Language: History & General Works

We say a lot about ourselves by what we don't say. Words and phrases like 'collateral damage', 'wardrobe malfunction', 'vertically challenged', and...

Are standards of English alright - or should that be all right?To knowingly split an infinitive or not to?And what about ending a sentence with pre...

Fjaka: the sublime state of aspiring to do absolutely nothing. Warmduscher: a warm showerer, meaning a bit of a wimp. Tener mano izquierda: literal...

From the comfort of an armchair and with the aid of this new book, the reader can travel to the Breadalbane and Argyll of Duncan Ban Macintyre; the...

In On the Tip of My Tongue, logophile and television star Tom Read Wilson takes a delicious dive into the etymology and usage of words, euphemisms ...

''Punctuation is not only an important part of our language code; an advanced system of punctuation has been a driving force in our entire Western ...

We use salty or artful language to win arguments, slander, cheat and bully, as well as to express feelings of joy or frustration and blow off steam...

George Orwells essay examines the power of language to shape political ideas. It is about the importance of writing concisely, clearly and precisel...

Any history of English starts with the evidence its narrators select, the historical periods they focus on, and the guiding principles and framewor...

Pull up a bollard and get to know the colourful language of the Royal Canadian Navy. Do you ever get channel fever so bad only a great homeward bou...

''It is a book that leaves you musing long after reading... a true celebration of the diversity of language and an important reminder of the quirks...

While birds can chirp and monkeys can chatter, only humans possess the extraordinary power to tell stories and offer explanations, to explain and p...

At last the real stories behind some of Australia's unique and best-loved words are now ready to be told. A companion volume to Bruce Moore's highl...

If many hands make light work, how can too many cooks spoil the broth? If youll find the best advice on your pillow, are proverbs even useful? Ho...

Were all familiar with a flock of sheep but what are the collective nouns for racehorses, pigs, zebras or giraffes? Drawing on a range of sources, ...

From the sublime to the ridiculous, Just My Typo is a hilarious collection of typographical errors, slips of the pen and embarrassing misprints whi...

Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman French from th...

It is the East, and Juliet is the sun! This is one of Shakespeare's most famous lines and one of the most well-known metaphors in literature. But m...

'Susie Dent is a national treasure' RICHARD OSMAN'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' PAM AYRES____________...

''It''s dog eat dog in this rat race.'' ''We''ll burn that bridge when we come to it.'' ''I hope to come first or second, or at least win it.'' T...

What are monuments for? and why are the inscriptions so often in Latin? What on earth is the point of communicating in a language so few understand...