The Language Wars by Henry Hitchings

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 *

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.