Richler, who writes a language column for the Montreal Gazette , describes the English language as permeable, inherently chaotic, incredibly fertile, and absolutely faithless. He loves it. Well bred languages, he says, are unable to enjoy the same degree of riddles, anagrams, lipograms, puns, and palindromes. He runs it through its tricks. Being from Montreal, he may have more of a political or cultural message than Americans would necessarily catch. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

A Bawdy Language: How a Second-Rate Language Slept Its Way to the Top

Richler, Howard

Stoddart Pub.

xiii + 208 pages, discussion of the evolution of the English language and its adoption and adaption of terms from other languages

A Bawdy Language

History

World

Drawing from his "Speaking of Language" columns written for The Montreal Gazette, Howard Richler invites readers to enjoy the pleasures of exploring the English language—which is rapidly becoming the world’s lingua franca. Among other things, Richler traces how foreign words invaded the English language over the centuries, and how people’s names came into existence. Richler completes his tour of English with a special section on Canadian English. Take My Words also contains many entertaining puzzles, quizzes and word games to challenge readers’ skills.

Take My Words: A Wordaholic's Guide to the English Language

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Ronsdale Pr

Celebrating a language that is spoken by 1.6 billion people, this entertaining analysis explores the international growth of English and gives an in-depth examination of its history. Explaining the differences and similarities between the eight English-languages—African, American, Australian/New Zealand, British, Canadian, Caribbean, East Asian, and South Asian—this survey reflects on both dialect and usage. With humor and fascinating facts, the book illustrates the changes implemented by English and evaluates the impact of other languages on English, asserting that it is truly the first global tongue.

Global Mother Tongue: The Eight Flavours of English

Véhicule Press

In his fifth book about language, Howard Richler moves from A to Z with a specifically chosen word for every letter of the alphabet. What especially intrigues him is how words come to mean what they mean, how they lose some meanings and gain others. Always humorous, Richler invites readers into the intimacy of language and allows us to delight in the ever-shifting glories of English.Not since Lynn Truss&#146s Eats, Shoots & Leaves has a book about language been so hilarious and informative. This book is a must not only for the bookshelves of all logophiles, but also as the bible for the many family members and friends whose get-togethers often spark lively linguistic argument."Howard Richler is an intoxicated and intoxicating wordaholic who gets unrepentantly high on all flavors, savors, bouquets, and proofs of words. He is a genuinely certified verbivore who feasts on words. "&#151Richard Lederer, author of Anguished English, Crazy English, and The Miracle of Language.

Can I Have a Word with You?

Reference

Words, Language & Grammar

Ronsdale Press

Literary Nonfiction. The bawdy English language has never been overly concerned with purity, and this promiscuous proclivity has contributed to many alluring word histories. Richler combines his etymological talents with those of the muck-raking journalist to expose the louche baggage that many words have accumulated throughout the centuries. Composed of short chapters with each containing ten words from specific fields, STRANGE BEDFELLOWS will surprise and delight the reader.

Strange Bedfellows: The Private Lives of Words

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Literary Nonfiction. LGBT Studies. An old joke goes like this: What's the difference between a good girl and a nice girl? Answer: The good girl goes to a party, goes home then goes to bed, whereas the nice girl goes to the party, goes to bed, then goes home. The distinction made between the two types of young ladies would probably have been appreciated by Shakespeare. While we think of "nice" nowadays as being a synonym for pleasant it wasn't always so; originally the word's meaning conveyed the naughtiness implied in the joke. It wasn't until the middle of the 18th century that this word conveyed the sense of pleasantness that we now associate with the word. In his book HOW HAPPY BECAME HOMOSEXUAL AND OTHER MYSTERIOUS SEMANTIC SHIFTS, Richler educates and entertains us while explaining how words such as "nice" and "gay" have changed meanings. Surprisingly, we discover that even many of our nouns and verbs have been in a constant state of flux. For example, originally "jeopardy" was a term used in chess and "to fizzle" meant "to break wind silently." This morphing of meanings is ever-present, and Richler explains how, even in the last twenty years or so, words such as "fulsome" are in the midst of a reversal of meaning. So whether you are gay (happy), gay (homosexual) or a melancholy heterosexual, Richler will lead you into a word-world of entertaining change.

How Happy Became Homosexual and Other Mysterious Semantic Shifts

Literary Nonfiction. To some extent, everyone plays with language and uses it as a form of recreation as well as a means of communication. Recognizing that the creation of true wit is a subjective endeavor, Richler suggests that the commission of language wit occurs not only wittingly, but also unwittingly and sometimes even half-wittedly. When we consciously manipulate language for the purpose of wit, Richler designates this process "arranged wit," and because sometimes the humor seemingly emanates from the mind of a nitwit rather than a wit, Richler designates this "deranged wit." Moreover, what appears to be deranged can be actually artfully arranged, or as Polonius might say, there is much method to the madness. Join Richler in WORDPLAY as he highlights the most whimsical English language writers throughout the ages and analyzes what constitutes both arranged and deranged wit. Prepare for chuckles aplenty, and even belly laughs.

Wordplay: Arranged & Deranged Wit

The Dead Sea Scroll Palindromes

Literature & Fiction

Robert Davies Pub

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