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Biting the Wax Tadpole : Confessions of a Language Fanatic
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Biting the Wax Tadpole : Confessions of a Language Fanatic Hardcover - 2007

by Little, Elizabeth

  • Used

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Details

  • Title Biting the Wax Tadpole : Confessions of a Language Fanatic
  • Author Little, Elizabeth
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition First Melville H
  • Condition Used - Good
  • Pages 180
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Melville House Publishing, Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A.
  • Date 2007-11-01
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Bookseller's Inventory # 11320595-6
  • ISBN 9781933633336 / 1933633336
  • Weight 0.94 lbs (0.43 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.48 x 7.36 x 0.76 in (21.54 x 18.69 x 1.93 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Language and languages
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2007051771
  • Dewey Decimal Code 400

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Summary

What can Johnny Cash's lyrics teach us about the little-known Tangut dialect? Is 'tabernacle' really a swear word in Quebecois? Which language has absolutely no verbs? What is Earth's politest insult? And what is biting the wax tadpole actually a translation of?Prepare for a hilarious rollercoaster ride through hundreds of well-known, obscure, difficult, dead and even made-up languages. Elizabeth Little has waded through innumerable verb tables in every available mood and tense, untangled up to eighteen cases of noun, and wrestled with all kinds of complicated adjective, participles and glottal stops to bring you the best and most bizarre quirks of the ways people communicate all around the globe.From the language that has no different word for 'blue' or 'green', to why Icelanders need official permission to name their children, from what makes a Korean TV hit to what people might think you're saying if you order eggs in Spain, Biting the Wax Tadpole will ensure you're never lost for words again.Coca-Cola, would you believe it?

From the publisher

Elizabeth Little is a writer and editor living in New York City. She has worked as a literary agent and as a writer and editor for the travel guide Let's Go: China, and she writes regularly for The New York Times Travel section. This is her first book.

Media reviews

“Charming anecdotes, witty sidebars, and attractive illustrations … Little’s strong sense of humor never overwhelms her love of languages in this fascinating yet educational introduction to linguistics for a wide, pop-savvy audience.”
–Publishers Weekly

“Biting the Wax Tadpole is witty, sassy, and laugh-out-loud funny. Little convincingly demonstrates that, as she puts it, ‘language is nothing less than a great adventure.’ So is her book.”
–Kitty Burns Florey, author of Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog

About the author

Elizabeth Little is a writer and editor living in New York City. She has worked as a literary agent and as a writer and editor for the travel guide "Let's Go: China," and she writes regularly for "The""New York Times" Travel section. This is her first book.

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