Reference

A fascinating and laugh-out-loud funny collection of musings on the nature of language and the ways it works.

It's usual to think that meaning is contained in words, the way sardines come in tins or milk in bottles. Words are things you can look up in a dictionary. But dictionaries only take you so far. The meaning of language is also found in how it is used: in grammar, in the 'DNA' of the words used, their context (business? social? political? romantic? economic?), the influences that affect changes in the way words are used, even in the way they are delivered. In this brilliant collection, Ruth Wajnryb entertainingly explores, examines and explains why our language works the way it does.