Stephen Fry hosts four programmes on the joys of the English language - as heard on BBC Radio 4. Current Puns Why does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun? And who, or what, is the Thief of Bad Gags? Metaphor The English language is chock-full of maritime metaphors: cock up, taken aback, chip on your shoulder and show a leg. And, with the help of a Greek removals firm, we also find the origin of the word 'metaphor'. Quotation The uses and misuses of quotations are revealed, and there is also a frank confession from a quotation compiler, which we cannot divulge here. Cliché Featuring sick parrots and the cliché crisis that affected the writing of Flaubert, Joyce and Eliot, and helped shape modern language and culture.
1 of 2 copies available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
June 10, 2009 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9781408409015
- File size: 49770 KB
- Duration: 01:43:41
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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In these four short episodes from a light BBC series, actor/comedian/author Stephen Fry riffs on miscellaneous aspects of the English language that intrigue him. With his wonted reserve and humor, he discusses the strengths and frustrations of the Qwerty (standard) typewriter/computer keyboard, gender's influence on language, the power and agility of the word "no," and possible futures for our mother tongue. Snippets from interviews with experts, films, and recordings add to the production's informative value. But any delight comes from Fry's musical bass-baritone and his witty scripts. A linguist once told this reviewer that most people know very little about language, and the little they know is wrong. Fry presents us with an entertaining and digestible way to disabuse ourselves of our "misspeechifications." Y.R. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine
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