Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language
Do you cringe when a talking head pronounces “niche” as NITCH? Do you get bent out of shape when your teenager begins a sentence with “and,” or says “octopuses” instead of “octopi”? Do you think British spellings are more “civilised” than the American versions? Would you bet the bank that “jeep” got its start as a military term and “SOS” as an acronym for “Save Our Ship”?...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
May 5th 2009
by Random House
(first published April 25th 2009)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
721)
Dec 28, 2011
Clif Hostetler
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
current-events
The English language is a slippery chameleon; it won't stop changing. As with any human activity subject to change, there are the conservatives, the liberals and the oblivious people. Into this fray the husband wife team of Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman have authored this book to make fun of the snobbish scholars who insist that English follow false rules. But they don't throw out all the rules.
This book includes humorous quips and puns to keep the reader smiling. The authors seem t...more
This book includes humorous quips and puns to keep the reader smiling. The authors seem t...more
1 like · like · see review
view 1 comment
Well, this is the first book I've finished since I graduated from BC, but that says way more about me and the summer I'm having than about the book. I thought the book was very fun, and I learned a lot about how and why our usage rules have changed (I particularly liked learning more about how some of what people believe to be bad grammar and usage these days was perfectly acceptable just a few centuries ago). I also appreciated the author's attitude toward the topic--grammar and usage shouldn't...more
1 like · like · see review
Origins of the Specious sets the record straight on some common misconceptions about the English language. It’s so good, it actually made me angry.
If you’re the kind of person who cringes at the sight of a word with a ‘z’ where there ought to be an ‘s’ (“look at all these Americanisms… it’s just not proper English!”), tells the joyful tale of how Thomas Crapper, toilet mogul, lent his name to the act (“before that they didn’t have a rude word for it”), and gets hot under the collar when people m...more
If you’re the kind of person who cringes at the sight of a word with a ‘z’ where there ought to be an ‘s’ (“look at all these Americanisms… it’s just not proper English!”), tells the joyful tale of how Thomas Crapper, toilet mogul, lent his name to the act (“before that they didn’t have a rude word for it”), and gets hot under the collar when people m...more
Origins of the Specious, Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, by former New York Times editors Patricia T. O'Conner (Woe Is I) and Stewart Kellerman is as entertaining as it is enlightening. I learned plenty after a day on the beach with this gem. Logophiles O'Conner and Kellerman explore the myths that surround language and rules.
Read this book, and you'll learn that the auction block and the auctioneer's block have their roots in slavery (this is where human beings were sold as if...more
Read this book, and you'll learn that the auction block and the auctioneer's block have their roots in slavery (this is where human beings were sold as if...more
1 like · like · see review
"Origins" starts off as a relatively interesting deconstruction of English grammar myths, but quickly turns into a faux-etymological dictionary only to return to grammatical curiosities in the final chapters. As a person interested in linguistics, I tend to fall in the descriptivist camp when it comes to usage--as long as something is understood and accords with what sounds right to the speaker and listener, it is, by definition, good English. The author agrees with this at least. The problem wi...more
I, for obvious reasons, have a great affection for the English Language. It's a rich and exciting tongue, with a history as tangled and strange as they come. Over the last millennium or so, the language has gone through so many shifts and changes that people spend entire lifetimes trying to figure it out. Once they do, more often than not, they find that what once was true about their beloved mother tongue just doesn't hold up today.
So there's a choice to be made by lovers of language: deal with...more
So there's a choice to be made by lovers of language: deal with...more
Sep 04, 2009
Evanston Public Library
added it
Do you throw down your gauntlet? Or is that gantlet? Which one do you run? And, is your forté (pronounced FOR-tay) gourmet cooking or playing the flugelhorn? Wait—should I have said forte (pronounced fort)? If you’re curious about which usages and pronunciations are correct, and if you’ve wondered why there is so much confusion, Patricia O’Conner and her co-author Stewart Kellerman are here to set the record straight on these and many other language conundrums. Their lively book is a wonderful t...more
Origins of the Specious is a mildly entertaining mix of descriptivism and prescriptivism. There's a lot of good information to be had, written in a rather witty and pun-laden style, but O'Conner has this rather annoying habit of ending almost every section with, "Although I've just given you lots of information about why it's okay to use this word in a way that the 'purists' deride, you still should avoid doing so because you might offend those purists."
And then there's the final chapter, where...more
And then there's the final chapter, where...more
I am a die hard fiction reader, if I am not required to read it for a class I never pick up a non-fiction book, until now. I am not sure what drew me to this book; I was poking around a recently added books list at a library and ran across this book, since I am currently in a linguistic based course, I decided to try it. I was definitely impressed; the writing was loose and funny without that “required” reading reek. I thought it was very interesting to learn about when and how that fashionable...more
This funny little book is a great read and all about the ways in which language is understood, but more importantly, about the things we THINK we know about English are wrong. The author deftly covers things like False Word Histories(Posh does not descend from 'Port Out, Starboard Home'), Linguistic snobbery divorced from historical reality(many word usages we think modern are really ancient, and pronounciations and spellings are often erratic and more ancient than we give credit), Oddities(The...more
This book, up with which we shall put, had some interesting anecdotes about English language and usage. Some useful tips for writers and those with an interest in the language, as idiosyncratic as it is.
The overall message really is that if others understand it, then it is reasonably good English.
Also, that external logic applied to the language seems to often lead to changes that seem logical but are changes in evolution from where a word or saying began. Sort of like whales that lived on land...more
The overall message really is that if others understand it, then it is reasonably good English.
Also, that external logic applied to the language seems to often lead to changes that seem logical but are changes in evolution from where a word or saying began. Sort of like whales that lived on land...more
Superb book about grammar, etymology, and usage, concentrating mostly on usages that aren't as wrong as many amateur language authorities think. Now I have the confidence to bravely split my infinitives and I know that ending sentences in prepositions is where it's at. AND I can even safely start sentences with conjunctions, because, as she points out, Shakespeare, Austen, and Dickens all did it, too, and if it's been in the language, as common usage, for 200 years, it has squatter's rights. She...more
This is a humorous debunking of misconceptions about the English language. “Prince Charles’ mom may be queen of England, but he has a lot to learn about the Queen’s English,” quip the authors as they deal with the false notion that American English is some sort of backwoods dialect of the real thing. In fact, American English often preserves forms that have gone out of vogue in the old country. The authors go on to deal with usage, grammar, semantics, and etymologies, drawing on the citations in...more
Aha! Standard American pronunciation
goes back farther than England's
Apparently they're a bit faddy
and have changed the way
they pronounce some things after
the establishment of the colonies
Pun your way through this book
I don't know how much is sticking in my head
so I'm keeping it as a reference
on my Kindle
That's the fun part
Carrying around your reference library
It's a ways from outgrowing the K2 at 1500 books
But if it does
there's the DX which holds 3500
I might have kept the K1
which could hold a c...more
goes back farther than England's
Apparently they're a bit faddy
and have changed the way
they pronounce some things after
the establishment of the colonies
Pun your way through this book
I don't know how much is sticking in my head
so I'm keeping it as a reference
on my Kindle
That's the fun part
Carrying around your reference library
It's a ways from outgrowing the K2 at 1500 books
But if it does
there's the DX which holds 3500
I might have kept the K1
which could hold a c...more
Oct 27, 2009
rabbitprincess
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
word nerds
Recommended to rabbitprincess by:
Lisa Asanuma
An interesting collection of myths and misconceptions about certain words in the English language. In addition to those pesky myths about split infinitives and ending sentences with a preposition, O'Conner and Kellerman set many other misconceptions to rest (using "that" with a person instead of "who" in relative clauses, the idea of "none" always being singular), while debating the changing meanings of some words (such as unique, enormity, surprised/astonished). The book is extremely well resea...more
This wonderful book should be read by everyone for whom the English language plays an important role in their lives. An excellent book which makes me want to read more of Ms. O'Connor's work.
Titled Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, the authors are Patricia T. O’Conner, a former editor at The New York Times Book Review, and Stewart Kellerman. She has written four books on writing other than the above, tomes which I plan soon to add to the room I use upstai...more
Titled Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, the authors are Patricia T. O’Conner, a former editor at The New York Times Book Review, and Stewart Kellerman. She has written four books on writing other than the above, tomes which I plan soon to add to the room I use upstai...more
Jun 15, 2011
Aerin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Aerin by:
Chris
Shelves:
nonfiction,
linguistics
In elementary school, I was that snot-nosed little brat who'd always raise her hand to point out that the teacher forgot a comma on the blackboard, but I've mellowed out a lot over the years. As a kid, I'd read a book like this and then spend a month going around telling everyone how they're using "surprised" when what they really mean is "astonished", and that "beg the question" doesn't mean anything like "raise the question".
Really, I don't know why I wasn't beat up more often as a kid.
As a so...more
Really, I don't know why I wasn't beat up more often as a kid.
As a so...more
11 likes · like · see review
An interesting book about word origins and the validity of certain grammatical rules and constructions. While in the main I enjoyed Origins of the Specious, there are two things that restrain it from receiving a higher rating: some parts simply failed to keep my attention, and I felt that the author did not put forth an actual thesis. I agreed with her position that words should be used as contemporary society deems them to be used as long as the individuals that inhabit society can understand a...more
This was a quick, interesting read for those of us who care about whether to use "gauntlet" or "gantlet" in common conversation (and I confess I'm one of those who want to know the difference). I appreciated the beauty of language in this book and the fact that we can really do quite precise. So this was a good balance of reminding us where English comes from, how its changed over time and what words you can/should use without sounding terribly pretentious in the process.
If you aren't sure if how to pronounce a particular word, check this book first. Chances are it's in here and the author will tell you that the way you pronounced that word is the accepted version nowadays although it did not start that way and she'll tell you why.
A good book to throw at so-called purists of the English language. English is a constantly evolving language, we must evolve with it.
I wonder how they'll speak the language in 100 years time?
A good book to throw at so-called purists of the English language. English is a constantly evolving language, we must evolve with it.
I wonder how they'll speak the language in 100 years time?
As an English grad, I found this book quite interesting. I enjoy reading books about the evolution of the English language and this one does not disappoint. Throughout the book, O'Conner debunks the myths surrounding a myriad of commonly used (abused) American expressions. I particularly liked the section on how Americans misuse French expressions that have long been integrated into our language.
Basically entertaining etymylogical discussion of various words/phrases. She's a linguist and the book is somewhat set up to correct some misinterpretations; she's a linguist and has to tell people that, no, it's not wrong to write "till" instead of "until" (etymylogically speaking, till came first, and until was first introduced as an alternative), that "inflammable" was a word before "flammable" was (in- as a prefix doesn't just mean 'not'; it can mean an intensifier, as 'invaluable' or, indee...more
in a nutshell: if you understand someone but think their English is wrong, it likely isn't. although there isn't so much right and wrong as much as has been used that way for a long time.
this book is amusing and the author's research is appreciated but it's a bit without over-arching punch, though probably everyone will find a few anecdotes which resonate with them
this book is amusing and the author's research is appreciated but it's a bit without over-arching punch, though probably everyone will find a few anecdotes which resonate with them
I had expected this book to be a more narrative, in-depth look at the evolution of the English language. Instead, it's a series of vignettes on the origins (and fake origins) of different words and phrases. I found it a bit too disjointed to hold my attention, but it would probably be interesting to someone who is very interested in language (and particularly word origins).
I would have preferred a more in-depth book. I found that I gleaned more trivia than foundational knowledge about the English Language. The trivia was interesting and easy to read, but I would have preferred a more coherent and focused book. O'Conner is an entertaining author. I hope she writes something a little more rigorous.
For a word nerd like me, this fun and practical guide to misused words and their histories was like permission to correct people's mistakes. "I KNEW I was right about that word" could be heard coming from my mouth for days while reading this book. Gotta love it!
Nov 15, 2010
Stacey Melquist
is currently reading it
This is so interesting - a great read so far - goes into the misconceptions of word origins and how British English is not necessarily "better" than American English -- who knew that they started pronouncing the h in "herb" after the colonies seceded!
Being a proper grammarian or wordsmith is difficult. Sometimes one needs to stick to ones guns and other times one needs to go with the flow of the vox populi. Ms. O'Connor covers words, phrases, and grammar with humor. A must read for those logophiles.
I probably knew at least half of this already, and none of the rest was particularly surprising. It was worth reading anyway, for the profusion of really awful puns (for example, it describes one purported etymology of "brassiere" as "titillating but, alas, insupportable").
I enjoyed learning where different words and phrases came from and how some of the grammar rules I've worked so hard to follow do not really apply anymore or are not hard and fast rules. My only complaint it that it ruined the British accent for me.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
