Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English by Orin Hargraves

by Orin Hargraves

Americans and Britons are exposed to unedited texts, scripts, and speech from one another's dialects at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. Most people have no trouble understanding the general meaning of language in the other dialect, but readers and listeners very often fail to understand or misunderstand critical words, references, and allusions for lack of familiarity of the social and cultural contexts that underlie various usages. This book remedies this gap in understanding by cataloguing the differences that language users on either side of the Atlantic are likely to encounter in their dealings with the other dialect. By taking a culturally neutral stance it addresses the needs of both British and American readers and listeners. The thematic organization of the book allows the user to access language differences in various subject areas, where words likely to be needed at the same time can all be found together. Chapters include; Politics, Law, and Government; Business and Money; Medicine and Healthcare; Education; Food, Clothing, and Shelter; Transportation; Sports; and Profanity and Obscenity, in addition to basic information on orthography, weights and measures, etc. The appendices and extensive index provide a ready point of entry for quick look-ups, and there will be an extra chapter on Canadian, Australian, and Asian English.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Language

Hardcover

First published December 19, 2002

About the author

Orin Hargraves is a native and current resident of Colorado. He graduated from the University of Chicago (BA with Honors) in 1977. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco in the 1980s. He is the author of three guidebooks in the Culture Shock! series: Morocco, London, and Chicago. He began his career in lexicography while living in London in the early 1990s. He has since written numerous articles and books about language, as well as contributing to dozens of dictionaries from publishers internationally. At present he lives in Niwot, Colorado and teaches writing at CU-Boulder. He is past president of the Dictionary Society of North America. He writes the monthly "Language Lounge" column for VisualThesaurus.com. His fiction is available on Amazon Kindle.

Reviews

[NormaCenva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful!

[Karen (Living Unabridged) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful discussion and lists illuminating the differences between American English and British English. Some typos, especially later in the book. Attempts to be respectful of the major worldview / political differences but is not always successful.

Recommended for fans of British TV or word / linguistics aficionados.