by Charles Harrington Elster
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Product Description
The definitive pronouncement on more than 1,500 of our most commonly mispronounced words.
From the language maven Charles Harrington Elster comes an authoritative and unapologetically opinionated look at American speech. As Elster points out, there is no sewer in connoisseur, no dip in diphthong, and no pronoun in pronunciation. The culmination of twenty years of observation and study, The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations is more than just a pronunciation guide. Elster discusses past and present usage, alternatives, analogies, and tendencies and offers plenty of advice, none of it objective. Whether you are adamant or ambivalent about the spoken word, Elster arms you with the information you need to decide what is acceptable for you.
The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations has now been expanded and revised and features nearly 200 new words, including:
al-Qaeda
bruschetta
commensurate
coup de grâce
curriculum vita
exacerbate
gigabyte
hara-kiri
machismo
Muslim
Niger
Pinochet
Pulitzer
sorbet
tinnitus
w (as in www-dot)
and many, many more.
Charles Harrington Elster is the pronunciation editor of Black's Law Dictionary and the author of various books about language, including Verbal Advantage, There's a Word for It, and What in the Word? He has been a guest columnist on language for the Boston Globe and the New York Times Magazine and a commentator on NPR and hundreds of radio shows around the country.
Amazon.com Review
"When it comes to pronunciation," says Charles Harrington Elster, "there are two types of people: Those who don't give the subject a second thought and those who do. This book is for those who do." Those who don't will likely dismiss it as a conglomeration of minutiae (mi-N[Y]oo-shee-ee). Elster's Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations combines and expands upon his two previous books on the subject, offering historical pronunciations, authoritative opinions (his own and others'), and meandering explanations. This book is more entertaining than a game of badminton (don't say, "BAD-mitten," which Elster considers sloppy) and more lasting than a daiquiri (that's "DY-kuh-ree"). And best of all, you'll tighten up that flaccid ("FLAK-sid") pronunciation. Kudos ("KOO-dahs") to Elster for setting us straight. For now, anyway--there's a neologism ("nee-AHL-uh-jiz'm") born every day. --Jane Steinberg
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Don't argue with a misspeaker, just show them this book, 2008-11-16
Great reference book. Worth reading for entertainment. Settles arguments with people who misspeak, but don't know it. Don't take abuse, just show them the book. Offers much cogent advice on how to say words and why. The articles on how to pronounce poinsettia, often, balm, and forté will make you correct as well as feel knowledgeable (and superior). This book gives you more authority than a ruler-wielding French nun. Buy it. You won't regret it (unless you say things like "crick" for creek or "warsh" for wash or put an "r" on idea. Sherbert or sherbet or sorbet? Here's the answer at last!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Great book for people who want to understand the details of pronunciation., 2008-04-05
This is a great source for discovering the proper pronunciation of popular words in the English language. Many people don't realize they are pronouncing some words incorrectly. If you enjoy language and are a person who attends to fine details when it comes to the contemporary use of language, you will enjoy this source.
As a curious person who enjoys language, I found this book enlightening.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Can you pronounce pronunciation?, 2006-03-09
It's not pro-NOUN-see-AY-shin. It's pruh-NUHN-see-AY-shin. Open this book at random and learn something. Deluge is "DEL-yooj (like dell plus huge without the h)." Demur is di-MUR, not di-MYOOR. "Pronounce mur as in murder, not as in mural." Once it's in your reference library you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Definitely worth reading, 2006-03-08
I realize language changes over time, and eventually new ways of pronouncing words are adopted. However, there are still a lot of words that seem to confuse people. I have even seen people argue over it.
This book has "proper" pronunciations of English words. While I wouldn't go as far as he does pronouncing words adopted from other languages, I definitely get irritated when people don't use their "native" language properly.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Incredible!, 2005-02-01
The name of this book is what caught my eye, but, as soon as I opened it, I realized how great it is. I learned of quite a few mistakes I make, and often WHY. The author's somewhat ranting tone makes an otherwise dense and boring subject a bit more approachable. I highly recommend this book.
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