an exceptionally wide range of real-life situations, and are extended to include most of the basic vocabulary one would need in each situation. The analysis of German pronunciation is very comprehensive (and the simple phonetic system used in the early stages is readable by sight). The practice exercises are carefully designed to allow the student to use what he learned. The closing sections contain a summary of grammar, a guide to letter writing (with sample German letters), and a valuable study guide to German literature by Dr. Richard Friedenthal.The book differs from others of its type in that it gives more attention to the elementary stages of learning, and the rate of progress is less rapid than usual. This means that any intelligent person, even if he is an absolute beginner, can with sufficient application arrive at the end of the course confident of having acquired a solid foundation for further study.

501 Latin Verbs


Richard E. Prior - 1995
    Regular, irregular, and defective verbs are each given a full page, with principle parts and complete conjugations.

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Travel


Joshua Piven - 2001
    Learn what to do when the tarantula crawls up your leg, the riptide pulls you out to sea, the sandstorms headed your way, or your camel just wont stop. Find out how to pass a bribe, remove leeches, climb out of a well, survive a fall onto subway tracks, catch a fish without a rod, and preserve a severed limb. Hands-on, step-by-step instructions show you how to survive these and dozens of other adventures. An appendix of travel tips, useful phrases, and gestures to avoid will also ensure your safe return. Because you just never know...

On Cussing: Bad Words and Creative Cursing


Katherine Dunn - 2019
    Readers of Katherine Dunn won’t be surprised that this was her father’s favorite sentence, or that, as a young girl, she heard it as a kind of profane poem, a secret song. For many of us, the language of Geek Love carries a similar staying power, born of Dunn’s agile use of language and her strange, beautiful diction. And as a true exegete of the expletive, she remained undividedly devoted to obscenity—both as scholar and practitioner.In On Cussing, Dunn sketches a brief history of swear words and creates something of a field guide to their types and usages, from the common threat (“I’ll squash you like a shithouse mouse”) to the portmanteau intensifier (“Fan-fucking-tastic”). But she also explores their physiology—the physical impact on the reader or listener—and makes an argument for how and when to cuss with maximum effect. Equal parts informative and hilarious, this volume will delight Dunn’s legion of fans, but it’s also a must-have for anyone looking to more successfully wield their expletives, be it in writing or in everyday speech.

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language


Gretchen McCulloch - 2019
    Language is humanity's most spectacular open-source project, and the internet is making our language change faster and in more interesting ways than ever before. Internet conversations are structured by the shape of our apps and platforms, from the grammar of status updates to the protocols of comments and @replies. Linguistically inventive online communities spread new slang and jargon with dizzying speed. What's more, social media is a vast laboratory of unedited, unfiltered words where we can watch language evolve in real time.Even the most absurd-looking slang has genuine patterns behind it. Internet linguist Gretchen McCulloch explores the deep forces that shape human language and influence the way we communicate with one another. She explains how your first social internet experience influences whether you prefer "LOL" or "lol," why ~sparkly tildes~ succeeded where centuries of proposals for irony punctuation had failed, what emoji have in common with physical gestures, and how the artfully disarrayed language of animal memes like lolcats and doggo made them more likely to spread.Because Internet is essential reading for anyone who's ever puzzled over how to punctuate a text message or wondered where memes come from. It's the perfect book for understanding how the internet is changing the English language, why that's a good thing, and what our online interactions reveal about who we are.

An American Guide to Britishness


Alana Muir - 2012
    An educational and humorous look at life, language and culture in Britain through the eyes of an American who lives in Scotland, sometimes against her will.

Essential Kanji: 2,000 Basic Japanese Characters Systematically Arranged for Learning and Reference


P.G. O'Neill - 1973
    It introduces the kanji that are now in everyday use, a mastery of which makes it possible to read most modern Japanese. Devised for either home or classroom use, the book has been tested and refined by years of use in university classes taught by the author.

On Bullshit


Harry G. Frankfurt - 1986
    Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. We have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory."Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all.Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

A Guide to Japanese Grammar: A Japanese Approach to Learning Japanese Grammar


Tae Kim - 2012
     The best website for learning Japanese grammar is now in print! My website has been helping people learn Japanese as it's really spoken in Japan for many years. If you find yourself frustrated that you can't understand Japanese movies or books despite having taken Japanese classes, then this book is for you. It will help you finally understand those pesky particles and break down grammatical concepts that will allow you to comprehend anything from simple to very complex sentences. You will also learn Japanese that's spoken by real people including casual speech patterns and slang, stuff that's often left out in most textbooks. Don't take my word for it, just check out my website and order this book to have it handy wherever you go.

The Philosophy of Language


A.P. Martinich - 1985
    This revised edition collects forty-one of the most important articles in the field, making it the most up-to-date and comprehensive volume on the subject. The fourth edition features several new articles including influential work by Bertrand Russell, John R. Searle, John Perry, Ruth Garrett Millikan, and John Stuart Mill. Other selections include classic articles by such distinguished philosophers as Gottlob Frege, P. F. Strawson, J. L. Austin, Hilary Putnam, and David Kaplan. The selections represent evolving and varying approaches to the philosophy of language, with many articles building upon earlier ones or critically discussing them. Eight sections cover the central issues: Truth and Meaning; Speech Acts; Reference and Descriptions; Names and Demonstratives; Propositional Attitudes; Metaphor; Interpretation and Translation; and The Nature of Language. The revised general introduction and introductions to each section give students background to the issues and explain the connections between them. A list of suggested further reading follows each section.

Easy French Reader


R. de Roussy de Sales - 1984
    Suitable for raw beginners to intermediate-level language learners, this popular title features engaging readings of progressive difficulty that allow you to rapidly build your comprehension. Find out what unfamiliar words and phrases mean with the book's helpful glossary Discover the nuances of French language and culture as well as the country's history through engaging texts Get a feel for authentic French society with readings from contemporary literature

Words Fail Me


Teresa Monachino - 2006
    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?

How to Improve Your Foreign Language Immediately


Boris Shekhtman - 2003
    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.

Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age


William E. Linney - 2007
    Instead of burying you in mountains of information to memorize, new words and concepts are introduced in a gradual and systematic way. You can immediately apply what you've learned by translating the fun exercises at the end of each lesson. Quickly check your work by turning to the included answer key. To hear the words pronounced, simply download the free recordings from www.GettingStartedWithLatin.com. For additional help and instruction, the author has provided extensive audio commentary recordings that teach through every lesson and exercise in the book. With everything you need here in one book, why aren't you Getting Started with Latin?