Autorenbild.
20 Werke 610 Mitglieder 12 Rezensionen

Über den Autor

Vivian Cook is an emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University. His main current interests are how people learn second languages and how writing works in different languages, particularly in street signs. He is a founder of the European Second Language Association and mehr anzeigen co-founder and co-editor of the journal Writing System Research. weniger anzeigen
Bildnachweis: Photo by Pam Cook

Werke von Vivian Cook

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Wissenswertes

Geburtstag
1940-06-13
Geschlecht
male
Nationalität
UK
UK
Berufe
linguist
university professor

Mitglieder

Rezensionen

 
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LindaLeeJacobs | 10 weitere Rezensionen | May 20, 2023 |
I didn't find this book as entertaining or informative as I had hoped. It is a collection of lists and examples that seem to be just stuff the author has amassed and decided to throw together. It certainly gives reasons why nobody can spell - our language is nuts! But I didn't really learn anything new, and I'm not even sure some of the information is accurate (for example, the author seems to think the word "fracas" has a silent "s" - maybe that's a British thing).
 
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glade1 | 10 weitere Rezensionen | Aug 18, 2014 |
This is a strange book and I'm not sure how well it travels outside the specific region for which it appears to have been written (southern England). There are some fascinating history lessons on English spelling but many of the more modern examples don't make sense outside of specific dialects. For example: our and awe aren't homophones where I live. They aren't even close! There are also some examples of "American" example which may been regionally correct but aren't nationally correct. Here are some examples: dialog, glamour, catalog. In my neck of the woods, they are spelled: dialogue, glamor, catalogue (except in LIS which goes for the catalog option). Then there is the weird spelling of hiccup (hiccough in the book). I've NEVER seen it spelled hiccough and even found a couple examples from the BBC website of the hiccup spelling. In conclusion, I think this book would have been stronger if it had just stayed with one dialect and its history of spelling rules.… (mehr)
 
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pussreboots | 10 weitere Rezensionen | Apr 9, 2013 |
The subtitle is actually somewhat misleading here, since it's not actually about why nobody can spell, but rather just a series of anecdotes and quizzes about spelling in general. This is not a book you just sit down and read all at once, but rather something you pick up from time to time and read a few pages. Much of the volume consists of examples of nonstandard (or plain old incorrect) spelling, from lists of band names to photos of business logos. My favorite parts were the ones that dealt with the evolution of language; some of the humor essays on spelling were pretty amusing as well. I suppose if you're obsessed with proper spelling you might enjoy this one, but honestly I'm not surprised I was able to get it for all of a dollar at Borders. It's just a bit too niche for me.… (mehr)
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melydia | 10 weitere Rezensionen | Jul 18, 2010 |

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Statistikseite

Werke
20
Mitglieder
610
Beliebtheit
#41,203
Bewertung
2.9
Rezensionen
12
ISBNs
78
Sprachen
2

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