Marlene Dolitsky

This is the first book which has so incensed me that I have actually added to my collection solely in order to write a scathing review!

I have not read the whole book, but merely scanned the extracts visible in Google Books. There are some interesting sections regarding actual linguistic experiments, such as trying to elicit nonsense words from children, or asking people to respond to texts containing incomprehensible words (e.g. Carroll's Jabberwocky or Tolkien's Namarie). However, my urge to read the book is significantly diminished by discovering not one but THREE crass misunderstandings on just ONE page (chapter 6, page 93). If Professor Dolitsky is reading this, may I ask her to note that (a) Tellurian is not a nonsense word, but the regular English adjective formed from Latin Tellus, relating to the planet Earth (see Oxford English Dictionary); (b) gorse is not a neologism for "some sort of thistle", but the current and well-known English name of a spiny shrub (see Oxford English Dictionary); (c) Herbert's word kanly is not "clearly an adverb" (why would a foreign language form adverbs in "-ly" just like English?) but, from even the single sentence of context given, can be identified as a noun denoting some state of hostile relationship.

If I ever do read this book in full, it will be in preparation for writing a blistering academic demolition of it! Sheesh!

MB 5-ix-2021… (mehr)