Językoznawstwo

A linguist with attitude, R. L. Trask was a steadfast soldier in the never-ending War of Words, fighting the good fight for standard written English. Revered for its insight and legendary for its -cheek, - Trask's Mind the Gaffe is an indispensable guidebook for wordsmiths and language mavens of every stripe, providing safe passage through the ubiquitous minefields of improper usage.

• Artiste: This pretentious word . . . commonly means -fraud pretending to be an artist.- Don't use it unless you mean to be insulting.

• Amoral, Immoral: An amoral person is...

Two rival businessmen meet in the Warsaw train station. "Where are you going?" says the first man.

"To Minsk," says the second.

"To Minsk, eh? What a nerve you have I know you're telling me you're going to Minsk because you want me to think that you're really going to Pinsk. But it so happens that I know you really are going to Minsk. So why are you lying to me?"

Four men are walking in the desert.

The German says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have a beer."

The Italian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine."

The Mexican says, "I'm tired and...

In this classic, the world's expert on language and mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about language: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it evolved. With deft use of examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of...

A delightful excursion through the Yiddish language, the culture it defines and serves, and the fine art of complaint

Throughout history, Jews around the world have had plenty of reasons to lament. And for a thousand years, they've had the perfect language for it. Rich in color, expressiveness, and complexity, Yiddish has proven incredibly useful and durable. Its wonderful phrases and idioms impeccably reflect the mind-set that has enabled the Jews of Europe to survive a millennium of unrelenting persecution . . . and enables them to kvetch about it

Michael...

For the twice-published novelist, reading an article about herself in the National Enquirer--under the headline "Here's One for the Books: Cleaning Lady Is an Acclaimed Author"--was more than a shock. It was an inspiration.

In A Broom of One's Own, Nancy Peacock, whose first novel was selected by the New York Times as a Notable Book of the Year, explores with warmth, wit, and candor what it means to be a writer. An encouragement to all hard-working artists, no matter how they make a living, Peacock's book provides valuable insights and advice on motivation,...

This book offers practical advice on every aspect of writing novels and short stories: plotting and narrative development, characterization and dialogue, sources of material, planning an opening, roughing out chapters, using suspense and emotional color, rewriting and highlighting and much more. Examples drawn from the works of outstanding writers, past and present, illustrate each point, making this the perfect handbook for professional writers and students.

An indispensable roadmap to success, The Writer Got Screwed is the first book to untangle the legal and business aspects of writing for the entertainment industry. It is for the young TV production assistant waiting for a big break, the executive with a treatment tucked away in a bottom drawer, the techie targeting the new field of cyberspace writing, or anyone who is inspired to write screenplays.

Savvy Hollywood entertainment attorney Brooke Wharton decodes legal jargon, explains how to protect creative work, shows how to read between the lines of a contract, and advises...

Unlike the mass of freelance writing books aimed at readers who fondly hope to become wealthy freelance writers any which way they can, Freelance Wiling: Breaking In Without Selling Out is for educated people whose primary motivation for trying to get into print is the wish to effectively communicate their ideas, skills and discoveries in appropriate publications. Few books are directed to the potential writer who wants to follow his or her own path. If fulfilling your sense of responsibility to your subject, to your audience, and to yourself is important to your satisfaction as...

In the 20 years since it first appeared, hundreds of thousands of writers'professionals as well as beginners--have read, followed and benefited from How to Get Happily Published. This new edition adds material on making deals with publishers (and what's important), working with small publishers (and when that's preferable), capitalizing on contacts (and where to make them), deciding whether to self-publish (and how much that costs), using new electronic media (to publish; to get information, publicity, promotion...