Much Ado about English: Up and Down the Bizarre Byways of a Fascinating Language

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Much Ado about English: Up and Down the Bizarre Byways of a Fascinating Language
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Richard Watson Todd
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:156
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 137
Category/Genrelinguistics
ISBN/Barcode 9781857883879
ClassificationsDewey:420
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher John Murray Press
Imprint Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Publication Date 18 October 2007
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

In this entertaining journey exploring the facts, foibles and sheer charm of English, Richard Watson Todd contemplates everything from the origins of words to their erratic spellings and unexpected uses. Much Ado About English strolls through the vast landscape of the English language and wanders down its most illogical, peculiar and idiosyncratic byways. It ranges from where words have come from and how they've changed, to why spelling and pronunciation don't match up, and the myriad ways we use this flexible and fascinating language. Whether your interest is neologisms or pleonasms, sobriquets or oxymorons, tongue twisters or palindromes, this light-hearted and engaging book shows why there has been, is and always will be Much Ado About English.

Author Biography

Richard Watson Todd was born in Shrewsbury and graduated from Lancaster University with a BA in Accounting & Finance before realising that accounting did not provide the most interesting of careers (apologies to accountants). After gaining a masters in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and a doctorate in the UK became Head of the Centre for Research and Services at the School of Liberal Arts at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Bangkok and runs the Big Applied Linguistics Database. He has acted as a consultant to both the World Bank and the Thai Ministry of Education, is the author of several books and a regular contributor to the Bangkok Post. Despite all this work, Richard finds enough time to keep his two dogs happy, enjoy reading and play darts.

Reviews

Ostrobogulously loquacious, linguistically ostentatious: a peregrination through pages of percurrent pleasure. A fun book and very rewarding to read. - Dr Michael Johnson, Open University