Why Is This a Question?

Everything About the Origins and Oddities of Language You Never Thought to Ask

Why Is This a Question?
Paul Anthony Jones
Our Price:
NZ$ 35.00
Hardback
h216 x 138mm - 320pg
13 Oct 2022 UK
International import eta 7-19 days
9781783966646
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
A fascinating exploration of the nuts and bolts of human language. Why don' t eleven and twelve end in -teen? The rest of our counting system sits in neatly arithmetical sets of ten, so why do these two rulebreakers seem so at odds to the numbers that follow them? Admittedly, that' s probably a question you' ve never thought to ask. But if you' re even remotely interested in the origins and oddities of language, it' s likely also a question you' re now intrigued to know the answer to. Nor is it the only question: take a moment to think about how our language operates and even more spring mind. Why do these letters look the way they do? Why are some uppercase and others lowercase? Why are these words in this order? How are you understanding what these seemingly arbitrary shapes and symbols mean, while doubtless hearing them read to you in a voice inside your head? And what is this question mark really doing at this end of this sentence? Books explaining the origins of our language' s most intriguing words and phrases have long proved popular, but they often overlook the true nuts and bolts of our languages: the origins our alphabet and writing system; grammatical rules and conventions; the sound structure of language; and even how our brains and bodies interpret and communicate language itself. Why Is This A Question? redresses that balance, and explores many complex yet fascinating linguistic disciplines across its chapters, each exploring a question you' ve likely never thought to ask. Praise for The Cabinet of Calm ' I love this gifty and gorgeous compendium of beguiling words from which you can select to soothe the troubles that afflict you. . . [A] warm bath of linguistic remedies. ' Caroline Sanderson, The Bookseller (Editor' s Choice: May 2020) ' Fantastic . . . Exactly the book that everybody needs. ' Simon Mayo
Paul Anthony Jones is something of a linguistic phenomenon. He runs the popular @HaggardHawks Twitter feed, blog and YouTube channel, revealing daily word facts to 60,000 engaged followers. His books include: Word Drops: A Sprinkling of Linguistic Curiosities (E&T, 2015), The Accidental Dictionary (E&T, 2016), The Cabinet of Linguistic Curiosities (E&T, 2017), Around the World in 80 Words (E&T, 2018), as well as several other books on trivia and language. He appears regularly in the media and has contributed to the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries online. He is also a piano teacher and musician, and lives in Newcastle upon Tyne.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9781783966646
Published: 13 Oct 2022
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: Elliott & Thompson
Publisher: Elliott & Thompson
Format: Hardback
Height: 216mm
Width: 138mm
Pages: 320

In stock - for items in stock we aim to dispatch the next business day. For delivery in NZ allow 2-5 business days, with rural taking a wee bit longer.

Locally sourced in NZ - stock comes from a NZ supplier with an approximate delivery of 7-15 business days.

International Imports - stock is imported into NZ, depending on air or sea shipping option from the international supplier stock can take 10-30 working days to arrive into NZ. 

Pre-order Titles - delivery will vary depending on where the title is published, if local stock is available in NZ then 5-7 business days, for international imports it can be 10-30 business days. In all cases we will access the quickest supply option.

Delivery Packaging - we ship all items in cardboard sleeves or by box with either packing paper or corn starch chips. (We avoid using plastics bubble bags)

Tracking - Orders are delivered by track and trace courier and are fully insured, tracking information will be sent by email once dispatched.

View our full Order & Delivery information