Does a word mean what it says? Sometimes - but not always. Everyone thinks that meaning is contained within words - like sardines in a tin, or milk in a bottle. After all, words are nice stable things that you can look up in a dictionary aren't they? But dictionaries only take us so far... If you eavesdropped on a teenage conversation, rushing to a dictionary - with its definitions frozen in time - wouldn't help much. Who's using a word and to whom, in what context, for what purpose - all these influence the meaning of the language we use. The word's origins and history (its 'genetics') also help. Try teaching yourself another language from a phrasebook and you'll soon learn that you can be correct, in the formal sense, but still way behind the times in reality. In this book Wajnryb considers these and other questions to explore how and why our language works the way it does.
Author(s): Ruth Wajnryb
Edition: 1
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 240
COVER......Page 1
HALF-TITLE......Page 3
TITLE......Page 5
COPYRIGHT......Page 6
DEDICATION......Page 7
CONTENTS......Page 9
In the kingdom of we......Page 11
The Queen's we......Page 13
Flexible you......Page 16
Avoiding you......Page 18
Youse......Page 20
It......Page 22
It does......Page 24
New girl in the kitchen......Page 26
S/He'll be right......Page 28
They......Page 30
Either a borrower or a lender be......Page 33
A place for ruthful......Page 35
Working backwards......Page 38
Mixed metaphors......Page 40
Adjectives on the loose......Page 42
Singular pants......Page 44
Osama......Page 46
The shelf life of a euphemism......Page 49
Fading into eternal peace......Page 51
Whistling cads......Page 53
Not inclined to say 'no'......Page 56
Vague approximations......Page 58
Clarity......Page 60
Oops......Page 62
The loaded request......Page 64
Denial......Page 67
Gradability......Page 69
Linguist presents as virus......Page 71
Dopey, hairy-backed sheilas......Page 73
Gerunds......Page 75
Where the truth lies......Page 78
Bomblet......Page 80
Sport as war, war as sport......Page 82
Truth as a house......Page 85
War words......Page 87
War words II......Page 89
The Governator......Page 91
Doing tolerance......Page 93
Rainbow colours on the political spectrum......Page 95
Judgements on a book's cover......Page 98
Disarticulate......Page 100
Legal and orderly comfort......Page 103
Outlander......Page 105
Unless......Page 107
Expert language......Page 110
Speaker roles......Page 112
Dictionaries......Page 114
The new slow......Page 116
Lazy poet......Page 118
Boobs......Page 121
Mum's the word......Page 123
The gate......Page 125
Clinton at Oxford......Page 128
Love and text......Page 130
Shrew......Page 132
Gossip......Page 134
To lift and separate reveals the naked truth......Page 135
Menus......Page 137
Health reports......Page 139
Bumper stickers......Page 142
Tag-lines......Page 144
Affirmations......Page 146
SMS text messages......Page 148
Valentine's Day messages......Page 150
Epitaphs......Page 152
Obituaries......Page 155
Self-help......Page 157
Conversation as expectation......Page 158
Reporting verbs......Page 159
Solving Christmas......Page 161
Permanent fatal error......Page 163
Real estate......Page 166
Fashion police......Page 168
Dogese......Page 170
Taboo topics in public......Page 173
Weddings......Page 175
Language of dieting......Page 177
Protection......Page 179
Teen talk......Page 182
The beauty beast......Page 184
Aspirational......Page 187
Faux......Page 190
Get......Page 192
Random......Page 194
Actually......Page 196
Bored......Page 199
Flotsam and jetsam......Page 201
Hygiene......Page 203
Special......Page 205
Migrant headache......Page 208
Bananas and sausages......Page 211
Kaput......Page 214
Ego permeability......Page 216
Leaky showers......Page 218
Red-faced tomatoes......Page 220
Un-English......Page 222
Something about Mary......Page 224
Saddam's English......Page 227
Dialect borrowings......Page 229
REFERENCES......Page 232
Websites......Page 235
