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Predicting New Words
Examines the phenomenon of new word creation, offering criteria for predicting the success of new words and including the American Dialect Society's listing of words of the year from 1991 to 2001.
OK
It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"--the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK--how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He de...
How We Talk
In short, delightful essays, a professor of English explains the key features that make American speech so expressive and distinct. With chapters on ethnic dialects and dialects in the movies, the author reveals the resplendence of one of our nation's greatest natural resources--its endless and varied talk.
The Life of Guy
"Guy" and "guys" are used so ubiquitously in daily conversation, we scarcely notice them. But both derive from the name of England's greatest terrorist, Guy Fawkes. Acclaimed expert on words Allan Metcalf dives deep into the strange and unprecedented history of America's favorite and most controversial pronoun. Along the way, a cast of characters as interesting as Guy Fawkes himself make an appearance, including kings and queens of England, popes, George Washington, show tunes' crooners, and today's Occupy protesters.
OK
It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"--the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK--how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He de...
From Skedaddle to Selfie
Machine generated contents note: -- 1. Introduction: Speaking of the Generations -- 2. The Republican Generation - (born 1742-1766) -- 3. The Compromise Generation - (born 1767-1791) -- 4. The Transcendental Generation - (born 1792-1821) -- 5. The Gilded Generation - (born 1822-1842) -- 6. The Progressive Generation - (born 1843-1859) -- 7. The Missionary Generation - (born 1860-1882) -- 8. The Lost Generation - (born 1883-1900) -- 9. The G.I. Generation - (born 1901-1924) -- 10. The Silent Generation - (born 1925-1942) -- 11. The Boom Generation - (born 1943-1960) -- 12. The Thirteenth Generation, or Generation X - (born 1961-1981) -- 13. The Millennial Generation, or Generation Y - (born 1982-2004) -- 14. The Homeland Generation - (born 2005-current).
Presidential Voices
Perhaps more than anyone else, politicians are what they say — and how they say it. In Presidential Voices, Metcalf examines both how the presidents have spoken to the American public and how the American public has wanted its presidents to speak. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Metcalf shows what contemporaries have said about the chief speakers in the White House. He explores the distinctive words that our presidents favored (and in many cases coined), along with the regional accents that livened the Oval Office. In addition, he uncovers the hidden influence of speechwriters and the changing media on how presidents present themselves to voters. He concludes his survey of presidential speech with entertaining linguistic portraits of all forty-three presidents. From Silent Cal to the Great Communicator, Presidential Voices sheds new and original light on the ways in which our commanders in chief have commanded the language. After reading this book, you will never again take what our president says for granted.
America In So Many Words
This book presents a unique historical view of American English. It chronicles year by year the contributions Americans have made to the vocabulary of English and the words Americans have embraced through the evolution of the nation. For important years from the settlement of Jamestown until 1750, and for every year from 1750 through 1998, a prominent word is analyzed and discussed in its historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of American linguistic culture through past centuries. The authors -- both lifelong students of American English -- bring great depth of understanding to these key words that have made America, and American English, what they are today.
Word by Word
“We think of English as a fortress to be defended, but a better analogy is to think of English as a child. We love and nurture it into being, and once it gains gross motor skills, it starts going exactly where we don’t want it to go: it heads right for the goddamned electrical sockets.” With wit and irreverence, lexicographer Kory Stamper cracks open the obsessive world of dictionary writing, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it to the knotty questions of ever-changing word usage. Filled with fun facts—for example, the first documented usage of “OMG” was in a letter to Winston Churchill—and Stamper’s own stories from the linguistic front lines (including how she became America’s foremost “irregardless” apologist, despite loathing the word), Word by Word is an endlessly entertaining look at the wonderful complexities and eccentricities of the English language.
