Customer Reviews

Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language

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Another great offering from my favorite grammar maven, once again teaming up with her husband Stewart. The writing, as one expects from this duo, proceeds apace with wit and insight, dispelling a myth here and granting permission there. I was so relieved to know that I can split my infinitives at will and end my sentences with a preposition - and that I am in superbly historic linguistic company when I do. The word and phrase origins are fascinating. I guarantee this one will settle more than a few late night arguments - best to keep it right by the bed - or behind the bar.

If you love language, you won't find a better guide through the twisting alleys of English than Pat O'Conner. Since her first book, Woe Is I, through the current Origins of the Specious, Pat never fails to write fascinating and fun examinations of the English language. With a keen eye for the aspects of grammar, usage, and syntax that are most interesting, she points out little-known facts and etymologies of how we speak, and why we speak the way we do. And Pat is no stuffy grammarian, insisting that the old usages be maintained if they don't serve us well to communicate clearly. In this book, she debunks so many misused word, phrases, and idioms, some of which have commonly-believed origins which she explains, as well as misconceptions about usage, in particular the way some grammarians have tried to adhere to Latin grammar only to increase confusion and frustration about proper English usage. If you have an interest in language, get a hold of this book. And while you're at it, you might as well get her other books - after reading one, you'll certainly become an O'Connerophile.
(Note: it's mentioned at the beginning of the book that both Pat and her husband, Stewart Kellerman, wrote it together, but that for purposes of clarity, they wrote it as if in Pat's voice alone. In that spirit, I've written this review addressing all comments to her. As I'm sure she would like, I want to say that all of this applies to Stewart as well.)

I am a fan of Woe is I, Updated and Expanded 3rd Edition: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain EnglishUpdated and Expanded 3rd Edition and Woe is I Jr.: The Younger Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English but this book on language myths and misconceptions tops them both. It is so interesting and informative that I read it cover to cover in one sitting and have already gone back to some sections. How many words Eskimos really have for snow (p. 146) and how ivory towers got to campus from the Old Testament (p. 166) are two favorites. And I'm mentally bookmarking the nuanced history behind "call a spade a spade" (p. 126). It's a great example of the thoughtful way the rest of the book is written. Good reading!

"Origins of the Specious," by Patricia O'Conner and her husband, Stewart Kellerman (who graciously allows Pat to write from her point of view,) is a delightful romp in which the author explores the intricacies of our maddening and often illogical language. Since Pat wrote "Woe is I," people have been inundating her with questions and observations. In response, she wrote this book to help language junkies avoid making fools of themselves. O'Conner slays a number of sacred cows and will likely receive nasty letters and emails from word mavens who disagree with her. The author emphasizes that "perhaps the biggest myth of all is that English never changes, that it's immutable...But its ability to renew itself is what has kept English alive and kicking."

Here are a few questions to get you thinking: Should we always avoid concluding a sentence with a preposition? Is it a sin to split an infinitive? When did the Brits start speaking like Simon Cowell? Is it correct to say, "Hopefully, you will stop making so many grammatical errors"? Does niche rhyme with "leash" or "twitch"? Do such words as "gangsta," "bling," and "phat" deserve to be "dissed," or have they become part of our modern lexicon? What is the plural form of "octopus"? For answers to these and other intriguing questions, fascinating insights into unusual etymologies, and an exploration of a few common misconceptions that have persisted over time, pick up this pun-filled, witty, entertaining, sometimes salacious book. Although purists will undoubtedly balk at a few of O'Conner's more outspoken comments, sooner or later even the most stuffy traditionalist will be forced to admit that no individual can dictate (or even predict) how the English language will evolve.

I'm not sure what it is about language that encourages so many urban legends and old wives tales. Perhaps it's because the scientific treatment of language (linguistics) has next-to-no influence in our schools or culture. Language is, instead, treated as much more of an art or craft. Unfortunately, that approach is much more open to myths and misconceptions than a more rigorous and scientific one.

O'Conner and Kellermen do a great job pointing out some of those legends and errors. Take, for example, split infinitives. They're natural to English and have been used by all the greats - Shakespeare, Milton, the King James Bible, et al.

So, where did the prohibition come from? Would you believe Latin? It's true. Some 18th Century grammarians got the novel idea of modeling English after Latin (which, as everyone knew back then, was the perfect language). And in Latin, it's impossible to split an infinitive - they're one word!

There's tons more - from beginning sentences with conjunctions to ending them with prepositions and everything in between - and all just as cockeyed and screwy.

There were two things I didn't like about this book. One, the authors pick and choose which rules they want to be scientific about and which they'd prefer to be "artistic" about. Seems like they've been able to put only one foot in the linguistic camp.

Second, the individual sections are all rather fourmulaic. They typically begin with some far-fetched connection, discuss the issue in depth, then end with some terrible pun. Here's an example of the last (on why the French are called "frogs," which has been tied to their habit of eating the same):

"I'm with Tidwell on the etymology, but I'm with Kermit the Frog on amphibian cuisine. It's not easy being green, If the French aren't sauteing you, the English are using to roast the French."

I purchased this when a language newsletter I get recommended it. I like to support those who provide me with free goodies, so I clicked on his link and had it shipped immediately. I have read many books about language, and have subscribed to the erratically published Verbatim magazine for over 30 years. And therein lies the problem.

I hate to be the less-enthusiastic reviewer, but I was not overwhelmed at all by this light, small book. Most everything in here I have read elsewhere, in Verbatim and in the offerings of previous language writers, whether the pre-historic ancients like Fowler and Curme, mere antediluvian authors such as John Simon and Edwin Newman, or any of the more recent cranks. The brisk, pithy discussions, complete with a lame pun at the end of nearly every one, were just not very satisfying. (Maybe another manifestation of our short-attention span world; these little "chapters" were so brief I could hardly get involved.) For whatever reason, while the level of discourse sinks around us, where college graduates have never read an unassigned book and can barely write a coherent sentence, and one word beginning with f is the noun, verb, adjective, adverb in most conversation, the number of "The End Is Near, but It's Not So Bad" books seems to be increasing. Those of us watching the demise of something we love may buy these books (another endangered species) to help soothe our pain, but this provided little therapy. And her analysis is little more than listening to the masses. "Hopefully" is gonna happen, get used to it. Been used that way for a long time, is going to continue. Yeah, yeah.....the problems are much bigger than this.

Now, if you've never read anything on language, you may find this informative. I didn't. I'd send you to, among others, Willard Espy for both more fun and more information.

John V. Karavitis A gem of a book, I just finished reading this, I plan on reading it at least one more time. Ever get your panties in a bunch over some "grammar nazi" correcting your allegedly poor usage of some word or other in the King's English? Seems as though they are (mostly) all full of it, ain't that the truth!. I first came across the idea that language is alive and constantly changing when I decided to read the preface of Webster's New World College Dictionary - 3rd edition. To my horror, I discovered that word meanings change and mutate all the time. I hate the idea! I mean, words have meaning, yes, or what's a dictionary for??? Well, word meanings change for a number of reasons, but, most of all, because people are lazy. And thanks to that laziness, we may very well in our lifetimes lose some words that are simply irreplaceable: bemused, enormity, ironic, unique, etc. It's just too too sad. Patricia T. O'Conner and Stewart Kellerman do a fantastic job in tracking down and debunking a lot of myths regarding proper English language word use: "ain't" was a respectable word for a long time, American English is more "pure" than British English, a lot of English's crazy spellings and oh-so-strict grammar ideas come from Latin scholars who wanted to force English, a Germanic language, to become more Latinized, etc. Go ahead and split your infinitives - because you actually can never do so! And it's okay to end your sentences with prepositions, and even start them with adverbs like "hopefully". This book is fantastic, I learned a lot about the English language, it's one of those books you can read and read again and again. (P.S. Eskimos do NOT have hundreds of words for "snow". ENGLISH has more words for different kinds of snow! ENGLISH!!) A real eye-opener, I give this gem FIVE STARS! John V. Karavitis, John Karavitis, Karavitis, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, BigSight, KC9ISD.

A book like this one, humorous though it is, could only be handled by me in small doses. So I kept it in my bathroom and read a few pages at a time, whenever nothing more interesting was at hand. Therefore, it took me a whole year to finish it. I'm a college graduate former journalist, now 65, so I know good writing and hope I did some in my career. I am not, however, one of those "word mavens" one hears about a lot, spouting grammar rules. I don't think I break many, but what was acceptable in newspaper stories was frequently at odds with what was acceptable in a college class paper, or a textbook. I enjoyed the information presented here, and especially the husband/wife authors' style. Most of our familiar troublesome words have long histories, and sometimes have changed meanings completely over a century or two. If word origins and their shades of meaning and variations in spelling intrigue you, this would satisfy. I'm glad I read it, and I'll be passing it on so some other poor soul can go to the can with peace of mind, secure in the knowledge that verbal enlightenment is the perfect accompaniment to bodily release.

"Origins of the Specious" is quite simply a brilliant book, one that I so enjoyed reading for its humor, reverence, and thoughtful research. The authors debunk the many false myths that grammarians hoisted upon us English speakers. Chief among them: the myth that you can't split an infinitive ("to boldly go"), nor end a sentence with a preposition. O'Conner and Kellerman point out how English fell victim to 19th century grammarians who wanted to make English follow Latin rules, when in fact English is Germanic.

I was surprised to learn that American English may be more close in pronunciation to old English than the Queen's English. Who knew?! And that English spellings were often, again, derived from Latin and French-oriented grammarians. (I just broke another common mythical rule: never to start sentence with a conjunction like "And." Away with you, false-grammarians!)

The authors even take aim at styles considered sacrosanct, such as the New York Times, which takes aim at a word we all use regularly: Hopefully ("Hopefully I'll hear from you this week."). Contractions are totally fine in writing (who says you can't?). And (I did it again!) they point out how street words legitimately enter our vocabulary, like street cred (from credibility) and dis (from disrespect). Axe - as in "Let me axe you a question" - is commonly attributed to African Americans; it is in fact old English and the original word for "ask."

English is a democratic language that is constantly evolving and adding new words and phrases. It's like a sponge. Ultimately it isn't the grammarians and dictionary editors who decide what is correct - they are just the recorders. The real task lies with us, the people who use English daily. We decide through our daily conversations, e-mails, phone calls, text messages, and yes, even pillow talk.

What is better than a book on language that is witty and well written? This author has a perfectly balanced sense of humor and delivers thoughtful punch-lines with the saavy of a Robin Williams. I am very impressed with the care taken and the careful research and sense of flow. This book can actually change the way you speak and think ( or think and then speak ).