Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English

Lexicographer Hargraves has lived on and off in Britain for the past 15 years, and finally was trying to remember too many differences in expressions on one or the other side of the Atlantic. So he began to make a list to refer to, and decided that he could widen it somewhat from his personal concerns and provide others with a handy reference as well, including Brits trying to make sense of Yank. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

Hargraves, a lexicographer and cohabitant of the United States of America and Britain, has written a well-organized guide to the differences between American and British English. The historical introduction makes for interesting reading, and Hargraves has clearly made an effort to provide an unbiased account. In fact, instead of suggesting that the two dialects should move toward uniformity, he declares that native speakers of each would be enriched by an understanding of the other. The subsequent two chapters on lexicography and syntax would be helpful for nonnative speakers of English, although knowledge of grammatical terms is assumed. The majority of the book, however, is devoted to lexical variations between the dialects, organized by subject/ theme, such as "Money, Business and Work" and "Education." There is even a wittily written chapter on "what you don't say." Perhaps from a linguist's point of view, Hargraves is too quick to dismiss other, less dominant regional dialects such as Australian, Canadian, and South African English. Nevertheless, on what could have been a rather dry and technical subject, Hargraves has written a very readable book that is as entertaining for native speakers to dip into as it is informative for nonnative speakers or editors.-Rebecca Bollen, Jersey City, NJ Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.