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The English Language Laid Bare
Oxford University Press
December 2008
On Sale: December 13, 2008
176 pages
ISBN: 0199239061
EAN: 9780199239061
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
When James Murray compiled the OED in the 19th century, he
used a small army of volunteers--and thousands upon
thousands of paper slips--to track down the English
language. Today, linguists use massive computer power--
including the world's largest language databank, the Oxford
Corpus, which contains more than two billion words--to
determine for the first time definitively how the English
language is used. From evidence contained in the gargantuan Oxford Corpus,
Jeremy Butterfield here uncovers a wealth of fascinating
facts about the English language. Where does our vocabulary
come from? How do word meanings change? How is our language
really being used? This entertaining book has the up-to-
date and authoritative answers to all the key questions
about our language. Butterfield takes a thorough look at
the English language and exposes its peculiarities and
penchants, its development and difficulties, revealing
exactly how it operates. We learn, for instance, that we
use language in chunks of words--as one linguist put
it, "we know words by the company that they keep." For
instance, the word quintessentially is joined half the time
with a nationality--something is "quintessentially
American" or "quintessentially British." Likewise, in
comparing eccentric with quirky, the Corpus reveals that
eccentric almost always appears in reference to people, as
an "eccentric uncle," while quirky usually refers to the
actions of people, as in "quirky behavior." Using such
observations, Butterfield explains how dictionary makers
decide which words to include, how they find definitions,
and how the Corpus influences the process. Covering all areas of English, from spelling and idioms to
the future of English, and with entertaining examples and
useful charts throughout, this compelling and lively book
will delight word lovers everywhere.
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