Planet Word - Hardcover

J. P. Davidson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0718157745 ISBN 13: 9780718157746

Publisher: Michael Joseph, 2011

Synopsis

Unravel the mysteries of language with J.P. Davidson's remarkable Planet Word.

'The way you speak is who you are and the tones of your voice and the tricks of your emailing and tweeting and letter-writing, can be recognised unmistakably in the minds of those who know and love you.' Stephen Fry

From feral children to fairy-tale princesses, secrets codes, invented languages - even a language that was eaten! - Planet Word uncovers everything you didn't know you needed to know about how language evolves. Learn the tricks to political propaganda, why we can talk but animals can't, discover 3,000-year-old clay tablets that discussed beer and impotence and test yourself at textese - do you know your RMEs from your LOLs? Meet the 105-year-old man who invented modern-day Chinese and all but eradicated illiteracy, and find out why language caused the go-light in Japan to be blue. From the dusty scrolls of the past to the unknown digital future, and with (heart) the first graphic to enter the OED, are we already well on our way to a language without words?

In a round-the-world trip of a lifetime, discover all this and more as J. P. Davidson travels across our gloriously, endlessly intriguing multilingual Planet Word.

John Paul Davidson is a film and television director and producer. After studying at Bristol University and completing his doctoral field work in The University of Malysia, he joined the BBC's Travel and Exploration Unit as their resident anthropologist.

Stephen Fry's film, stage, radio and television credits are numerous and wide-ranging. He has written, produced, directed, acted in or presented productions as varied as Wilde, Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Fry's English Delight and QI. After writing many successful books, his recent memoir The Fry Chronicles was a number one bestseller.

About this title

About the Author

John Paul Davidson is a film and television director and producer. After completing his doctoral field work in Malaysia, he joined the BBC's Travel and Exploration Unit as their resident anthropologist and learned how to say 'action' in over fifty languages.

Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Jeeves and Wooster. He currently hosts the popular quiz show QI. His recent memoir, The Fry Chronicles, was a number one bestseller.

From the Inside Flap

According to the Snohomish tribe of North America, we speak different languages today because of a row about a duck. There are more than 6,000 languages spoken in the world, some by only a handful, but by the end of the century there will be just 900 left. Why does linguicide occur and what are its consequences?

Do you 'take a bath' or 'have a bath', do you use a 'napkin' or a 'serviette' and are you wearing 'spectacles' to read this or your 'glasses'? How we speak and what we say (or don't say) reveals so much about our identity but does where we come from influence how we think? Does a Frenchman better understand love or a German-speaker have a more technical way of looking at the world?

Learn the tricks to political propaganda, why we can talk but animals can't, discover 3,000 year-old clay tablets that discussed beer and impotence and test yourself at textese - do you know your RMEs from your LOLs? Meet the 105-year-old man who invented modern-day Chinese and all but eradicated illiteracy, and find out why language caused the go-light in Japan to be blue.

Planet Word uncovers everything you didn't know you needed to know about how language evolves: from feral children to deaf Tourette's, fairy-tale princesses and wicked stepmothers to secrets codes, invented languages, backslang - even a language that was eaten! And of course the Del Boys of London with all their 'sugar and honey' and 'porky pies' make themselves known.

Why do people twenty miles from Barnsley live in an 'arse' - and why is it so important that they continue to do so. Why must we keep words like 'lenerky', 'gloppened' and deedars' in use - and why do we all suddenly love the Geordie accent? From the dusty scrolls of the past to the unknown digital future, will we no longer have need for a written language and instead communicate in pictures and symbols? With (heart) the first graphic to enter the OED, are we already well on our way?

In a round-the-world trip of a lifetime, discover all this and more as J. P. Davidson travels across our gloriously, endlessly intriguing multi-lingual Planet Word.

Edition details

• Publisher: Michael Joseph
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0718157745
• ISBN 13: 9780718157746
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448