bookshelf

TALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Name: TALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Author: Lane Greene
ISBN: 978-1-61039-833-6

WHY LANGUAGE CAN'T BE TAMED

by Lane Greene ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 6, 2018

A brisk, informative look at the complexities of human communication.

bookshelf

A linguist celebrates the adaptability and richness of language.

Economist language columnist Greene (You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity, 2011) sees language as “ambiguous, changing, incomplete, redundant and illogical” as well as “robust, organic, and evolving.” Language, he writes admiringly, “is a wild animal like a wolf, well adapted for its conditions and its needs.” Erudite and ebullient, he disparages prescriptive pundits and purists who bemoan the decline of correct word choice and resist change. Spoken language is continually in flux, and even written English, while abiding by grammatical conventions, “is a mixed language that provides a reader not with a rigid logical code, but a menu of options for getting ideas effectively into the reader’s mind.” Greene profiles a few notorious sticklers, such as the British writer Nevile Martin Gwynne, a self-appointed “grammar crank” with “a nostalgia and reverence for Latin.” Greene points out, however, that Latin and Greek can lead to a flawed analysis of English, which is a Germanic language. Some who argue that thought depends on grammar have tried to invent logical languages—Lojban and Esperanto, for example—but have attracted few followers. Although some language purists believe in the explicit teaching of rules, Greene argues that exposing students to “a blizzard of grammatical terminology” does not make better writers. Children “need to read, read and read some more, starting as early as possible,” so they gain “an implicit knowledge of the rules of good writing.” Language learning leads the author to consider efforts to program computers to understand and generate conversation and to design machine translation, which requires powerful machines with access to a huge database. Google Translate, using a statistical approach to translating texts from one language to another, has proven more accurate than earlier programs, although the results, Greene acknowledges, are not flawless. Language is inextricably connected to power, the author asserts, noting that majority-language nationalism may lead to political upheaval.

A brisk, informative look at the complexities of human communication.

Pub Date: Nov. 6, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-61039-833-6

Page Count: 240

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Review Posted Online: Aug. 19, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.