Language History

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE An “elegantly argued and exuberantly narrated” (The New York Times Book Review) look at the building of social movements—from the 1600s to the present—and how current technology is undermining them “A bravura work...

The Pun Also Rises is an authoritative yet playful exploration of a practice that is common, in one form or another, to virtually every language on earth. At once entertaining and educational, this engaging book answers fundamental questions: Just what is a pun, and why do people make them? How did punning impact the development of human language, and how did that drive creativity and progress? And why, after centuries of decline, does the pun still matter?

Here is the remarkable story of how this humble language took vigorous root in Eastern European shtetls and in the Jewish quarters of cities across Europe; how it achieved a rich literary flowering between the wars in Europe and America; how it was rejected by emancipated Jews; and how it fell victim to the Holocaust. And also how, in yet another twist of destiny, Yiddish today is becoming the darling of academia. Yiddish is a history as story; a tale of flesh-and-blood people with manic humor.

WINNER OF THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD A fun and thoughtful dictionary of Black language you didn’t know you needed, Historically Black Phrases is a love letter to the Black community and the ways it drives culture. “This perfect blend of explanation, definition and social commentary will have...

In The Dictionary Wars, Peter Martin recounts the patriotic fervor in the early American republic to produce a definitive national dictionary that would rival Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. But what began as a cultural war of independence from Britain devolved into a battle among lexicographers, authors, scholars, and publishers, all vying for dictionary supremacy and shattering forever the dream of a unified American language.

Audiokurs prednaznachen dlja uchashhihsja 11 klassov obshheobrazovatel'nyh uchrezhdenij. V interesnoj i dostupnoj forme on znakomit uchenikov s epohoj Novoj istorii, ee sobytijami i gerojami. Eto uprostit i uskorit obuchenie, pozvolit dat' ucheniku ischerpyvajushhij otvet na urokah.

Socrates' admonition that "the unexamined life is not worth living" still resonates with many people, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy is a great introduction to that mental exercise. Jay Stevenson skillfully covers the subject both historically and topically and brings the reader...

Why did once-stone-faced animals evolve to be so emotionally expressive—to be us? The answer, as evolutionary neurobiologist Mark Changizi and mathematician Tim Barber reveal, is that emotional expressions are our first and most important language—one that allows us, as social animals, to engage in highly sophisticated communications and negotiations.

In this part-memoir, part-manifesto, an acclaimed poet interprets Black radical literary traditions to reimagine freedom through refusal. Over the past decade, Camonghne Felix has been at the center of American politics, working in strategy, communications, and as a speechwriter. Throughout it...

Sixteen historians, all members of the Society of Independent Southern Historians, have come together to write this truthful history of America specifically for home-schooled students. Herein is a history that is truthful, concise, yet comprehensive, written especially for students of middle school and high school age and for the parents who provide guidance through the home school educational approach. The 40 student lessons in this book present 278 years of our history.

From studying Italian Renaissance while waiting in traffic to learning about the Russian Revolution on your iPod at the gym, AudioLearn is your complete audio study guide to the European History. With its convenient format, AudioLearn fits your busy lifestyle, enabling you to study anywhere, anytime. Best of all, you'll significantly increase learning and retention with AudioLearn's proven study format. So make sure you score a perfect five on your AP exam and gain valuable college credits - get AudioLearn AP European History today!

"The Story of Peter Pan", by James M. Barrie, is one of the most famous tales about youth and dream-like adventures; this classic adaptation of Barrie's play will let you fly on the wings of your imagination. "The History of Tom Thumb" was the first fairy tale ever printed in English. "The Three Sillies" is a very old folktale, and has been handed down over the centuries for its entertainment value. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a classic folktale of which numerous versions are known; they all delight and educate children about the importance of boundaries and personal property. Last but not least, "Jack the Giant Killer" is a fascinating folk tale coming from the Middle Ages, set during King Arthur's reign; it shows how a young man uses clever tricks to outwit terrible giants and rid England of their terrible threats.

Where do our everyday words come from? The bagel you eat for breakfast, the bumf you have to wade through at the office, and the bus that takes you home again: we use these words without thinking about their origins or how their meanings have changed over time. Simon Horobin takes the listener on a journey through a typical day, showing how the words we use to describe routine activities - getting up, going to work, eating meals - have surprisingly fascinating histories.

What does it take to reinvent a language? After a meteoric rise, China today is one of the world’s most powerful nations. Just a century ago, it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, as the world underwent a massive technological transformation that threatened to...

Splendiferous Speech explores the main sources of the American vernacular - the expanding western frontier, the bumptious world of politics, and the sensation-filled pages of popular 19th-century newspapers. It's a process that started with the earliest English colonists (first word adoption - the Algonquian raccoon) and is still going strong today. Author Rosemarie Ostler takes listeners along on the journey as Americans learn to declare linguistic independence and embrace their own brand of speech.

It is widely understood that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution completely revolutionized the study of biology. Yet, according to David Sloan Wilson, the Darwinian revolution won’t be truly complete until it is applied more broadly—to everything associated with the words “human,”...

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his own words: the definitive collection of his opinions, speeches, and articles on the most essential and vexing legal questions, with an intimate foreword by Justice Elena Kagan “[Scalia’s writings] are as readable today as they were when they first...

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST From the acclaimed author of My Cat Yugoslavia: a stunning, incandescent new novel that speaks to identity, war, exile, love, betrayal, and heartbreak The death of head of state Enver Hoxha and the loss of his father leave Bujar growing up in the ruins of Communist...

Diane Johnson returns with another expatriate comedy of manners in this tale of a young dot-com executive from California who sets off for Europe to find culture, her roots, and maybe a cause to devote her considerable fortune to. When Amy checks into one of the finest small hotels in the French...

Addresses how tech empowers community organizing and protest movements to combat the systems of capitalism and data exploitation that helped drive tech’s own rise to ubiquity. Our smartphones have brought digital technology into the most intimate spheres of life. It’s time to take control of...