The Prodigal Tongue: The Love-Hate Relationship Between British and American English - Hardcover

Murphy, Lynne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1786072696 ISBN 13: 9781786072696

Publisher: Oneworld, 2018

Synopsis

Is it true (as we are often told) that creeping Americanisms are ruining our language? As an American linguist working in Britain, Lynne Murphy is well placed to weigh up the evidence and to share examples of misunderstandings. With a combination of humo(u)r and scepticism/skepticism she examines the myths surrounding transatlantic differences, shows that many American words and usages have British origins and investigates where the English language is really going.

About this title

About the Author:

Lynne Murphy is a professor in linguistics at the University of Sussex. She blogs at separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com and tweets @lynneguist. A dual British/American citizen, she lives in Brighton.

Review:

`[Murphy's] delivery is sparkling, her approach mischievous, her material brightened by the unexpected...a potpourri of enchanting, counterintuitive surprises...The Prodigal Tongue is playful, funny, smart and often humbling...Murphy's prose is beguiling, and sprinkled with sprightly quotations...before the apocalypse, you could do worse than read Lynne Murphy's delightful book.' -- Lionel Shriver * The Times Literary Supplement * 'Witty and erudite...what lifts The Prodigal Tongue is Murphy's deep learning, lightly worn, in linguistics and linguistic history...fascinating.' * Financial Times * `Murphy ranges far and wide, with much wonderful detail and colour. She is particularly good on sport, manners, class and death, and her observations on food are fascinating.' * Times * `Murphy's book is pedantic, but for once the definition is positive: she gets things right, offers proof and skewers inaccuracy, and does so with wit and erudition.' * Daily Telegraph * `Entertaining and sometimes gleeful...The Prodigal Tongue is ultimately a celebration of the richness and diversity of English.' * New Statesman * 'Fascinating and surprising...a witty and erudite celebration of the English language.' * i * `Murphy has an amusing facility for zapping tired language myths... But the most striking feature of her writing is a fascination with the quirks of usage. She succeeds in her ambition to increase "our enjoyment of our common language and our pride in it".' * Wall Street Journal * `The engaging, thoughtful and humorous approach makes for a readable and informative experience.' * Irish Times * `[Murphy] writes with wit and flair, wearing her erudition lightly...a swell read.' * The Arts Desk * `I love this book. Sassy but balanced, authoritative but fun: this is a must for anyone who fears that English is going to the American dogs.' -- Susie Dent, Countdown's resident lexicographer and author of Dent's Modern Tribes `Finally, this emotional topic gets the hilarious, myth-demolishing and stereotype-smashing take it needed. As an American in London I couldn't stop talking about it with everyone I met.' -- Lane Greene, author of You Are What You Speak `The Prodigal Tongue is great fun - impeccably researched and outright funny at the same time... Murphy is one smart cookie, or should I say biscuit?' -- Patricia T. O'Conner, author of Woe Is I `The war of words waged between Americans and Brits has been filled with dour pedantry on both sides - which is what makes Murphy's book such a welcome and refreshing revelation... With wit and expertise, The Prodigal Tongue calls all English speakers home to a language big enough for both fries and chips, bumbershoots and brollies.' -- Kory Stamper, author of Word by Word `No one knows how to navigate the transatlantic language divide better than Lynne Murphy. Moving beyond facile stereotypes about British and American English, she delves into subtle linguistic nuances with wit and aplomb. The Prodigal Tongue is a wonderful reading experience for anyone interested in understanding the true nature of these two distinct "nationlects".' -- Ben Zimmer, language columnist for The Wall Street Journal `Forget the usual bumbershoots and lifts and lorries - Lynne Murphy's book on the difference between English in America and English in England is full of much more interesting things... You'll be chuffed as nuts on every page.' -- John McWhorter, author of Words On the Move and Talking Back, Talking Black

About this edition

• Publisher: Oneworld
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1786072696
• ISBN 13: 9781786072696
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 368