A Dictionary of False Friends


Book Description




Italian False Friends


Book Description

Italian words that resemble words in English but have different meanings are the cause of student bafflement and some hilariously mistaken usage. Examples of falsi amici that continue to amuse teachers of Italian include casino, which is a brothel or mess, not a gambling place, and intossicazione, which is food poisoning, not intoxication. Ronnie Ferguson has confronted the much-neglected problem of `false friends,' or deceptive cognates, with a dictionary which makes it possible for the student of Italian to alert her- or himself to the pitfalls. Accurate translation, essay work, and comprehension hinge on the confident handling of key words prone to incorrect interpretation, and Italian False Friends will be a useful tool to assist students to improve their proficiency in these areas. This book is an excellent companion volume to Interferenze Lessicali:Italiano-inglese, the practical teaching workbook with drills and exercises by Marina Sasu Frescura published earlier in the series. Italian False Friends is effectively illustrated with samples from newspapers, magazines, street signs, and books.




Dictionary of Untranslatables


Book Description

Characters in some languages, particularly Hebrew and Arabic, may not display properly due to device limitations. Transliterations of terms appear before the representations in foreign characters. This is an encyclopedic dictionary of close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms and concepts that defy easy—or any—translation from one language and culture to another. Drawn from more than a dozen languages, terms such as Dasein (German), pravda (Russian), saudade (Portuguese), and stato (Italian) are thoroughly examined in all their cross-linguistic and cross-cultural complexities. Spanning the classical, medieval, early modern, modern, and contemporary periods, these are terms that influence thinking across the humanities. The entries, written by more than 150 distinguished scholars, describe the origins and meanings of each term, the history and context of its usage, its translations into other languages, and its use in notable texts. The dictionary also includes essays on the special characteristics of particular languages--English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Originally published in French, this one-of-a-kind reference work is now available in English for the first time, with new contributions from Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more.The result is an invaluable reference for students, scholars, and general readers interested in the multilingual lives of some of our most influential words and ideas. Covers close to 400 important philosophical, literary, and political terms that defy easy translation between languages and cultures Includes terms from more than a dozen languages Entries written by more than 150 distinguished thinkers Available in English for the first time, with new contributions by Judith Butler, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Ben Kafka, Kevin McLaughlin, Kenneth Reinhard, Stella Sandford, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jane Tylus, Anthony Vidler, Susan Wolfson, Robert J. C. Young, and many more Contains extensive cross-references and bibliographies An invaluable resource for students and scholars across the humanities




Authorized


Book Description

The King James Version has shaped the church, our worship, and our mother tongue for over 400 years. But what should we do with it today? The KJV beautifully rendered the Scriptures into the language of turn-of-the-seventeenth-century England. Even today the King James is the most widely read Bible in the United States. The rich cadence of its Elizabethan English is recognized even by non-Christians. But English has changed a great deal over the last 400 years—and in subtle ways that very few modern readers will recognize. In Authorized Mark L. Ward, Jr. shows what exclusive readers of the KJV are missing as they read God's word.#In their introduction to the King James Bible, the translators tell us that Christians must "heare CHRIST speaking unto them in their mother tongue." In Authorized Mark Ward builds a case for the KJV translators' view that English Bible translations should be readable by what they called "the very vulgar"—and what we would call "the man on the street."




The A to Z of the Friends (Quakers)


Book Description

"While widely known and admired, Quakers are too often known only superficially. The A to Z of the Friends (Quakers) clears up these superficialities by digging deeper into the Society's past and present. The dictionary's numerous cross-referenced entries describe its origins and history, its current situation in many different countries, basic concepts and practices, and views on important contemporary issues, as well as leading figures and founders. The chronology shows the Society's progression over time, and the bibliography points the way to further reading."--BOOK JACKET.




The Handbook of Linguistics


Book Description

"The first edition of this Handbook is built on surveys by well-known figures from around the world and around the intellectual world, reflecting several different theoretical predilections, balancing coverage of enduring questions and important recent work. Those strengths are now enhanced by adding new chapters and thoroughly revising almost all other chapters, partly to reflect ways in which the field has changed in the intervening twenty years, in some places radically. The result is a magnificent volume that can be used for many purposes." David W. Lightfoot, Georgetown University "The Handbook of Linguistics, Second Edition is a stupendous achievement. Aronoff and Rees-Miller have provided overviews of 29 subfields of linguistics, each written by one of the leading researchers in that subfield and each impressively crafted in both style and content. I know of no finer resource for anyone who would wish to be better informed on recent developments in linguistics." Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington, University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University "Linguists, their students, colleagues, family, and friends: anyone interested in the latest findings from a wide array of linguistic subfields will welcome this second updated and expanded edition of The Handbook of Linguistics. Leading scholars provide highly accessible yet substantive introductions to their fields: it's an even more valuable resource than its predecessor." Sally McConnell-Ginet, Cornell University "No handbook or text offers a more comprehensive, contemporary overview of the field of linguistics in the twenty-first century. New and thoroughly updated chapters by prominent scholars on each topic and subfield make this a unique, landmark publication."Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University This second edition of The Handbook of Linguistics provides an updated and timely overview of the field of linguistics. The editor's broad definition of the field ensures that the book may be read by those seeking a comprehensive introduction to the subject, but with little or no prior knowledge of the area. Building on the popular first edition, The Handbook of Linguistics, Second Edition features new and revised content reflecting advances within the discipline. New chapters expand the already broad coverage of the Handbook to address and take account of key changes within the field in the intervening years. It explores: psycholinguistics, linguistic anthropology and ethnolinguistics, sociolinguistic theory, language variation and second language pedagogy. With contributions from a global team of leading linguists, this comprehensive and accessible volume is the ideal resource for those engaged in study and work within the dynamic field of linguistics.




Euro-English


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The Liar's Dictionary


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “You wouldn’t expect a comic novel about a dictionary to be a thriller too, but this one is. In fact, [it] is also a mystery, love story (two of them) and cliffhanging melodrama.” —The New York Times Book Review An award-winning novel that chronicles the charming misadventures of a lovelorn Victorian lexicographer and the young woman put on his trail a century later to root out his misdeeds while confronting questions of her own sexuality and place in the world. Mountweazel n. the phenomenon of false entries within dictionaries and works of reference. Often used as a safeguard against copyright infringement. In the final year of the nineteenth century, Peter Winceworth is toiling away at the letter S for Swansby’s multivolume Encyclopaedic Dictionary. But his disaffection with his colleagues compels him to assert some individual purpose and artistic freedom, and he begins inserting unauthorized, fictitious entries. In the present day, Mallory, the publisher’s young intern, starts to uncover these mountweazels in the process of digitization and through them senses their creator’s motivations, hopes, and desires. More pressingly, she’s also been contending with a threatening, anonymous caller who wants Swansby’s staff to “burn in hell.” As these two narratives coalesce, Winceworth and Mallory, separated by one hundred years, must discover how to negotiate the complexities of life’s often untrustworthy, hoax-strewn, and undefinable path. An exhilarating, laugh-out-loud debut, The Liar’s Dictionary celebrates the rigidity, fragility, absurdity, and joy of language while peering into questions of identity and finding one’s place in the world.




Crossing Languages to Play with Words


Book Description

Wordplay involving several linguistic codes represents an important modality of ludic language. It is attested in different epochs, communicative situations, genres, and contexts of use. The translation of wordplay, which is generally seen as a challenging enterprise, illustrates another dimension of crossing linguistic borders in wordplay. The third volume of the series The Dynamics of Wordplay unites contributions from different disciplines which study the creative and playful use of elements from different languages and the transfer of ludic language into other linguistic systems. It sheds light on the multi-dimensionality, special linguistic make-up, and specific interactive potential of wordplay at the interface of different languages and cultures. The individual studies collected in this volume will be of interest to scholars from different scientific fields, such as linguistics and literary studies as well as cultural and media studies.




Top 50 Vocabulary Mistakes


Book Description

Whatever your mother tongue, you are likely to have encountered difficulties with most of the 50 vocabulary items in this book. Each chapter contains: Examples of typical mistakes. Examples of correct usage. Rules / explanations. A short exercise where you can immediately practise what you have learned. Additional exercises (including false friends) By completing the exercises in this book, you should be able to eliminate some of the most common vocabulary mistakes that non-native speakers of English tend to make. Easy English! is a series of books to help you learn and revise your English with minimal effort. You can improve your English by reading texts in English that you might well normally read in your own language e.g. jokes, personality tests, lateral thinking games, wordsearches. doing short exercises to improve specific areas grammar and vocabulary, i.e. the areas that tend to lead to the most mistakes - the aim is just to focus on what you really need rather than overwhelming yourself with a mass of rules, many of which may have no practical daily value Other books in the Easy English!series include: Wordsearches: Widen Your Vocabulary in English Test Your Personality: Have Fun and Learn Useful Phrases Word games, Riddles and Logic Tests: Tax Your Brain and Boost Your English Top 50 Grammar Mistakes: How to Avoid Them Top 50 Vocabulary Mistakes: How to Avoid Them