Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language

by Kate Burridge

Book Overview

English is the most creative, changeable and imaginative of languages. Some words are invented to meet temporary needs and are quickly discarded; others carry meanings hundreds of years old. Language fascinates us, and we spend a lot of time playing with it, concocting everything from puns, riddles and secret languages to wonderful prose and poetry. We also worry about it a great deal, looking up and checking words in dictionaries and usage guides,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521548322
• ISBN13: 9780521548328
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Good layman's tour through linguistic territory

Burridge writes about linguistically interesting phenomena, but in a style that a layman reader can grasp without much difficulty. She packs each page with copius examples that run the gamut of our fascinating English language. As a linguistics instructor, I intend to hang on to this one for the clarity of its style and substance of content. As an American English speaker I also find her Australianisms very interesting!

Delightfully addictive

I had the pleasure of hearing Kate present many of her radio segments, which were always filled with intriguing snippets about the English language. Now she has made this information available to a wider public. Her writing style is very easy-going, and each chapter in the book can be dipped into individually. There were so many fascinating parts that it would be hard to single out my favourite, although the range of language used in St Valentine's Day messages was eye-opening and hilarious, and the way letters appear and disappear through the centuries was fascinating. I was taught very correct grammar and it was very interesting to discover that many of these "golden rules" have no basis for their adoption and in fact in some cases are totally wrong. A delightful book from beginning to end.