Mind the Gaffe

Oct 4, 2024 7:16 PM

Author:R L Trask

Mind the Gaffe

Can anything be described as 'very real'? There are so many obstacles on the way to writing clear, precise ('accurate'?) English ('english'?) that it is a wonder ('wander'?) anyone ('any one' or 'anyone'?) can be understood. Fortunately, all those who have ever feared being shown up by using one of the twenty worst words and phrases to be avoided at all costs, or confusing the complex with the complicated, can now relax and even enjoy a trouble-shooting guide to good writing. Trask's wonderfully readable and authoritative book adjudicates on hundreds of contentious issues from politically correct language to whether to write 'napkin' or 'serviette'.

Reviews

'I was enthralled by Guy Deutscher's The Unfolding of Language, a history of how words came to take the forms they do, and therefore a history of the forms of the human mind.'

—— A.S. Byatt in the Guardian 'Books of the Year

Fascinating... Any curious reader...will find something worth knowing in The Unfolding of Language'

—— Boston Globe

No one writes about language as clearly as Steven Pinker, and this is his best book yet

—— Financial Times

Immensely readable and stimulating. Pinker is a master at making complex ideas palatable

—— Independent

Awesome ... Pinker writes lucidly and elegantly, and leavens the text with scores of perfectly judged anecdotes, jokes, cartoons and illustrations

—— Daily Mail

Great editor: great teacher of editors

—— Peter Stothard, editor of the Times Literary Supplement

Harry Evans is the journalist we all wanted to be. He could write, sub, design, re-write, think - everything short of standing on the streets and selling the paper himself. Essential English has for generations been the bible of any aspiring Harry Evans. It is as fresh today as it was when it was first published nearly thirty years ago

—— Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian

Welcome back to the standard and brilliant text on written English for journalism. Good writing is good writing, and Harold Evans is a good writer, when all around are letting standards slip. Essential English should be essential reading for all journalism students, and all journalists who seek to improve their writing

—— Peter Cole, Professor of Journalism, University of Central Lancashire

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