David Wilton (1) (1963–)
Autore di Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends
Per altri autori con il nome David Wilton, vedi la pagina di disambiguazione.
Sull'Autore
David Wilton is the creator and editor of Wordorigins.org, since 1997 a leading Internet site for word and phrase origins. In May 1999 Yahoo Internet Life awarded the site 4 stars, calling it one of the best reference sites on the web. An amateur logophile, Mr. Wilton earned his undergraduate mostra altro degree in Government and Law from Lafayette College and his master's degree in National Security Policy Studies from George Washington University. Over the years, Mr. Wilton has had an eclectic career, serving as a journalist, Army officer, defense contractor, chemical and biological arms control negotiator, and software marketing executive mostra meno
Opere di David Wilton
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1963-07-24
- Sesso
- male
- Nazionalità
- USA
- Istruzione
- University of Toronto (PhD - English)
- Attività lavorative
- lecturer (English)
Utenti
Recensioni
Word myths : debunking linguistic urban legends di David Wilton
This book discusses urban myths about English word etymologies. While entertaining, I found , even for the urban legends I would have never believed, the legend so much more interesting than the actual etymology that I was worried I wouldn't remember the actual origin of the word. I guess that's what makes them spread so well even though untrue.
David Wilton takes on the sacred cows of word or phrase origins (such as "Ring Around the Rosie" and "The Windy City") and provides their actual provenance and/or etymology. Naturally, there are some words and phrases that can't be traced to their origins: for these, Wilton shows us how the myth cannot be true. His breezy, light touch is just the right style for this sort of work. He's humorous without being petty, and informative without being pedantic. A fun read.
This book aims to examine urban myths surrounding word origins, phrases, and commonly held misperceptions about words. Included: how many words for snow to Eskimos really have, "OK," and whether or not picnics are racist. Wilton does an excellent job of presenting the stories and why the stories started, and then ripping the stories to shreds. He also includes his research methods, which is a nice addition. Unlike most books like this, the words and phrases are organized based on a theme, not in alphabetical order.
Entertaining read for armchair linguists.… (altro)
Entertaining read for armchair linguists.… (altro)
Urban legends for the entymologist. In some ways its kind of depressing to learn that those cute little stories you always heard were false but you get to learn new ones.
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 5
- Utenti
- 364
- Popolarità
- #66,014
- Voto
- 3.6
- Recensioni
- 5
- ISBN
- 8
