Lexical

"The way you speak is who you are and the tones of your voice and the tricks of your emailing and tweeting and letter-writing, can be recognised unmistakably in the minds of those who know and love you". (Stephen Fry). From feral children to fairy-tale princesses, secrets codes, invented languages - even a language that was eaten - "Planet Word" uncovers everything you didn't know you needed to know about how language evolves. Learn the tricks to political propaganda, why we can talk but animals can't, discover 3,000-year-old clay ... read more

A rollicking entertainment for word lovers. MOTS D'HEURES: GOUSSES, RAMES The d'Antin Manuscript Discovered, Edited, and Annotated by LUIS D'ANTIN VAN ROOTEN Warning: this book is addictive! The rhymes of your childhood - and your children's childhood - sound even better (and much funnier) in the accents of Moliere and Sarkozy. Once you get the point of these delectable j'aime se from the works of Mere L'Oie, you will find yourself reading them aloud to anyone who will listen.If you've had two years of French or eaten escargots on... read more

Exercise Book collects over fifty creative writing exercise used by Bill Manhire and his colleagues, not only at Victoria but throughout New Zealand and around the world. The celebrated writer/teachers who have contributed include Elanor Catton, Curtis Sittenfeld, Emily Perkins, David Vann, Elizabeth and Sara Knox, Dora Malech and Kirsty Gunn. This book will be an indispensible resource for teachers and students, and excellent stimulation and entertainment for anyone wanting to give writing a go.
Exercises give your body a wo... read more

Collins Compact Spanish Dictionary is an easily portable essential reference guide. Its clear layout allows for quick and easy accessibility when you most need it. Collins Compact Spanish Dictionary is designed for all those studying Spanish as a hobby or who need maximum information in a handy travel format. / Collins Compact Spanish dictionary offers comprehensive and up-to-the-minute coverage of Spanish and English, with additional notes warning the user of those words which are easily confused like 'flan'. / Collins Compact ... read more

A classic reference book that has been used by millions all over the world, "Roget's International Thesaurus" is the product of more than a century and a half of continual expansion, reorganization, and improvement. Today this book is not only the most time-tested and bestselling thesaurus ever, but, newly revised, it is also the most up-to-date and comprehensive reflection of the English language as it is currently used. The revolutionary achievement of Dr. Peter Mark Roget's first edition in 1852 was the development of a brand-ne... read more

Stephen Fry believes that if you can speak and read English you can write poetry. But it is no fun if you don't know where to start or have been led to believe that Anything Goes. Stephen, who has long written poems, and indeed has written long poems, for his own private pleasure, invites you to discover the incomparable delights of metre, rhyme and verse forms. Whether you want to write a Petrarchan sonnet for your lover's birthday, an epithalamion for your sister's wedding or a villanelle excoriating the government's housing poli... read more

What is the difference between mean and median, blatant and flagrant, flout and flaunt? Is it whodunnit or whodunit? Do you know? Are you sure? With "Troublesome Words", journalist and bestselling travel-writer Bill Bryson gives us a clear, concise and entertaining guide to the problems of English usage and spelling that has been an indispensable companion to those who work with the written word for over twenty years. So if you want to discover whether you should care about split infinitives, are cursed with an uncontrollable outbr... read more

Our everyday lives are inevitably touched--and immeasurably enriched by an extraordinary variety of miniature forms of verbal communication, from classified ads to street signs, and from yesterday's graffito to tomorrow's headline. Celebrating our long history of compact speech, Short Cuts offers a well-researched and vibrantly written account of this unsung corner of the linguistic world, inspiring a new appreciation of the wondrously varied forms of our briefest exchanges. Alexander Humez, Nicholas Humez, and Rob Flynn here shed ... read more

Combining both accessibility and authority, The Insect That Stole Butter? describes the origins and development of over 3,000 words and phrases in the English language. The book draws on Oxford's unrivalled dictionary research programme and language monitoring, and relates the fascinating stories behind many of our most curious terms and expressions in order to offer the reader a much more explicit account than can be found in a general English dictionary. Organized A-Z, the entries include first known use along with examples that ... read more

Discover the meaning of acronyms, cliches and spoonerisms. Find out the history of the alphabet, punctuation, pen names and plurals. Learn how to trick your friends by speaking in Pig Latin or rhyming slang. This entertaining, quirky and enlightening look at the English language is full of games, puzzles, facts and riddles. Ages 9+.

Born as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern English from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to become the linguistic equivalent of a superpower, and is now sometimes described as the world's lingua franca. Worldwide some 380 million people speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be l... read more

A directory for children's writers and artists containing children's media contacts and practical advice and information. This 7th edition is completely revised and updated, with a foreword by Quentin Blake and several new articles written by Anthony Brown, Emily Gravett, Francesca Simon, Michael Rosen and David Fickling. Contains information on a wide range of topics with the emphasis on giving the aspiring writer and illustrator knowledge of the children's market in all areas, to help them pursue their careers in this increas... read more

Gotham Writers' Workshop has mastered the art of teaching the craft of writing in a way that is practical, accessible, and entertaining. Now the techniques of this renowned school are available in this book. Here you'll find: - The fundamental elements of fiction craft-character, plot, point of view, etc.-explained clearly and completely - Key concepts illustrated with passages from great works of fiction - The complete text of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver-a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction that is analyzed throughout the... read more

Writers Guides: An Aber Series Here is how to become a published romance writer If you want to write romance and be a professional writer then this book is a must for you. Following on from the success of the first edition of this book, which won a major award, this guide explains what is meant by romance and takes you through the process of writing emotion and conflict. The author explains how dialogue should be natural between your heroine and her hero and she explains the difference between sensuality and passion. With an exp... read more

What do picture book publishers really want? This entertaining and practical book has all the answers, including: - What to write about - and how to write it - How to present your work professionally - How to persuade your chosen publisher to accept your book for publication. It covers virtually everything you need to know about the international picture book market and selling your work to agents and publishers. Andrea Shavick's book also answers the vexing questions of which publishers to approach, whether you need an agent, wh... read more

This title offers an eye-opening tour of the English language through the ages from the Britain's leading linguistics expert. In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistic expert, David Crystal, draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ('roe', in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words... read more

If you're reaching for superlatives but can only come up with, 'Yeah, the match/meal/musical was great' ...If you're recommending a book on your blog or in the college mag and all you can offer is, 'The plot is fantastic' ...If you like hanging out at movie previews and want to bluff your way into the it-crowd ...you need In a Word. In a Word is a multi-tool for anyone who uses language as a tool, from students to bloggers, critics and speech writers. Journalist Mark Broatch has combed thousands of reviews and blog sites to round u... read more

Ranging from lava-spewing volcanoes to cool ways to remember the world's highest mountains, longest rivers and most desolate deserts, as well as the countries and continents in which these fantastic features are found, this title is a suitable learning companion to help school children get to grips with discovering the world around them.