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The Prodigal Tongue
- The Love-Hate Relationship Between American and British English
- Narrado por: Pam Ward
- Duración: 11 h y 38 m
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The Prodigal Tongue
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- Versión completa
-
General4 out of 5 stars 3,994
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 3,374
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 3,350
A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar. Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great for casual linguists
- De Bertie en 01-11-10
De: John McWhorter
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The Story of English in 100 Words
- De: David Crystal
- Narrado por: David Crystal
- Duración: 7 h y 56 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 231
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 231
In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere") and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Random but entertaining
- De Sean en 04-01-13
De: David Crystal
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Words on the Move
- Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
- De: John McWhorter
- Narrado por: John McWhorter
- Duración: 7 h y 2 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 1,404
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 1,265
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 1,257
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Review By a Fan
- De Margaret en 09-25-16
De: John McWhorter
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The Glamour of Grammar
- De: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrado por: Roy Peter Clark
- Duración: 8 h y 55 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 56
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 37
Early in the history of English, glamour and grammar were the same word, linked to enchantment and magical spells. Now grammar brings to mind language bullies and bored-out-of-their-skulls students. Roy Peter Clark, one of America’s most influential writing teachers, wants to change that by putting the glamour back into grammar.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Wasteful
- De ABID en 12-05-13
De: Roy Peter Clark
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Babel No More
- The Search for the World's Most Extraordinary Language Learners
- De: Michael Erard
- Narrado por: Robert Blumenfeld
- Duración: 9 h y 3 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 47
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Narración:4 out of 5 stars 44
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 45
We all learn at least one language as children. But what does it take to learn six languages...or seventy? In Babel No More, Michael Erard, "a monolingual with benefits," sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like Italian cardinal Giuseppe Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages; Emil Krebs, a pugnacious German diplomat, who spoke sixty-eight languages; and Lomb Kat, a Hungarian who taught herself Russian by reading Russian romance novels.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Heavy on anecdote, light on science
- De S. Yates en 07-15-16
De: Michael Erard
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How to Write Short
- Word Craft for Fast Times
- De: Roy Peter Clark
- Narrado por: Roy Peter Clark
- Duración: 5 h y 20 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 68
In How to Write Short , Roy Peter Clark turns his attention to the art of painting a thousand pictures with just a few words. Short forms of writing have always existed - from ship logs and telegrams to prayers and haikus. But in this ever-changing Internet age, short-form writing has become an essential skill. Clark covers how to write effective and powerful titles, headlines, essays, sales pitches, Tweets, letters, and even self-descriptions for online dating services.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Ironically long
- De Amazon Customer en 03-14-16
De: Roy Peter Clark
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A Little History of the World
- De: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrado por: Ralph Cosham
- Duración: 9 h y 11 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 3,960
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 3,319
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 3,305
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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5 out of 5 stars
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an enlightening book; very well read
- De A.B.Oxford en 06-03-06
De: E. H. Gombrich
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The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead
- Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life
- De: Charles Murray
- Narrado por: Charles Murray
- Duración: 3 h y 9 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 736
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 632
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 628
Best-selling social historian Charles Murray has written a delightfully fussy - and entertaining - book on the hidden rules of the road in the workplace - and in life - from the standpoint of an admonishing, but encouraging, workplace grouch and taskmaster. Why the curmudgeon? The fact is that most older, more senior people in the workplace are closet curmudgeons. In today's politically correct world, they may hide their displeasure over your misuse of grammar or your overly familiar use of their first name without an express invitation. But don't be fooled by their pleasant demeanor....
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good Book: From one curmudgeon to another
- De DaWoolf en 05-22-14
De: Charles Murray
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The Pun Also Rises
- How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More Than Some Antics
- De: John Pollack
- Narrado por: Pete Larkin
- Duración: 4 h y 57 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 60
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Narración:4 out of 5 stars 55
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 53
The Pun Also Rises is an authoritative yet playful exploration of a practice that is common, in one form or another, to virtually every language on earth. At once entertaining and educational, this engaging book answers fundamental questions: Just what is a pun, and why do people make them? How did punning impact the development of human language, and how did that drive creativity and progress? And why, after centuries of decline, does the pun still matter?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Punderful Little Book
- De B. Lane en 01-10-13
De: John Pollack
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You Say Potato: A Book About Accents
- De: Ben Crystal, David Crystal
- Narrado por: David Crystal, Ben Crystal, Jane Savage, y otros
- Duración: 7 h y 5 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Narración:5 out of 5 stars 71
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 70
Some people say 'sconn' while others say 'schown'. He says 'bath' while she says 'bahth'. You say 'potayto'. I say 'potahto'. And - wait a second, no one says 'potahto'. No one's ever said 'potahto'. Have they? From reconstructing Shakespeare's accent to the rise and fall of received pronunciation, actor Ben Crystal and his linguist father, David, travel the world in search of the stories of spoken English.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Wish there were more native recordings.
- De Matt Dobler en 07-01-16
De: Ben Crystal, y otros
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Notes on a Century
- Reflections of a Middle East Historian
- De: Bernard Lewis, Buntzie Ellis Churchill
- Narrado por: Ralph Lister
- Duración: 12 h y 59 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Few historians end up as historical actors in their own right, but Bernard Lewis has both witnessed and participated in some of the key events of the last century. When we think of the Middle East, we see it in terms that he defined and articulated.In this exceptional memoir he shares stories of his wartime service in London and Cairo, decrypting intercepts for MI6, with sometimes unexpected consequences. After the war, he was the first Western scholar ever invited into the Ottoman archives in Istanbul.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Can't Get Enough of the Book
- De Sanford H. en 12-11-13
De: Bernard Lewis, y otros
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Articulate While Black
- Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S
- De: H. Samy Alim, Geneva Smitherman, Michael Eric Dyson - foreword
- Narrado por: Mirron Willis
- Duración: 8 h y 58 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 53
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 52
In Articulate While Black, two renowned scholars of Black Language address language and racial politics in the U.S. through an insightful examination of President Barack Obama's language use--and America's response to it. In this eloquently written and powerfully argued book, H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman provide new insights about President Obama and the relationship between language and race in contemporary society.
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5 out of 5 stars
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best book on language
- De Amazon Customer Bishop Dr Arthur Lewis PhD en 12-07-18
De: H. Samy Alim, y otros
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The Art of Language Invention
- From Horse-Lords to Dark Elves, the Words Behind World-Building
- De: David J. Peterson
- Narrado por: David J. Peterson
- Duración: 9 h y 23 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 87
From master language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative guide to language construction for sci-fi and fantasy fans, writers, game creators, and language lovers. Peterson offers a captivating overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien's creations and Klingon to today's thriving global community of conlangers.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great resource, but not conducive to audiobook
- De Ashley T. en 04-18-16
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Made in America
- De: Bill Bryson
- Narrado por: William Roberts
- Duración: 18 h y 10 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 1,494
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 1,235
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 1,234
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- De John en 02-28-14
De: Bill Bryson
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Words and Rules
- The Ingredients of Language
- De: Steven Pinker
- Narrado por: Arthur Morey
- Duración: 13 h y 59 m
- Versión completa
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General4 out of 5 stars 165
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 141
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Historia4 out of 5 stars 145
First published in 2000, Words and Rules remains one of Pinker's most provocative and accessible books, illuminating the fascinating relationship between the brain, the mind, and how language makes us humans.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing how much irregular verbs can teach.
- De Tristan en 04-10-16
De: Steven Pinker
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Letters to a Young Teacher
- De: Jonathan Kozol
- Narrado por: David Drummond
- Duración: 5 h y 36 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 26
In these affectionate letters to Francesca, a first-grade teacher at an inner-city school in Boston, Jonathan Kozol vividly describes his repeated visits to her classroom while, under Francesca's likably irreverent questioning, also revealing his own most personal stories of the years that he has spent in public schools.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A must read for new teachers
- De Santiago en 03-31-10
De: Jonathan Kozol
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Calificaciones medias de los clientesReseñas - Selecciona las pestañas a continuación para cambiar el origen de las reseñas.
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Total5 out of 5 stars
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Ejecución5 out of 5 stars
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Historia5 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 01-08-24
Great book and amazing performance
I can’t imagine the process required to get an appropriate reader to pull off this book, which is an accessible and charming study built on pronunciation and vocabulary in different Englishes. This all could have gone sideways quickly but it didn’t and the performance made it possible to digest the interesting and highly nuanced content with ease. Very worth a listen.
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Total5 out of 5 stars
- SBS
- 06-14-18
University textbook
Very enthralling and entertaining! really enjoyed the speaker and the content. Feel rather prepared for my university class now!
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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas
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Total5 out of 5 stars
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Ejecución5 out of 5 stars
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Historia5 out of 5 stars
- Thombilous
- 04-30-20
excellent!
I enjoyed this a great deal. As an English teacher raised in England, but teaching in the USA, this book helped me find myself, my accent, my voice, and my words.
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Total5 out of 5 stars
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Ejecución5 out of 5 stars
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Historia5 out of 5 stars
- Jonathan
- 02-12-19
Fun and Interesting
Lynn Murphy’s at times serious, at times humorous look at the language I thought I knew kept me wanting to learn more.
This, thankfully, is not an academic treatise, but a wry full body scan of our sames and differences.
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Total2 out of 5 stars
- Tina
- 08-27-20
TOO MUCH BITTERNESS
Honestly. I live in the US. I LOVE american english. But after half an hour of embittered whining about how much the Brits hate it and are scared by it, I gave up. I wanted to know more about two wonderful ways of speaking English. I didn't sign up for listening to ten minutes of grievances for every minute of content actually dealing with the advertised topic.
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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas