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Points of View: Aspects of Present-Day English
Points of View Aspects of Present-Day English Author:Robert Burchfield This is a fascinating collection of essays and reflections on language by Robert Burchfield, a leading authority on English usage and etymology, and editor of the Supplement to the First Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. — Points of View begins with two original and entertaining reflections, the first entitled "The Fowler Brothers and the... more » Tradition of Usage Handbooks," the second "An Outline of Euphemisms in English." The selection of shorter pieces which follows--drawn from Burchfield's popular Sunday Times of London column, "Words and Meanings"--concerns the English language as it is used throughout the world. These cover a wide variety of topics, ranging from the language of newspaper recruitment advertising and Valentine's Day messages to the modern use (and misuse) of apostrophes and hyphens. The book concludes with a series of engaging thoughts on individual words--often the most simple--about which there is continuing debate in modern English.
Whether focusing on such contentious issues as "between you and me" versus "between you and I," or discussing the twenty-nine meanings of the verb "to want," Burchfield proves himself to be a particularly keen arbiter of English usage and a perceptive commentator on the state of our language today.« less