by Andrew Scotland... At the present time more than half of the literate world is learning English. This book is intended for young people throughout the world who are preparing for public examinations in English language. More generally it is hoped that it will help older people who wish to become more proficient in the use of English. Preparation for examinations is a serious matter, but it does not need to be entirely solemn.
I believe that the study of English is effective only if it is made interesting. If it can be made amusing so much the better. Dullness is the unpardonable sin in any book in English. It is strange and ironic that grammar, notwithstanding its etymology, should have lost its glamour, and have become synonymous with dullness. Words! Words! Words! is intended to show that fun is not out of place in the book of a serious student of the English language; that laughter is a legitimate aid to study; and that an accurate definition is often made more memorable by a humorous example. I hope that all who use this book will agree.
Words! Words! Words! - Words are fun! Words understood, explained, defined differentiated, used, abused; words of great writers and poets, words of schoolboys and girls; descriptive, active, perceptive, living words-these are the themes of Dr. Andrew Scotland's book. By examples, suggestions, exercises, narrative, poetry interest in and a right use of words.
By examples, suggestions, exercises, narrative, poetry and above all by humour, he seeks to rouse the reader to an interest in and a right use of words. The approach is daring: schoolboy puns jostle with sublime passages from the great masters of words; lighthearted sketches offset thorough and scholarly examinations of the derivations of words, and Greek and Latin prefixes and suffixes.
Full of useful material for students preparing for General Certificate of English and Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations, this work will also be welcomed by many others who are interested in etymology for its own sake.
Excerpts from the Book:
Using right word, Gender, Comparison of Adverbs
Great names in English history, Animals-Alive and Dead and Punctuation
