Lost For Words
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'Humphrys is passionate about language - and very funny too' (Rod Liddle )
'Greatly enjoyable' (Simon Hoggart, Guardian )
'for all those who care about the English language' (Ann Widdecombe, New Statesman )
'It is always exhilarating to read a book which says what so many of us think' (Jonathan Keates, Spectator )
'Timely and lively' (Sunday Telegraph )
'Let us be very clear about this from the start: John Humphrys is a Good Thing' (Evening Standard )
'the Jack Russell of the Today programme has now chosen to take some well aimed snaps at solecism, jargon, cliche and weasel words... It is always exhilarating to read a book which says what so many of us think' (Spectator )
'I commend Citizen Humphrys' (Daily Mail )
'You will have fun with this book' (Guardian )
'an exquisite sensitivity to the misuse of the English language' (The Sunday Times )
'Greatly enjoyable' (Simon Hoggart, Guardian )
'for all those who care about the English language' (Ann Widdecombe, New Statesman )
'It is always exhilarating to read a book which says what so many of us think' (Jonathan Keates, Spectator )
'Timely and lively' (Sunday Telegraph )
'Let us be very clear about this from the start: John Humphrys is a Good Thing' (Evening Standard )
'the Jack Russell of the Today programme has now chosen to take some well aimed snaps at solecism, jargon, cliche and weasel words... It is always exhilarating to read a book which says what so many of us think' (Spectator )
'I commend Citizen Humphrys' (Daily Mail )
'You will have fun with this book' (Guardian )
'an exquisite sensitivity to the misuse of the English language' (The Sunday Times )
Jonathan Keates, Spectator
'It is always exhilarating to read a book which says what so many of us think'
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very entertaining read,
By
This review is from: Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language (Paperback)
I have just read the other Amazon reviews of this book and I'd like to start by saying that I find it exasperating when people criticize an author for giving their personal opinion when that author states quite clearly at the start of the book that they are giving their personal opinion! This is John Humphry's view of the sad decline in the correct use of English. He's not an academic, so this is not a rule book (though you may well learn something - I certainly did). He's an experienced journalist and broadcaster, and as such he is an expert at spotting when people use fancy words to say very little. There are some fantastic examples in here of advertising jargon and political guff. And he's not afraid to name and shame the worst offenders. The section on business-speak gives a mind-boggling selection of non-words. I have to confess that I now regularly threaten to 'de-individuate' my sons when they don't get ready quickly enough in the morning. Humphrys accepts that English is constantly evolving and he acknowledges that he is intensely irritated by some linguistic developments that are happily accepted by others. There is certainly an element of Grumpy Old Man-ism here but personally I find that quite entertaining. In summary this book is a personal view of the abuse and misuse of English. Keep that in mind and you won't go far wrong.
77 of 82 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, Intelligent and sane,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language (Hardcover)
This has been a great read and is more than just waking up with John Humphrys in the morning. The book is funny and sharp in its capturing the essence of what our language is going through. I loved the bits where he takes the language of politicians and exposes the conscious manipulation. It's more than about politics;everyone who misuses language (and there are a lot of them about including himself) gets caught in his sights. But it's not a pedantic book. It's very entertaining.
57 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
lost for words,
By A Customer
This review is from: Lost for Words: The Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language (Hardcover)
This really is a good book. I thought at first it was going to be a Humphry's rant, which it is but it is also very much more.The first half of the book is about mangling language. Humphreys cares passionately that language should be used to communicate and it upsets him when it does the opposite ,either deliberately or through neglect. He uses examples, written and spoken, from a variety of sources to illustrate mangling. however, I think the book is best when Humphrys shows us how politicians,advertisers and others deliberately mangle language to hide the truth or to communicate an idea so losely that they cannot be held accountable for it. He shows how language can be used to communicate along a spectrum running from clarity to deception. But he's not a pendant. He believes that almost every language rule can be broken as long as it is clear. Readers will also discover that they are not the only ones to listen to the weather forecast but hear nothing. Humphrys manages all of this with great humour.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
