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A Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare (2008)

by Jeremy Butterfield(Favorite Author)

3.41 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0199239061 (ISBN13: 9780199239061)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

review 1: A damp squid? Some kind of wet cephalopod? If you are familiar with the phrase, you might be British, and if you are British, you might expect the book to be a disappointment, for such is the meaning of "damp squid." However, the book is anything but disappointing, and exposes many of the mechanisms by which words (or lemmas, as the author calls them) enter and leave the English language, and how they mutate over time. Getting back to the soggy squid for a moment, it was originally "damp squib," with a squib being fireworks...damp fireworks cannot explode, hence a term for a disappointment. But "squib" loses its meaning, claims the author, and people, in searching for a new word that makes sense, change "squib" to "squid." To tell the truth, I'd never heard the phrase befo... morere, but to me "squib" was a synonym for "blank," as in a cartridge with gunpowder but no bullet. So, the original term makes more sense to me than what the Brits have chosen to call it. And yet the lemma "squib" continues on with a new lease on life, now known to millions as the non-magical offspring of magical parents, in the Harry Potter books.Anyone curious as to the mechanics of language and the problems facing lexicographers in this age of infernal digital machines will find this book fascinating, though English purists will be depressed to find out there is no way to prevent the formation of new words or to stop old words from gathering new (and annoying) meanings. From "what is a word" to "where does it come from" to "how is it spelled and used," the entire gamut of English is, as the subtitle promises, laid bare...not to be confused with naked.
review 2: A fascinating study of words *as people actually use them.* Most books on language do not have the power of the Corpus behind them, which is what makes Damp Squid so special.This book is written for a British English audience, which means that even hardcore linguaphiles like myself will be kept slightly off-balance the entire time. Even during the introductory, English-comes-from-German-and-1066-blah-blah-blah portions you won't find yourself bored (unless you've also studied British English, I guess).The origin of the title, apparently a common phrase across the pond, isn't glossed until Chapter 6. Or an exercise in collocation--"What word most naturally comes at the end of this sentence?" isn't as dead simple for American English speakers as it would have been for Brits.Have a very basic knowledge of Brit slang before going into this, or be willing to Google: if you don't know what a chav or a lorry is, you may be thrown a little too much off balance.Definitely recommended for any word lovers. less

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