English Word History
By Albert Jack
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
How To Speak English Like a Native
The English language is perhaps the richest and most expressive in the world. One of the reasons for this is that we have so many weird and wonderful ways of describing exactly the same thing: we can be as colourful or as plain with our language as we choose. That is why it is so difficult to learn and how this book will help you so much.
Living in a foreign country, as I do, it is obvious to me that even the most fluent of English speakers still have a lot to learn. As have the native English speakers. You try explaining to an educated Vietnamese or Thai how your friend became ADDLED and SOZZLED or BLOTTO and BEFUDDLED, and maybe MULLERED, PIE-EYED or BINGEING. What you say? What you mean? Why you say? All good questions. And all answered here.
On the face of it the history of the English language is, at best, rather dull. It is certainly not easy to write an entertaining book on the subject and not make it read like a text book. Or so I thought. When I looked a little closer – and in a slightly different way from that of etymologists and scholars with minds far greater than mine – I discovered all sorts of fascinating tales that will help to explain why we use the words and phrases we do.
Because, alongside the usual Latin-based words we picked up from the Romans and the words nicked from the Celts and Picts and other ancient Europeans, the English language has drawn its inspiration from some exceedingly odd places: clowns, facial hair, items of furniture, famous elephants . . .you name it. So in these pages I hope to PANDER to your curiosity thanks to a historical pimp, MESMERISE you thanks to hypnotist Dr Franz Mesmer, and leave you GOOGLY-EYED with amazement thanks to an American cartoon strip.
And then there are the words that look and sound as if someone just plucked them out of thin air: SKULDUGGERY, CODDSWALLOP, JIGGERY-POKERY, CLAPTRAP. But rest assured these words are not mere GOBBLEDYGOOK: there’s a cracking story behind each one.
As my research progressed I found myself ever more fascinated by English-speaking people and our shared English-speaking history. There is so much about our cultures that can be learned through the strange journeys our words have made: how the medieval SHERIFF ended up in the Wild West; how an African snake-god inspired Hollywood’s ZOMBIES; how an English queen was defeated by Irish BLARNEY and a Scottish queen by Portuguese MARMALADE; and how words from POMMY to BARRACKING have got lost in translation en route to Australia.
Some distinct themes emerged as I delved into the backgrounds of our favourite words. Amid the genteel romance of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries I found out what playing GOOSEBERRY has to do with gooseberries and what CANOODLING has to do with canoes.
But by far the most popular and most wonderful of English words come from the noble art of insulting people. Whether you call someone an IGNORAMUS, a NINCOMPOOP, a PIPSQUEAK, a BUMPKIN, a JACKANAPES, a SCALLYWAG or a PIKEY, you are keeping alive a word that has travelled across borders and through centuries to get here, and surely nobody could take offence at that.
I hope you enjoy exploring this ode to the English language as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It turns out etymology is one of the most exciting –ologies out there. And if you want to learn more about it well then now is your chance.
Read more from Albert Jack
Red Herrings & White Elephants: The Origins of the Phrases We Use Every Day Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5They Laughed at Galileo: How the Great Inventors Proved Their Critics Wrong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShort Stories for Kids: Children’s Stories: Reading for Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moral Stories for Kids Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRobert Kennedy: JFK: The Death of Marilyn Monroe: Who Didn't Kill Them Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5English Words: Learn English: English Grammar: Advanced English Words: Origins, History & Meanings Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Food History & Recipe Origins: The Origins of the Names of the World's Favorite Recipes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPop Goes the Weasel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings9/11 Conspiracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealthy Breakfast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sheep and Lame Ducks: Origins of Idioms and Phrases Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Unsolved Mysteries: Real Life Mysteries: Ten Famous Disappearances Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Urban Myths & Legends Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5British Myths & Legends: Good Short Stories: Legends that made Britain Great Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Urban Myths: Short Stories: Urban Myths & Legends Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeptember 11 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bermuda Triangle: Real Life Mysteries: Unsolved Mysteries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5JFK: The Death of Marilyn Monroe: Who Didn't Kill Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Seventh Day Adventists & The Great American Fraud Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5D.B. Cooper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMysterious World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNWO: Bilderberg Conspiracy and the Future of the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Write Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Jam: Sounds From The Street Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Flying Dutchman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDonald Trump: Donald Trump Quotes: In His Own Words Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Paranormal Mysteries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Brand Names Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to English Word History
Related ebooks
It's a Wonderful Word Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Words: Learn English: English Grammar: Advanced English Words: Origins, History & Meanings Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5English Words Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Word History: How To Speak English Like a Native Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoney for Old Rope Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMoney For Old Rope - Part Two Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican History: Things That Even Your Teachers Didn't Know Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Children's Nursery Rhymes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPop Goes the Weasel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChildren's Nursery Rhymes: The Dark History & Origins of Kid's Nursery Rhymes Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Black Sheep and Lame Ducks: Origins of Idioms and Phrases Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Albert Jack's Ten Minute Mysteries Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParanormal Mysteries Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dog's Eye and Dead Horse: The Complete Guide to Australian Rhyming Slang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlue Moons and Black Markets: The Origins Of Even More Phrases We Use Every Day Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish and Celtic Fairy Tales: Illustrated - Easy To Read Layout Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMysteries of The World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essential European Folklore Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVanished Without Trace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Pastures New Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Pedant's Revolt: Why Most Things You Think Are Right Are Wrong Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Fairy Tales: A Children's Classic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Language of London: Cockney Rhyming Slang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnglish Fairy Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLoch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCastle Richmond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMargali's Couch Pumpkin Classics, Vol. 1: Vintage Spirits & Cold Biers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConversations with Marco Polo: The Remarkable Life of Eugene C. Haderlie Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsENGLISH FAIRY TALES - 43 folk and fairy tales from old England Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe A to Z of Alfie Zeller Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Humor & Satire For You
A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love and Other Words Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anxious People: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swamp Story: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5101 Fun Personality Quizzes: Who Are You . . . Really?! Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing the Guys Who Killed the Guy Who Killed Lincoln: A Nutty Story About Edwin Booth and Boston Corbett Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Best F*cking Activity Book Ever: Irreverent (and Slightly Vulgar) Activities for Adults Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mindful As F*ck: 100 Simple Exercises to Let That Sh*t Go! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Farrell Covington and the Limits of Style: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Go the F**k to Sleep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Big Swiss: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 2,548 Wittiest Things Anybody Ever Said Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Soulmate Equation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solutions and Other Problems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex Hacks: Over 100 Tricks, Shortcuts, and Secrets to Set Your Sex Life on Fire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tidy the F*ck Up: The American Art of Organizing Your Sh*t Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In a Holidaze Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nothing to See Here: A Read with Jenna Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for English Word History
0 ratings0 reviews