The Miracle of Language
Welcome to Richard Lederer's beguiling celebration of language -- of our ability to utter, write, and receive words. No purists need stop here. Mr. Lederer is no linguistic sheriff organizing posses to hunt down and string up language offenders. Instead, join him "In Praise of English," and discover why the tongue described in Shakespeare's day as "of small reatch" has become the most widely spoken language in history:
English never rejects a word because of race, creed, or national origin. Did you know that jukebox comes from Gullah and canoe from Haitian Creole? Many of our greatest writers have invented words and bequeathed new expressions to our eveyday conversations. Can you imagine making up almost ten percent of our written vocabulary? Scholars now know that William Shakespeare did just that!
He also points out the pitfalls and pratfalls of English. If a man mans a station, what does a woman do? In the "The Department of Redundancy Department," "Is English Prejudiced?" and other essays, Richard Lederer urges us not to abandon that which makes us human: the capacity to distinguish, discriminate, compare, and evaluate.
Customer Reviews
Rated 5 starsA Treasured Part of my Library
I picked up a hardcover copy of this book on a bookstore remainder table more than 10 years ago. When I got home, I discovered it was autographed by the author! The true delight, however, came in the reading of it. I have a large collection of books but this is by far one of my non-fiction favorites. I pull it down every couple of years and reread it just for the sheer joy of the experience. Can't recommend it enough.
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Rated 5 starsDeepen Your Appreciation of English
Although Richard Lederer may be best known for his delightful word play, he is also an eminent authority on English. In _The Miracle of Language_ he writes somewhat more seriously about this language that he loves, inspiring in us a deeper appreciation of our system of communication that we often take for granted.The chapter titled "In Praise of English" makes us grateful that ours is a language that puts so many words at...
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Rated 5 starsSeriocomic author wins again
This serious book about our language,English, the lingua franca of the world, afforded me more laughs than many a so-called comic book. Lederer is truly a master of English, a magister and advocate. I have several other books by him, and have enjoyed each one tremendously. I always have great trouble setting The Miracle of Language down once I open it. I'm always tempted to go through it once more in one sitting. As a writer,...
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Rated 5 starsgreat
Richard Lederer makes the English language so much fun. This is my favorite book of his-- who knew that Shakespeare had made up so many of the words we use every day? I thought it was so great, I sent a copy to my English teacher from high school, who also loved it.
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Rated 5 starsThis is the author's best book!
And I happen to know this book is the "favorite child" of this much-published author. I read it with just as much, if not more pleasure than Anguished English and Get Thee to a Punnery, some of Richard's more famous works. Don't expect the usual mad romp through the English language; this book is more literary than light literature.If you want to improve your writing, you will profit by reading the chapter on the beauty of...
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