 |
Earn
money from your website as an affiliate of our on-line bookshop at
Pickabook.co.uk and Pickabook.com
|
|
Item Details
| Title:
|
THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS
HOW ENGLISH BECAME ENGLISH |
| By: |
Henry Hitchings |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| List price:
|
£16.99 |
| Our price: |
£11.38 |
| Discount: |
|
| You save:
|
£5.61 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ISBN 10: |
0719564549 |
| ISBN 13: |
9780719564543 |
| Availability: |
Usually dispatched immediately.
 Delivery
rates
|
| Stock: |
Currently
4 items
in stock |
| Publisher: |
JOHN MURRAY GENERAL PUBLISHING DIVISION |
| Pub. date: |
3 April, 2008 |
| Pages: |
448 |
| Description: |
Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, French or Dutch? Try admiral, landscape and marmalade, just for starters. Henry Hitchings reveals how and why our language has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages, many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. |
| Synopsis: |
Communication is essential to our lives, but how often do we stop to think about where the words we use have come from? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic, French or Dutch? Try admiral, landscape and marmalade just for starters. The Secret Life of Words is a wide-ranging account not only of the history of English, but also of how words witness history, reflect social change and remind us of our turbulent past. Henry Hitchings delves into our promiscuous language and reveals how and why it has absorbed words from more than 350 other languages many originating from the most unlikely of places, such as shampoo from Hindi and kiosk from Turkish. From the Norman Conquest to the present day, Hitchings narrates the story of English as an archive of our human experience and uncovers the secrets behind everyday words. This is a celebration of our language; after reading it, you will never again take the words we use for granted. |
| Publication: |
UK |
| Imprint: |
John Murray Publishers Ltd |
| Prizes: |
Winner of John Llewelyn Rhys Memorial Prize 2008.
Winner of Somerset Maugham Award 2009. |
| Returns: |
Returnable |
|
|
|
 |
The Infernal Devices
It was London, 1878. Sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray's priority should be finding her brother, not falling in love, especially with two boys. She is soon caught in a dangerous love triangle where a wrong decision could prove fatal. Tessa will need all her strength to save her brother and stay alive.
|
The Book of Bad Things
Our "Book of Bad Things" is a book about "The Book of Bad Things" - a long-rumoured, much-feared volume that some people believe has been present at many of the bad happenings in the world throughout history. The narrative concerns the author of our book, Count Droffig, who has spent a lifetime trying to uncover the dark secrets of "The Book of Bad Things".
|
What Caesar Did for My Salad
Did you know that the Cornish pasty was invented to protect tin miners from arsenic poisoning, or that the word 'salary' comes from Roman soldiers being paid their wages in salt? Why do we eat goose (or turkey) at Christmas? This title is bursting with fascinating insights, characters and enough stories to entertain a hundred dinner parties.
|
|
|