I’m not extremely interested in lexicography, but a nerd appreciates other nerds when they see one. While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing them is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. Word by Word brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a startlingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing dictionaries is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. Sarah Grey reviews.

She herself writes in the language of everyday educated middle-class discourse, though with a vocabulary that jolts it out of its characteristic blandness. Publication Date: March 14, 2017.

Converted file can differ from the original. Pantheon Books, 2017. Senate Republicans release report on Hunter Biden's 'problematic' business ties.
Change ). There are also lots of editors checking and revising the definitions. These are the questions that keep lexicographers up at night.

Of course, as rational creatures we know that dictionaries must be made by people, yet we don’t really think of them as human productions. File: EPUB, 6.49 MB. Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. All of them work for publishers who from time to time publish completely updated editions of their dictionary, including new words and recording changed meanings of old ones. She tells a story of how she came across “NUDE” makeup, palettes while shopping for foundation and mascara with her 15-, year-old daughter: ‘I put the makeup back, then turn to see my, daughter staring at me. They seem to be just there like works of nature or age-old monuments. FREE study guides and infographics!

Buy Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Stamper, Kory (ISBN: 9781101870945) from Amazon's Book Store. We are so wedded to the idea that dictionaries are authoritative guardians ensuring the purity of the language that every new edition gets reviled for including new coinages, variant usages, and words that most people try not to say in front of their children.

Stamper’s passion for the English language really shines through. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. I just read the chapter called Irregardless: On Wrong Words.

Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries.

Do you have strong feelings about the word “irregardless”? Summary #1 Haas and Flower (Intro to rhet and nar), McDonald Fall 2013 ENC 1143 83203 SYLLABUS.
A sure delight for all lovers of words, Word by Word might also quietly improve readers' grasp and use of the English language.

Post a Review You can write a book review … Have you ever tried to define the word “is”? Quiz: Can you pass a basic planet Earth science test? Did you know that OMG was first used in 1917, in a letter to Winston Churchill? ( Log Out /  Drawing from her extensive experience, Ms. Stamper takes you in a highly entertaining manner through …

It may takes up to 1-5 minutes before you received it. In Word by Word, she opens up the complicated, obsessive, and fun world of dictionaries and the quirky people who shape the way we communicate. Kory Stamper's book, Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries, lets me in on all the dirty little secrets of dictionary-making (a lot like making sausages, it turns out). Democrats are the real hypocrites in latest Supreme Court saga, Miguel Estrada as Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick could right historic wrong, GOP Senators must vote to restore role of Supreme Court as interpreter of the Constitution, WORD BY WORD: THE SECRET LIFE OF DICTIONARIES, TOP STORIES In less time than it takes to read this, you can help us decide where to go next: take our NPL Universe survey. And not just one word: every word. CNN quiet as Biden claims nobody would have died from virus if Trump had ‘done his job’, Van Morrison slams ‘fascist bullies’ in new protest songs against coronavirus lockdowns, ‘Antifa is a real thing’: FBI director knocks down Dem’s comment during violence hearing, Black conservatives rise to counter Black Lives Matter narrative: ‘Racism is dead, or damn near’, Quiz: Take the political scandals in U.S. history test. A ‘dramatic shift’ among Catholics is drawing the devoted to Trump’s ‘fortitude and courage’, Rising red tide: Russia accused of trashing Bering Strait amid Arctic power struggle, Liberal advocacy group plans to hold protests at McConnell’s home, offices, Doctor: “Doing This Every Morning Can Snap Back Sagging Skin (No Creams Needed)”, ‘View’ co-host Joy Behar triggered after Kim Klacik brings up her ‘Blackface’ costume, How ICE ‘abandoned’ cities and forced communities like Los Angeles to embrace sanctuary status.

Kory Stamper’s description of the mail that poured in when the definition of marriage was rephrased to acknowledge contemporary reality is an extraordinary account of a cascade of anger.