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Word Court
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Word Court Trade cloth - 2000

by Wallraff, Barbara


Summary

In 1993, the Atlantic Monthly's senior editor Barbara Wallraff began answering grammar questions on America Online. Instantaneously the site became one of AOL's most popular forums, as questions, and responses to Wallraff's responses, came flooding in. This vibrant exchange became the bimonthly "Word Court" in the Atlantic Monthly, and the "Miss Manners of Grammar" was born. In Word Court, Wallraff moves beyond her column to tackle common and uncommon items, establishing rules for such issues as turns of phrase, slang, name usage, punctuation, and newly coined vocabulary. With true wit, she deliberates and decides on the right path for lovers of language, ranging from classic questions-is "a historical" or "an historical" correct?-to awkward issues-How long does someone have to be dead before we should all stop calling her "the late"? Should you use "like" or "as"-and when? The result is a warmly humorous, reassuring, and brilliantly perceptive tour of how and why we speak the way we do.

From the publisher

In 1993, the Atlantic Monthly's senior editor Barbara Wallraff began answering grammar questions on America Online. Instantaneously the site became one of AOL's most popular forums, as questions, and responses to Wallraff's responses, came flooding in. This vibrant exchange became the bimonthly "Word Court" in the Atlantic Monthly, and the "Miss Manners of Grammar" was born. In Word Court, Wallraff moves beyond her column to tackle common and uncommon items, establishing rules for such issues as turns of phrase, slang, name usage, punctuation, and newly coined vocabulary. With true wit, she deliberates and decides on the right path for lovers of language, ranging from classic questions-is "a historical" or "an historical" correct?-to awkward issues-How long does someone have to be dead before we should all stop calling her "the late"? Should you use "like" or "as"-and when? The result is a warmly humorous, reassuring, and brilliantly perceptive tour of how and why we speak the way we do.

Details

  • Title Word Court
  • Author Wallraff, Barbara
  • Binding Trade Cloth
  • Edition First Edition
  • Pages 272
  • Language EN
  • Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, NY
  • Date 2000-01-18
  • ISBN 9780151003815

Media reviews

“This is a charming and sensible book about language, by a person who clearly loves language. It ought to be required reading in every American newsroom."-Tracy Kidder

“Word Court passes my test for a great book on style and usage: one can read it for pleasure as well as for advice. Ms. Grammar is unfailingly warm, witty, and wise."-Steven Pinker, MIT professor and author of The Language Instinct and Words and Rules

“Short of having [Barbara Wallraff] perch on your desk, available to give snappy answers to grammar stumpers, the next-best solution is to keep a copy of Word Court handy."-James Fallows, author of Breaking the News

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Word Court
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Word Court

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Word Court: Wherein verbal virtue is rewarded, crimes against the language are punished, and poetic justice is done

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and...
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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

by Wallraff, Barbara

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and...
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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

by Wallraff, Barbara

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and...
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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

by Wallraff, Barbara

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and...
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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

by Wallraff, Barbara

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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and...
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Word Court : Wherein Verbal Virtue Is Rewarded, Crimes Against the Language Are Punished, and Poetic Justice Is Done

by Wallraff, Barbara

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