Books about the English language

History of English

Spellbound: The Improbable Story of English Spelling: The True Story of Man's Greatest Invention (or: Spellbound: The Surprising Origins and Astonishing Secrets of English Spelling)
James Essinger, 224 pp, 2006
A good-humored buoyant style helps make this examination of the origin and current state of English spelling a pleasure to read
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (6 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 10.95

The Unfolding of Language. The Evolution of Mankind's greatest Invention
by Guy Deutscher 360pp, William Heinemann, 2006
Investigation into the evolution of language in general.
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de €13.90
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (1 review, 5 stars)

The Stories of English
by David Crystal 608pp Allen Lane History of English (inc. dialects)
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (3 reviews, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de €15.73

The Adventure of English
by Melvyn Bragg 354 pp, Hodder & Stoughton, 2004
History of English
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (11 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 15.00 (2 reviews, 5 stars)

I have this: it's informative and quite interesting, but the writing style is rather repetitive. (Perhaps it was dictated? It gets a little irritating sometimes.) Mr Bragg doesn't claim to be an expert on language, and isn't, but has read up well on the subject. Still, there seems to be a suggestion that English is a superior language and was thus destined to survive.

The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language
John McWhorter 327pp, Heinemann, 2003
History of language in general
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP ?? (3 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 11.50

A History of the English Language
by Albert C Baugh, 464 pp, 2002
A comprehensive exploration of the linguistic and cultural development of English, from the Middle Ages to the present day
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 15.99
www.amazon.de/ € ?? (4 reviews, 5 stars)

Good English

Beyond Words: How Language Reveals the Way We Live Now
John Humphrys, 2006, 256 pp
John takes a sharp look at phrases and expressions in current use to expose the often hidden attitudes that lie behind them
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.60

Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language
John Humphrys, 2005, 352 pp
The decline of the English language
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (17 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.31

She Literally Exploded: The "Daily Telegraph" Infuriating Phrasebook
Christopher Howse, Richard Preston, 2007, 144 pp
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.03 (3 reviews, 2 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 9.99

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
by Lynn Truss, 2003
Punctuation, funny
books.guardian.co.uk
books.guardian.co.uk
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 3.99 (169 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de/ € 7.95 (8 reviews, 3 stars)

I have this. Despite some of the acrid reviews, it is an amusing book you can read in the bath without falling asleep. It even teaches you some of the basic rules of British English punctuation.

Between You And I: a little book of bad English
by James Cochrane, 2005
books.guardian.co.uk/
www.amazon.de €11.50
www.amazon.co.uk GBP ?? (5 reviews, 3 stars)

Mind the Gaffe: The Penguin Guide to Common Errors in English
by RL Trask (Penguin, £6.99) , 2002
How to write simply and effectively
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de €12.31
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.99 (2 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)

The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left
David Crystal, 2007
Debate on punctuation, spelling and pronunciation
www.amazon.de € 11.50
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.89 (2 reviews, 3 stars)

Anguished English: An Anthology of Accidental Assaults Upon the English Language
by Richard Lederer, 192 pp, 2006, Wyrick & Co, U.S., revised ed.
A wide-ranging anthology of rib-tickling bloopers
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.79
www.amazon.de € 6.49 (10 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)

Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English
by Patricia O'Conner, 256 pp, 2003, Riverhead Books (USA)
Lighthearted, witty instruction on the subject most of us dreaded in school--grammar
www.amazon.de/ € 16.50 (43 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)

The Elements of Style
Strunk & White, 4th ed. 1999, 105 pp
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 4.49 (16 reviews, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 9.45 (30 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)

Other

The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language
David Crystal, 2002, 336 pp
Common structures that unify English across the world
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.49 (2 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.de € 12.45

Words Words Words
David Crystal, 2007, 224 pp
A celebration of what we say and how we say it.
www.amazon.co.uk/ GBP 6.74 (2 reviews, 4 stars)
www.amazon.de € 14.23

By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English
by David Crystal, 336 pp, 2007
Entertaining travelogue mapping language
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 11.04 (2 reviews, 4 stars)
www.amazon.de/ € 26.80

Mother Tongue
by Bill Bryson, 1991
A witty, irreverent but very useful account of the peculiarities of the English language
www.amazon.de € 12.95 (7 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 6.74 (45 reviews, 3 1/2 stars)

I have this. It's a funny book, with nice anecdotes and good examples of anagrams, etc. If you know anything about languages, or can speak German, it is potentially extremely irritating, Take a deep swig of wine, relax and ignore the glaring errors, and you'll have a good read.

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
by Simon Winchester 260pp, Oxford, 2003
History of OED
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.de € 20.01 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 5.99 (3 reviews, 4 1/2 stars)

A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 8th edition
by Eric Partridge, edited by Paul Beale 1,400pp, Routledge, 1984
Definitive work on slang and unconventional English
(or concise version, 1/4 of price quoted here)
books.guardian.co.uk
www.amazon.co.uk GBP 95.00 (1 review, 5 stars)
www.amazon.de € 197.50

die eierlegende Wollmilchsau

Eier legende W. (ugs. scherzh.; Person od. Sache, die keinerlei Nachteile aufweist, alle Bedürfnisse befriedigt, allen Ansprüchen genügt © 2000 Dudenverlag

Dictionaries:

Collins e-Großwörterbuch:
all-providing genetically engineered animal - OMG what a load of %@&§! Who put that in, someone on work experience?! The Wollmilchsau is genetically engineered? Incredible.

Langenscheidt Muret-Sanders Großwörterbuch Deutsch-English: DOESN'T HAVE IT?? Shock after shock.

Others' ideas:

• "... does everything but make the tea" (although the ELWMS makes the tea ...)


• "... and makes the coffee too" (could be good in context)


• "egg-laying jackrabbit mule" link (This must be a US thing, although it gets hardly any Google hits at all, and it is only an unbelievable fantasy creature, not something which fulfils all your dreams.)


• "jack of all trades, master of none" - "a person who can do many different types of work, but who perhaps does not do them very well" link - this has too much of a negative suggestion for me. An ELWMS can do everything well.


• "all-singing, all-dancing" (seems to be UK only) - I like this.

My ideas:

• El Dorado, Shangri-La (in context)


• The ultimate, unattainable dream/goal


• The goose that lays/laid the golden egg(s) - although this usually means an existing source of great profit, it can also mean something you are striving to get hold of.
• 0r even: the master of all trades, which is creative, but actually used quite often (creatively), e.g. here and here

In context:

Ich war begeistert: Der Studiengang hatte alles, was ich wollte, so wie eine eierlegende Wollmilchsau. link

... the goose that laid the golden eggs

(here, it seems to actually be attainable, not a dream...)

Die Firmen suchen in ihren Stellenanzeigen natürlich immer die Eier legende Wollmilchsau. Das schreckt ab.

... all-singing, all-dancing all-rounders

On (the) one hand ...

on the (one) hand

Does anyone know if it's considered better to say:

on one hand, it's great, but ...
or
on the one hand it's great, but ...

Steve (BE) says:
"I think I would probably say either, but in writing I'd prefer to use the article, for reasons of symmetry"

The OED says:
"on (the) one hand, on the other hand" are used to indicate two contrasted sides of a subject, circumstances, considerations, points of view, etc."

The British history saga

January 2007 -- breaking news on the BBC:
"Schools 'must teach Britishness' ... A review of how schools teach citizenship found there was not enough emphasis on UK identity and history." link

BBC forum user:
"This is were [sic] multiculturalism has brought us. An emphasis on learning ethnic backgrounds, white children marginalised in some schools, 1 in 5 children of an ethnic background, over 50% of all pupils in inner city schools of an ethnic background, English spoken as only the second language by many Asians. We must stop any more immigration and we must withdraw from the Human Rights Act, it is an asylum seekers / economic migrants charter." link (Recommended by 297 people)

July 2007 -- also on the BBC:
"Pupils in primary and secondary schools across England lack an overview of world history and have little sense of chronology, Ofsted inspectors warn. The watchdog said the curriculum was too England-focused, ignoring the rest of the UK and Europe. ... 'Importantly too, in many schools, the stories of the people who have come to Britain over the centuries are ignored'" link

Leo classics

Disgusting six-gear menu

"Deeper" meaning of "Firma"

Firma einer Gesellschaft

Firma einer Gesellschaft - name of a company

Firma [ital. firma, eigtl.= bindende, rechtskräftige Unterschrift, zu: firmare = durch Unterschrift rechtskräftig machen < firmare =" bekräftigen,"
© 2000 Dudenverlag

Aus: BERTELSMANN Wörterbuch
Firma [f. -; -men] 1 Name eines Geschäfts oder Unternehmens 2 [Abk.: Fa.] Geschäft, Betrieb, Unternehmen ["ital. firma ”Unterschrift, Unterschriftsvollmacht, Prokura“, auch ”Name einer Person (sowie diese selbst), die einen guten Ruf genießt“, zu firmare ”unterschreiben (und damit gewährleisten)“]

Auszüge aus dem Eintrag im Creifelds Rechtswörterbuch:
Firma ist im Handelsrecht der Name, unter dem ein Kaufmann im Handel seine Geschäfte betreibt und die Unterschrift abgibt. Eine Firma kann nur ein Vollkaufmann führen. Die Firma bezeichnet den Kaufmann als Inhaber des Handelsgeschäfts, ist aber lediglich sein Name (...) Einzelfirma ist die Firma eines Einzelkaufmanns. Gesellschaftsfirma die Firma einer Handelsgesellschaft (...) Für das Firmenrecht hat die Rechtslehre folgende Grundsätze aufgestellt: 1. Firmeneinheit. Für jedes Unternehmen darf nur eine einzige Firma geführt werden (...)

Penguin says: What probably confuses you is the fact that this originally very specific term has become a general / generic term for any form of company in normal everyday usage.

Religion

"Heute sind in Westdeutschland 74 Prozent der Wohnbevölkerung Mitglied einer christlichen Kirche. In Ostdeutschland sind es nur noch 27 Prozent. Im gesamtdeutschen Durchschnitt ergibt das gut 64 Prozent." a

"Nine in 10 (91 percent) of American adults say they believe in God and almost as many (87 percent) say they identify with a specific religion. Christians far outnumber members of any other faith in the country, with 82 percent of the poll’s respondents identifying themselves as such. " b

"About half of the British believe in God, yet about 72% told the 2001 census that they were Christian, and 66% of the population have no actual connection to any religion or church" c