Word Spy: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture

Paul Mcfedries

34 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc), 2004

076791466X / 9780767914666

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Seller: World of Books (was SecondSale), Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.World of Books (was SecondSale)

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Language wears many hats, but its most important job is to help us name or describe what's in the world. Words define us, our actions, even our existence. And just when you think that you have all the words you need, you discover new ones, hear new uses for old ones or see them mutate right before your eyes--a neologism is born. Those neologisms are actually one of the best ways of keeping tabs on the way our world and culture are changing. One of the people who's been keeping tabs is Paul McFedries, the president of Logophilia Limited (logophilia is Greek for the love of words). His scorecard is Word Spy, a daily newsletter that has been reporting from the neological frontier since 1998 and that has more than 100,000 visitors a month and more than 12 million page views. In Word Spy, McFedries demonstrates how new words both reflect and illuminate not only the subcultures that coin them but also the larger culture in which these groups exist. Neologisms give us insight into the way things are even as they act as linguistic harbingers of what's to come. Each chapter of Word Spy is a cultural snapshot, a slice of the zeitgeist that focuses on a specific idea or sociological phenomenon, with an emphasis on the words and phrases that it has generated. These snapshots cover various aspects of modern life, including relationships, business, technology, war, aging, multiculturalism, and even fast food, all the while introducing us to hybrid words: If your kids can't seem to get away from their computers, they may be addicted to fritterware (time-wasting game software). If you're a new mother with a passion for petitioning, you may be a lactivist (breast-feeding activist). And if you keep finding yourself staying way later at the office than you ever imagined, you may be suffering from presenteeism. Word Spy is an exciting and informative travelogue through the evolving landscape of our language and, consequently, the cultures and subcultures that continually mold and shape not just the language but all of us who speak it.…

Seller Inventory # 00068147361

Title
Word Spy: The Word Lover's Guide to Modern Culture
Author
Paul Mcfedries
Publisher
Broadway Books (A Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc)
Publication year
2004
Condition
Very Good
Binding
Hardback
Language
English
ISBN 10
076791466X
ISBN 13
9780767914666

World of Books (was SecondSale)

Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since December 20, 2007

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Founded in 2002, World of Books is a leading online destination for buying and selling both preloved and new books, committed to making sustainable reading accessible to all. With a mission to help people read more and waste less, World of Books offers a huge range of affordable, high-quality books — giving both new and preloved titles a second life. The company also operates World of Books – Sell Your Books, an easy-to-use platform that allows customers to trade in unwanted books for cash, helping to keep books in circulation while promoting sustainability. As a Certified B Corp, World of Books is driven by a vision to become the world’s largest and most sustainable dedicated online bookstore. The company measures its success through the positive environmental impact it creates, the value it provides to customers, and its ability to operate profitably while supporting its sustainable mission …

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