The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/493117
thelinguist.uberflip.com APrIL/MAY The Linguist 27 REVIEWS It is a rare privilege to have the time to read a book from cover to cover (and rarer to find one that holds your attention sufficiently to want to read it in such detail). Books that are designed to be dipped into seem to answer the needs of the modern reader. So tim Parks' Where I'm Reading From: The changing world of books is particularly convenient, as the chapters are self-contained and originally appeared in the pages of The New York Review of Books. the book is divided into four parts: 'the World Around the Book'; 'the Book in the World'; 'the Writer's World'; and 'Writing Across Worlds', but the topics range well beyond books and writers. Some of the chapters look at the ways in which readers and readership are changing, what with the arrival of e-books and the changes in copyright that are occurring with the new technology, but there is also a lot about languages that will interest both the specialist and the general reader. Parks is writing from an informed angle, as an academic based in Milan, and he has written extensively on Italian life and culture. he is observant and notes changes going on in the modern world that might not be immediately obvious, even to a professional linguist. the overwhelming influence of english is generally recognised, but it is interesting to read about the status of works that are not originally written in english: the general public in non-english speaking countries frequently accesses these works in an english translation, often in preference to reading in their own language. this is possibly because they want to be aware of trends and developments in the wider world – a less obvious aspect of globalisation, which is a topic that Parks covers in some Where I'm Reading From Tim Parks Harvill Secker, 2014, 244 pages, Hardback ISBN 9781846559037 £12.99 eBook ISBN 978143513426 £13.56 detail, with some interesting insights into the hazards of writing in mid-Atlantic english. Where I'm Reading From is not a textbook, nor is it designed to be didactic. the chapters clearly show that their origins lie in a regular press column, but this makes the work more accessible and allows the reader to enter into a silent dialogue with the author about topics of current concern. the book will therefore be of particular interest to translators, general linguists and those who work across cultures. Professor Tim Connell FCIL CIOL Vice-President Lingo: A language spotter's guide to Europe Gaston Dorren Profile Books, 2014, 256 pages, Hardback ISBN 9781781254165 £12.99 I was pleased to see that the word 'chutzpah' makes a fleeting appearance in this whistle- stop tour of europe's languages in 60 short chapters. Because chutzpah is on display in spades here, for example in the four-page blast through the entire history of French. (the slightly spurious claim that French has a 'mother fixation' is presumably designed to draw the reader in.) the chapters come so thick and fast that the reader is left wanting more. At the same time, some sections feel a little like padding: the description of ossetian, for example, could arguably be reduced to a single sentence. the condensed nature of the information also lends a slightly sketchy feel on occasion, as dorren (or one of his co-authors) dashes through linguistic explanation without pausing for breath, notably in the chapter on Welsh. Somewhat depressingly for the reader, the author says – presumably in an attempt at self- deprecating wit – after an exposition of how Welsh mutations work, 'I just looked this up. I wrote it down. And to be honest, it's escaped me already. All that remains is befuddlement.' despite such occasional tiresomeness, however, genuine – and wittily rendered – insights are never very far away. highlights include the resonant phrase 'splinters of the broken pitcher once called Latin'; the section on Italian diminutives and 'augmentatives'; the description of the fate of the 'luckless tuone udaina', the last speaker of dalmatian; the entire chapter on turkish; and the raising of interesting geolinguistic issues, such as the standardising effect on languages of centralised political power. the book makes no claim to academic weight (the author explains that Wikipedia and Wiktionary were often the first sources to which he turned), but the enthusiasm of the writing, combined with the relentless series of facts that make one dash to Google to find out more, make for a pleasurable read. the chapters form bite-sized chunks, thanks to the 'potted-history-in-four-pages' approach. So read and enjoy Lingo for the tasty nuggets about language (every chapter has something worth knowing – a gold star for anyone who already knew about karaim); be inspired to conduct further personal investigations; share in the author's love of languages; and ignore the book's minor weaknesses. A mainstream book that celebrates languages is worth celebrating in itself. Ken Paver MCIL Chair, TL Editorial Board D 1 F 2 T 3 P 4 F 5 R 6 L 7 I B I D O A 8 D A G I O V N C D J P C 9 A V A C 10 A R N I V A L L A E T R M 11 A 12 G E N T A P 13 A T I O C A D 14 A M 15 A N C 16 Y T 17 I M P 18 A N I P A B 19 L R P 20 E R S U A D E A 21 L T 22 O L I N M V H P 23 L A N E T M 24 A D R A S A O U A A I Crossword solutions Puzzle, page 31