Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions by Orin Hargraves

Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions by Orin Hargraves

Americans and Britons are exposed to unedited texts, scripts, and speech from one another's dialects at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. Most people have no trouble understanding the general meaning of language in the other dialect, but readers and listeners very often fail to understand or misunderstand critical words, references, and allusions for lack of familiarity of the social and cultural contexts that underlie various usages. This book remedies this gap in understanding by cataloguing the differences that language users on either side of the Atlantic are likely to encounter in their dealings with the other dialect. By taking a culturally neutral stance it addresses the needs of both British and American readers and listeners. The thematic organization of the book allows the user to access language differences in various subject areas, where words likely to be needed at the same time can all be found together. Chapters include; Politics, Law, and Government; Business and Money; Medicine and Healthcare; Education; Food, Clothing, and Shelter; Transportation; Sports; and Profanity and Obscenity, in addition to basic information on orthography, weights and measures, etc. The appendices and extensive index provide a ready point of entry for quick look-ups, and there will be an extra chapter on Canadian, Australian, and Asian English.

a useful reference book and a fun reference for word lovers * r *

Orin Hargraves is a longtime freelance lexicographer with much experience in both US and UK writing.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780195157048
ISBN 10	0195157044
Title	Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions
Author	Orin Hargraves
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2003-04-24
Number of pages	319
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.