| Biting the Wax Tadpole: Confessions of a Language Fanatic Contributor(s): Little, Elizabeth (Author) |
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ISBN: 0385527748 ISBN-13: 9780385527743 Publisher: Random House OUR PRICE: $13.46 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: November 2008 Annotation: Grammar fanatic Little shares all of the irresistible irregular verbs and evolutionary quirks that give languages their character. The fully illustrated book includes funny, informative sidebars about classic cases of mistranslation (e.g. the literal translation of Coca-Cola into Chinese is bite the wax tadpole). |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Syntax - Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Semantics |
| Dewey: 400 |
| LCCN: 2008012180 |
| Physical Information: 0.51" H x 7.18" W x 8.26" (0.75 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: When Chinese shopkeepers tried to find a written equivalent of Coca-Cola, one set of characters they chose was pronounced "ke-kou ke-la." It sounded right, but it literally translated as "bite the wax tadpole." Language, like travel, is always stranger than we expect and often more beautiful than we imagine. In Biting the Wax Tadpole Elizabeth Little takes a decidedly unstuffy and accessible tour of grammar via the languages of the world--from Lithuanian noun declensions and imperfective Russian verbs to Ancient Greek and Navajo. And in one of the most courageous acts in the history of popular grammar books, she attempts to provide an explanation of verbal aspect that people might actually understand. Other difficult and pressing questions addressed in Biting the Wax Tadpole include: *Just what, exactly, the Swedish names of IKEA products mean *Why Icelandic speakers must decide if the numbers 1-4 are plural *How Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) was able to take an otherwise unexceptional pair of breakfast foods and turn them into literary fodder for generations *Why Joanie Loves Chachi was Korea's highest rated television show ever *Why Basque grammar seems downright kooky to just about anyone who isn't a native speaker |