The Origins of English Words
A Discursive Dictionary of Indo-European Roots
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Todd Ross
About this listen
There are no direct records of the original Indo-European speech. By comparing the vocabularies of its various descendants, however, it is possible to reconstruct the basic Indo-European roots with considerable confidence. In The Origins of English Words, Shipley catalogues these proposed roots and follows the often devious, always fascinating, process by which some of their offshoots have grown.
Anecdotal, eclectic, and always enthusiastic, The Origins of English Words is a diverting expedition beyond linguistics into literature, history, folklore, anthropology, philosophy, and science.
©1984 Joseph T. Shipley (P)2023 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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So nerdy!
- By Carrie on 04-02-17
By: Mark Forsyth
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The Language Instinct
- How the Mind Creates Language
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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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....
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Absolutely Amazing and Interesting
- By J. C. on 10-28-12
By: Steven Pinker
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On Language
- Chomsky's Classic Works 'Language and Responsibility' and 'Reflections on Language'
- By: Noam Chomsky, Mitsou Ronat
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Described by the New York Times as "arguably the most important intellectual alive," Noam Chomsky is known throughout the world for his highly influential writings on language and politics. Featuring two of Chomsky's most popular and enduring books in one omnibus volume, On Language contains some of the noted linguist and political critic's most informal and accessible work to date, making it an ideal introduction to his thought.
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Difficult in audio format
- By Commuting Learner on 09-19-16
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
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The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
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Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
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Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue
- The Untold History of English
- By: John McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar. Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
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Great for casual linguists
- By Bertie on 01-11-10
By: John McWhorter
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The Language Hoax
- Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language
- By: John H. McWhorter
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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This short, opinionated audiobook addresses the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which argues that the language we speak shapes the way we perceive the world. Linguist John McWhorter argues that while this idea is mesmerizing, it is plainly wrong. It is language that reflects culture and worldview, not the other way around.
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I really love listening to language--and McWhorter
- By Rachel on 03-24-16
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The Horologicon
- A Day's Jaunt Through the Lost Words of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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The Horologicon (or book of hours) contains the most extraordinary words in the English language, arranged according to what hour of the day you might need them. From Mark Forsyth, the author of the number-one international best seller The Etymologicon comes an audiobook of weird words for familiar situations. From ante-jentacular to snudge by way of quafftide and wamblecropt, at last you can say, with utter accuracy, exactly what you mean.
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So nerdy!
- By Carrie on 04-02-17
By: Mark Forsyth
-
The Language Instinct
- How the Mind Creates Language
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 18 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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....
-
-
Absolutely Amazing and Interesting
- By J. C. on 10-28-12
By: Steven Pinker
-
On Language
- Chomsky's Classic Works 'Language and Responsibility' and 'Reflections on Language'
- By: Noam Chomsky, Mitsou Ronat
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Described by the New York Times as "arguably the most important intellectual alive," Noam Chomsky is known throughout the world for his highly influential writings on language and politics. Featuring two of Chomsky's most popular and enduring books in one omnibus volume, On Language contains some of the noted linguist and political critic's most informal and accessible work to date, making it an ideal introduction to his thought.
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Difficult in audio format
- By Commuting Learner on 09-19-16
By: Noam Chomsky, and others
What listeners say about The Origins of English Words
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ed Pegg Jr
- 11-04-23
The best "Read the Dictionary" on Audible
This is a book published in 1984 by the then 90-year-old author. The English professor died in 1988 and thus missed the 1989 publication of the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, OED2.
Quagmire, quacksalver, Quakers, Quaker-gun. Frequently within the book will be a series of related words, and then details about the origins about the words, some related stories, and their use in literature. The OED was heavily referenced while putting together this book. Vivify, viable, viper from their trait of birthing their offspring alive, revive, vitality, victuals.
Amazingly, it comes off as lively, with a factoid you likely haven't heard before every minute. The narrator does a great job of it. However, there are occasional places where the asides are cryptic. "Ad infinitum, as heard with the fleas..." The author is referencing a Jonathan Swift poem.
So, Nat'ralists observe, a Flea
Hath smaller Fleas that on him prey,
And these have smaller yet to bite 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum:
But most references are giving fully. Likely, this book has a larger vocabulary than anything else on Audible.
Recommended.
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- Koko B.
- 07-08-24
Soooooo boring
This book was so boring that I could only listened to it a little over 2 hours. I couldn't fathom listening to it for 36 hours. I love anything to do with etymology but this book was..... well, it was outdated (since it was published a while ago, I'll let that slide) and written in the most boring manner. The narrater's performance didn't help either. I wish I could return it for a refund! I wasted my 1 credit for it. I guess I could use it as my "sleep aid."
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