{"product_id":"the-secret-life-of-words-how-english-became-english-paperback","title":"The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eHenry Hitchings\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAN \u003ci\u003eECONOMIST\u003c\/i\u003e BOOK OF THE YEAR \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Words \u003c\/i\u003eis a wide-ranging account of the transplanted, stolen, bastardized words we've come to know as the English languag. It's a history of English as a whole, and of the thousands of individual words, from more than 350 foreign tongues, that trickled in gradually over hundreds of years of trade, colonization, and diplomacy. Henry Hitchings narrates the story from the Norman Conquest to the present day, chronicling the English language as a living archive of human experience. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA SAMPLE OF THE THOUSANDS OF STORIES BEHIND THE WORDS: \u003cbr\u003e- Alcatraz Island was named by a Spanish explorer who arrived in 1775 to find the island covered with pelicans, or \u003ci\u003ealcatraces\u003c\/i\u003e. And alcatraces? The word goes back to the Arabic \u003ci\u003eal-qadus\u003c\/i\u003e, which was a bucket used in irrigation that resembled the bucket beaks of pelicans. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- What does a walnut have to do with walls? The word comes from the Old English walhnutu, meaning foreign nut. They were originally grown in Italy and imported, and the northern Europeans named them to distinguish them from the native hazelnut. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- A crayfish is not a fish. The name comes from the old French word \u003ci\u003ecrevice\u003c\/i\u003e, through the Old German \u003ci\u003ecrebiz \u003c\/i\u003eand the modern French \u003ci\u003eecrevisse\u003c\/i\u003e. The fish part is just the result of a mishearing. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Secret Life of Words \u003c\/i\u003eis a wide-ranging chronicle of how words witness history, reflect social change, and remind us of our past.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHENRY HITCHINGS \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in 1974. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eDefining the World \u003c\/i\u003eand has contributed to many newspapers and magazines.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 448\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.1 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e September 29, 2009\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45330918932582,"sku":"9780312428563","price":39.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/L0VBai9LMnNUUzNvSzgxbk9oUlp3UT09.webp?v=1774385362","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/the-secret-life-of-words-how-english-became-english-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}