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Indlæser... Strictly Speaking (1974)af Edwin Newman
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Bliv medlem af LibraryThing for at finde ud af, om du vil kunne lide denne bog. Der er ingen diskussionstråde på Snak om denne bog. The best thing about this book was that it is short. The author writes poorly and comes across as terribly conceited, which makes what he is trying to say particularly amusing. ( ) It's a true pleasure to be reminded that there was a time when somone knew the difference between "less" and "fewer" - and cared. Witty, funny, and at times downright acerbic, Newman skewers those who abuse the language once known as English. And, although his title specifies America, he doesn't spare our brothers over the pond, either, turning his wit to various ways that the English mangle English, as well. He soon tires of that, and returns home, with a wide ranging look at pop culture, theatre, sports, and politics. The media come in for a fair share, as well. I'm afraid to recommend it to many modern readers, since he often throws the misuse out there without explanation, expecting his readers will be learned enough to catch the horrors, but common usage has become so degraded these days, I'm afraid many may not. 1510 Strictly Speaking: Will America Be the Death of English? by Edwin Newman (read 7 Apr 1979) This is a very uneven book, some of it so funny, and other seemingly thrown together to make it book length. My favorite from it: "Or this, from a UPI story about motherly weather in Utah: 'After stuffing the apparel in the Cessna 210's window to keep out the blistering winds, a snowstorm completely covered the craft.'" But there seemed to be a lot of filler in the book, and it is not organized at all: it just jumps from one thing to another with no discernible system. ingen anmeldelser | tilføj en anmeldelse
Distinctions
Admiring colleagues have called Edwin Newman an antipollutant, sensibly sardonic, a rare bird, a genial intellect, a man nobody is going to fool anywhere, anytime, anyway. Here, in his first book, these qualities are joined. Newman focuses on the sorry state of the English language as a reflection of the sorry state of the society. He skewers stereotypes, clich#65533;s, errors, and jargon used by weather forecasters, presidents, vice-presidents, sportscasters, diplomats, senators, pollsters, convention nominators, corporation executives, newsmen, advertisers, Watergate defendants, social scientists, college presidents, foreign correspondents, youth. If words are devalued, he argues, so are ideas and so are human beings. Drawing upon his wealth of experience in newspapers, radio, and television, Newman contends with headwind components, game plans, bottom lines, out of sight, confidence factors, unsightly bulges, nitty gritty, and such. He deflates the pompous, the grandiose, the stilted, and the hollow. He rejoices in language that is lucid, graceful, direct, civilized. The reader rejoices with him. No library descriptions found. |
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