Henry Hitchings is een auteur wiens werken zich verdiepen in de complexiteit van taal en de geschiedenis ervan. Zijn geschriften onderzoeken hoe woorden onze gedachten vormen en hoe betekenissen in de loop van de tijd evolueren. Hitchings' stijl kenmerkt zich door zijn diepgang en scherpzinnigheid bij het ontdekken van de verborgen stromingen binnen de taalkunde. Zijn werk spreekt lezers aan die gefascineerd zijn door de kracht en nuance van taal.
Word count 19,370 Read at a comfortable level with word count and CEFR level on every cover Illustrations, photos, and diagrams support comprehension Activities build language skills and check understanding Glossaries teach difficult vocabulary Free editable tests for every book Selected Bookworms are available for your tablet or computer through the Oxford Learner's Bookshelf
The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been acrimonious, and those involved have always really been contesting values to do with morality, politics and class.
The Extraordinary Story of the Book that Defined the World
One man. 42,773 entries. The brilliant story of how Dr Johnson succeded in writing the first great English Dictionary By 1700, France and Italy already had dictionaries of their own, and it became a matter of national pride that England should rival them. Dr Johnson rose to the challenge, turning over the garret of his London home to the creation of his Dictionary. He imagined it would take three years. Eight years later it was finally published, full of idiosyncrasies, but complete nevertheless. It would become the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century. This is the story of Johnson's attempt to define each and every word. In wonderfully engaging chapters, Hitchings describes Johnson's adventure - his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way and his ultimate triumph.
Recalling the story of the first great lexicon of English, the author reveals how Samuel Johnson arduously assembled his eighteenth-century dictionary--a task that ultimately helped make English into a major European language.
Journey into the history of English and discover how words have been absorbed into our language to make it what it is today.
Henry Hitchings presents an amusing, illuminating and quirky audit of English manners. Ranging from basic table manners to appropriate sexual conduct, via hospitality, chivalry, faux pas and online etiquette, he traces the history of our country's customs and courtesies. Putting under the microscope some of our most astute observers of humanity, including Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys, he uses their lives and writings to pry open the often downright peculiar secrets of English behaviour.
Daniel Kehlmann sinniert über die Zukunft des Buchhandels und den dringlichen Wunsch, nicht angesprochen zu werden. Saša Stanišic’ geht der Frage nach, wie man in einer neuen Stadt einen »Dealer« findet, ohne an einen Besserwisser zu geraten oder – noch schlimmer – an jemanden, der sich erkundigt, ob man denn »den und den Klassiker bereits probiert hat«. Elif Shafak beschwört die Atmosphäre einer Istanbuler Buchhandlung herauf – ihr Chaos und ihre Vielfalt, den Geruch nach Tabak und Kaffee – während Ali Smith den Geheimnissen nachspürt, die sich zwischen den Seiten antiquarischer Bücher verbergen. 15 Schriftsteller aus aller Welt schwelgen in Erinnerungen und erörtern die soziale, kulturelle und politische Funktion von Buchhandlungen, stellen Läden vor, über die sie zufällig gestolpert sind und die sie lieben gelernt haben – ob in Bogotá oder Delhi, in London oder Berlin, in Kopenhagen oder Nairobi.
