Whys & Therefores: A Rational Look at the English Language

288 Pages·2011·4.135 MB·

by  William Rutherford

Why &
s
Therefore
s
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Why &
s
Therefore
s
A rational look
at the English language
William Rutherford
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Published by Equinox Publishing Ltd
UK: Unit S3, Kelham House, 3 Lancaster Street, Sheffield, S3 8AF
USA: DBBC, 28 Main Street, Oakville, CT 06779
www.equinoxpub.com
First published in 2011
© William Rutherford 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or
any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-84553-651-0 (paperback)
978-1-908049-90-2 (hardback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rutherford, William E.
Whys & therefores : a rational look at the English language / William Rutherford.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-908049-90-2 (hb)— ISBN 978-1-84553-651-0 (pb)
1. English language—Study and teaching. 2. English philology. 3. Language and
languages—Study and teaching. I. Title. II. Title: Whys and therefores.
PE1065.R88 2010
428.0071—dc22
2010003589
Typeset by Ben Cracknell Studios
Printed and bound in the UK by the MPG Books Group
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to Lynne
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CONTENTS
Preface
xiii
acknowledgements
xvii
one  words …  words …
1
Day 1 “drink” 2
Day 2 content and function 4
Day 3 open and closed 6
Day 4 bricks and mortar 8
Day 5 “so friendly to your taste” 10
PS 1 to know a word … 12
two  togetherness 
13
Day 6 with a broom in his pajamas 14
Day 7 to my knowledge … 16
Day 8 The able mentor met who? 18
Day 9 It was in the office that they met. 20
Day 10 What I want is … 22
PS 2 ambiguity 24
three  being creative
25
Day 11 worth a standing ovulation … 26
Day 12 a mirror into the future 28
Day 13 souving the serp 30
Day 14 hamburgers & infotainment 32
Day 15 hair today, gone tomorrow 34
PS 3 glarpos & elbonics 36
foUr  the end of the word
37
Day 16 curiosity, yes … furiosity, no 38
Day 17 wait, waiting, waiter 40
Day 18 lengthen and given 42
Day 19 compute r iz ation s 44
Day 20 no longest word? 46
PS 4 Large church plans collapse 48

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contents
five  those little words
49
Day 21 more this, a lot of that 50
Day 22 piece o’ cake 52
Day 23 a sandwich and the cheese 54
Day 24 See a blue pencil? … it? … one? 56
Day 25 a tiger, the tiger, tigers 58
PS 5 addiction to generic terms 60
siX  soUnd & sPelling one
61
Day 26 Why the g in “sign”? 62
Day 27 Why not “medisine”? 64
Day 28 Why not “editer”? … “comperable”? 66
Day 29 Why the i in both “wide” and “width”? 68
Day 30 Why can’t we spell it like we say it? 70
PS 6 “like a ghoti out of water” 72
seven  illogical ~ irrational ~ Unreasonable
73
Day 31 unlockable 74
Day 32 unthinkable, inconceivable 76
Day 33 illegal, unlawful 78
Day 34 in- un- non- 80
Day 35 unqualified vs. disqualified 82
PS 7 “no unnecessary words” 84
eight  really being Possessed
85
Day 36 Mine eyes have seen the glory … 86
Day 37 a good night’s sleep 88
Day 38 Benji’s knee and Benji’s key 90
Day 39 quick-witted and open-minded 92
Day 40 the end of the world 94
PS 8 three inflections 96
nine  soUnd & sPelling two
97
Day 41 consonant clusters 98
Day 42 tongue twisters 100
Day 43 syllabic consonants 102
Day 44 weak/strong & tense/lax I 104
Day 45 weak/strong & tense/lax II 106
PS 9 syllabics and the indefinite article 108
viii
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contents
ten  words & categories
109
Day 46 inválid vs. Ínvalid 110
Day 47 I brake for animals 112
Day 48 “dusting” and “seeding” 114
Day 49 classifying, categorizing 116
Day 50 productive suffixes 118
PS 10 desertification vs. desertization 120
eleven  qUestions … qUestions …
121
Day 51 talk to who(*m)ever comes by … 122
Day 52 What difference does it make? 124
Day 53 let’s look at it, shàll wé? 126
Day 54 Who hit who? 128
Day 55 What big teeth you have! 130
PS 11 Who do you think you are! 132
twelve  what neXt, yoU idiom?
133
Day 56 a thorny issue 134
Day 57 Look it up; then look at it 136
Day 58 Love is fire, love is magic 138
Day 59 go into a coma, come out of a coma 140
Day 60 here and there, plus or minus 142
PS 12 this, that, and the other 144
thirteen  negatives …  negatives …
145
Day 61 We’ve hardly scratched the surface 146
Day 62 Little did you realize … 148
Day 63 Never will it … Soon it will … 150
Day 64 any 152
Day 65 the Zen of any 154
PS 13 Better late than never. 156
foUrteen  comParison & contrast
157
Day 66 razor sharp / as sharp as a razor 158
Day 67 smaller than, more small than 160
Day 68 better than tennis, or Dennis 162
Day 69 more attractive women 164
Day 70 that, than, to, of, as 166
PS 14 comparatives and superlatives 168
ix
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