Synopses & Reviews
Fowler's Modern English Usage is the world-famous guide to English usage, loved and used by writers of all kinds. In keeping with its long tradition, Fowler's gives comprehensive and practical advice on grammar, syntax, style, and choice of words. It gives a clear and authoritative picture of the English we use, and elucidates many scores of usage questions such as the split infinitive and the intricacies of political correctness. It gives in-depth coverage of both British and American English with reference to the English of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa. The volume includes wide-ranging examples of usage from a broad selection of newspapers, journals, and books from across the globe, and features illustrative quotations from authors such as Agatha Christie, Chinua Achebe, Iris Murdoch, Harold Pinter, and Noel Coward.
Based on the evidence and research of the Oxford Dictionaries Program, this is the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to usage available. The third edition of 1996 provided a complete revision and an expansion of the original text, bringing the book fully up to date on all matters of grammar, usage, syntax, and style. This is a reissue of the revised third edition of 1998, which includes a new Supplement and revised entries. Replaces isbn 0198602634.
Synopsis
"Fowlers" has sold over a million copies over seven decades. For this new revision, eminent lexicographer Robert Burchfield has rewritten or otherwise enhanced hundreds of entries and has added twenty-four new entries in a special supplement.
The volume remains the classic guide to English usage worldwide. Users will find practical help with grammar, syntax, style, and choice of words; clear guidance on usage offered in light of the language of the 1990s, with many new insights into how English is used today; in-depth coverage of both British and American English, together with aspects of the English of Australia; and wide-ranging illustrative examples, including samples from an international selection of newspapers, journals, and periodicals, as well as from well-known authors such as Martin Amis, Anita Brookner, Ruth Rendell, and John Updike. Whether you have a question about split infinitives, unattached participles, political correctness, or so on, you will find a clear and reliable answer here.
A charming blend of information and good humor, The New Fowler's Modern English Usage offers advice and background information on all aspects of English language, from grammar to spelling to literary style. It is a godsend for writers, broadcasters, journalists, and anyone else who wants to write and speak well.
About the Author
The original 'Fowler' was
Henry Watson Fowler (1858-1933), a teacher and writer. He was also the author, with his brother Francis, of
The King's English (1906) and the first edition of the
Concise Oxford Dictionary (1911).
Robert Burchfield (1923-2004), a New Zealander by birth, held the post of Chief Editor of Oxford English Dictionaries between 1971 and 1984 and was the Editor of the final volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary Supplements. He was also the editor of The New Zealand Pocket Oxford Dictionary (1986) and, with C. T. Onions and G. W. S. Friedrichsen, of The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1966).
Table of Contents
Preface to the Third Edition
Acknowledgements
Dedication, 1926
Key to the Pronunciation
Abbreviations and Symbols
Bibliographical Abbreviations
A-Z
Preface to the Supplement of the Revised Third Edition
Supplement