The Language Report

by Susie Dent (editor)

Infinitely browsable and completely up to date, The Language Report is a collection of topical and fascinating facts and observations on today's spoken and written English.
Backed by the largest language research program in the world at Oxford University Press, this new book presents an up-to-the-minute snapshot of English language today: tracking the latest new words to have entered its usage; investigating old words revived by current events in, for example, the worlds of politics and pop; and examining the most recent trends of language development.
This intriguing survey covers language issues reported by the media in recent times, including memorable quotations and sayings of the year; nicknames in the news; new venues for language, such as Internet chatrooms; and controversial developments in usage and grammar. It also analyzes English around the world, uncovering the latest words and phrases to enter our vocabulary; and explores what new words were hundreds of years ago, and how they've developed or disappeared. An ideal reference for all word lovers, this new book offers a fascinating tour of the English language today.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Language

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Dent was educated at the Marist Convent in Ascot, an independent Roman Catholic day school. She went on to Somerville College, Oxford for her B.A. in modern languages, then to Princeton University for her master's degree in German.

Dent is serves as the resident lexicographer and adjudicator for the letters rounds on long-running British game show Countdown. At the time she began work on Countdown in 1992, she had just started working for the Oxford University Press on producing English dictionaries, having previously worked on bilingual dictionaries.

Reviews

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find it fascinating to see the shifts and alterations that English has taken over the years. Dent's 2003 report includes a whole slew of examinations of the ways in which language changes, some that are fairly straightforward and others that are surprising, and yet others that are downright discouraging. It was also interesting since it is written from a British perspective (including a chapter on the peculiarly untransfered Rhyming Slang for which I have no context and am completely baffled in my American ignorance), and presents snapshots from both sides of the Atlantic. Plus, it is obvious that the author has a keen grasp and appreciation for one of the most important cultural influences on language stemming from the late 90's: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

- from the jacket: "The Language Report is the front-line account of what we're saying and how we're saying it. From street lang to rhyming slang; from sporting language to cyber-speak; from text talk to the language of war, it's an enlightening collection of intriguing facts and observations compiled from the evidence of the world's largest language monitoring programme, at Oxford University Press."

[Brynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the misuse of the English language.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very, very British. But it was $1, and entertaining while I was laid up in bed.