The Language Wars by Henry Hitchings
What really is correctness? Why do people care so much about it? What is at stake in the quarrel about good and bad usage?
'[Hitchings] writes beautiful prose, witty and succinctHis book is full of complex ideas expressed with crystal clarity ... The range of his knowledge and curiosity is remarkable ... Every paragraph contains a fascinating detail about the English language ... I recommend that you rush out to immediately buy it, or to buy it immediately, whichever you prefer.' * Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday, Five Star Review *
'This richly detailed and often delightfully combative book is a historical guide to the sometimes splenetic battles that have been fought over [English] down the centuries . . . a pleasure to read.' * Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times *
'Crisply written, amusing, informative and thought-provoking. Anyone interested in the English language and its history should read it.' * Charles Moore, Sunday Telegraph *
'Hitchings' exemplary researches and disinterested, perceptive and often witty explications, make it clear that one cannot glibly dismiss these struggles over what makes English "proper" ... Hitchings has created a fascinating, wholly readable and gratifyingly informative book.' * Financial Times *
The Language Wars asks us to think beyond tradition, habit and deference, and to consider what we want from our words. It is a very intelligent and polite call to arms, but a call to arms nonetheless * Observer *
'The Language Wars takes the reader on a Cook's tour of complaints about English past and present ...' * Deborah Cameron, Guardian *
'It is a breath of fresh air (if that is the right cliché) to wander the byways of language without always being nudged to laugh at prescriptivists' foolish nostrums.' * Daily Telegraph *
'A superb survey' * Reader's Digest *
'An extraordinary amount of reading has clearly gone in to the Language Wars' * Guardian *
'Erudite but eminently readable' * Independent on Sunday *
'...if you like the English language as it develops and changes - this is a book you'll love. Hitchings unpicks arguments with terrific flair....He makes us think about language - what it is, what it does, where's been. There's a great bit on the modern use of "like". It's like, wow' * Evening Stardard *
'Playful and learned' * Independent *
'Richly detailed, delightfully combative...such a pleasure to read' * Sunday Times *
'This richly detailed and often delightfully combative book is a historical guide to the sometimes splenetic battles that have been fought over [English] down the centuries . . . a pleasure to read.' * Andrew Holgate, Sunday Times *
'Crisply written, amusing, informative and thought-provoking. Anyone interested in the English language and its history should read it.' * Charles Moore, Sunday Telegraph *
'Hitchings' exemplary researches and disinterested, perceptive and often witty explications, make it clear that one cannot glibly dismiss these struggles over what makes English "proper" ... Hitchings has created a fascinating, wholly readable and gratifyingly informative book.' * Financial Times *
The Language Wars asks us to think beyond tradition, habit and deference, and to consider what we want from our words. It is a very intelligent and polite call to arms, but a call to arms nonetheless * Observer *
'The Language Wars takes the reader on a Cook's tour of complaints about English past and present ...' * Deborah Cameron, Guardian *
'It is a breath of fresh air (if that is the right cliché) to wander the byways of language without always being nudged to laugh at prescriptivists' foolish nostrums.' * Daily Telegraph *
'A superb survey' * Reader's Digest *
'An extraordinary amount of reading has clearly gone in to the Language Wars' * Guardian *
'Erudite but eminently readable' * Independent on Sunday *
'...if you like the English language as it develops and changes - this is a book you'll love. Hitchings unpicks arguments with terrific flair....He makes us think about language - what it is, what it does, where's been. There's a great bit on the modern use of "like". It's like, wow' * Evening Stardard *
'Playful and learned' * Independent *
'Richly detailed, delightfully combative...such a pleasure to read' * Sunday Times *
Henry Hitchings was born in 1974. He has contributed to many newspapers and magazines and is theatre critic for the Evening Standard.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781848542099 |
| ISBN 10 | 1848542097 |
| Title | The Language Wars |
| Author | Henry Hitchings |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | John Murray Press |
| Year published | 2011-09-01 |
| Number of pages | 416 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |