35.1433, Books: Highly Irregular: Okrent (2024)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-35-1433. Thu May 09 2024. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 35.1433, Books: Highly Irregular: Okrent (2024)

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Date: 25-Apr-2024
From: Rachel Havard [Rachel.HAVARD at oup.com]
Subject: Highly Irregular: Okrent (2024)


Title: Highly Irregular
Subtitle: Why Tough, Through, and Dough Don't Rhyme—And Other Oddities
of the English Language
Publication Year: 2024
Publisher: Oxford University Press
                http://www.oup.com/us
Book URL: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/highly-irregular-978
0197760918?utm_source=linguistlist&utm_medium=listserv&utm_campaign=li
nguistics

Author: Arika Okrent
Paperback: ISBN: 9780197760918 Pages: 272 Price: U.S. $ 15.99
Abstract:

Maybe you've been speaking English all your life, or maybe you learned
it later on. But whether you use it just well enough to get your daily
business done, or you're an expert with a red pen who never omits a
comma or misplaces a modifier, you must have noticed that there are
some things about this language that are just weird.

Perhaps you're reading a book and stop to puzzle over absurd spelling
rules (Why are there so many ways to say '-gh'?), or you hear someone
talking and get stuck on an expression (Why do we say "How dare you"
but not "How try you"?), or your kid quizzes you on homework (Why is
it "eleven and twelve" instead of "oneteen and twoteen"?). Suddenly
you ask yourself, "Wait, why do we do it this way?" You think about
it, try to explain it, and keep running into walls. It doesn't conform
to logic. It doesn't work the way you'd expect it to. There doesn't
seem to be any rule at all.

There might not be a logical explanation, but there will be an
explanation, and this book is here to help.

In Highly Irregular, Arika Okrent answers these questions and many
more. Along the way she tells the story of the many influences--from
invading French armies to stubborn Flemish printers--that made our
language the way it is today. Both an entertaining send-up of
linguistic oddities and a deeply researched history of English, Highly
Irregular is essential reading for anyone who has paused to wonder
about our marvelous mess of a language.

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Historical Linguistics
                     History of Linguistics

Written In: English (eng)



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