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In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World
 
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In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most Intriguing Words Around the World (Hardcover)

by C. J. Moore (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press (17 Mar 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192806246
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192806246
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 492,662 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description
Why do we say bete noire and not 'black beast', doppelganger and not 'double goer'? When is it that meanings become lost in translation and it is simply more satisfying to use the original? This wonderfully accessible book gives unique insights into different cultures and languages by looking at the distinctive words they use as well as giving you a whole new vocabulary for those elusive things you never had a word for. Where would we be without saudade, the Portuguese wistful nostalgia which makes their fado music unlike any other in the world? What other word is there for the barefaced gutsy presumption encapsulated by the Yiddish word chutzpah? And wouldn't you like to have a word for that irritating person who buttonholes you to tell you their long stories of woe? They are truly an attaccabottoni (lit. = a person who attacks your buttons). Or what about the Japanese yokomeshi, which means 'horizontal rice', in other words a meal eaten sideways, and describes the difficulty of learning a foreign language - particularly appropriate for Japanese learners, where mastering the written language involves the shift from 'vertical' to 'horizontal' writing. Meticulously researched with dozens of specialist language consultants, and accessibly written by a linguist in the field, this book will appeal to anyone interested in language and world cultures. Exploring the words of different languages by chapter, the volume is lavishly illustrated in colour and extremely browsable. The foreword is written by Simon Winchester. This book is for anyone who has ever travelled and been fascinated by the culture they were visiting. In Other Words is a guide to the linguistic gems that capture a notion, defy translation, and define the cultures of the world.

About the Author
Christopher J. Moore is an advocate for literacy and English Language teaching. He was an author and editor with Heinemann Educational Books for over a decade and is also well known as the author of Ishtar and Tammuz (which won the UK Reading Association award), Peter William Butterblow, and Wild Goose Lake.

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5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars In Other Words deserves more, 23 Feb 2005
By peter charles "peter charles" (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
In all, a very good book with a core great idea, that could have been expanded considerably.

Unfortunately the research should have been tightened since there are one or two obvious mistakes.

A real "howler" occurs in the Yiddish Language section
where the language of the Bible, Hebrew, is described as
"fusion language, with Yiddish as its bedrock".

If so, one could describe Latin as a fusion language with
French as its bedrock!

Some of my favorites such as bupkis, schadenfreude, esprit de l'escalier and litost are well covered.

Yours very sincerely, Peter Charles,
Jerusalem

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