While
visiting a used bookstore last year, I came across Scribner Handbook of English by Albert H. Marckwardt and Frederic
G. Cassidy, a wonderful reminder of how some things are timeless when it comes
to words and language – and how some things really do change.
Originally
published in 1940, I enjoyed the third edition, put out in 1960 – nearly six
decades ago. Below are a few select
excerpts from a still-helpful guide to our language:
A Large Vocabulary
The
English language has a very large stock of words. The larger dictionaries generally record
about half a million words. Some
authorities on language have expressed the opinion that perhaps our language is
too richly endowed, that there are too many words that almost duplicate one
another in meaning. The opposing view is
that a large vocabulary makes it possible to express a great many shades of
emotion as well as of designation, and that individual styles may thus be
developed. Your problem is to find the
appropriate word for every situation, a word which expresses as exactly as
possible the meaning that you wish to convey, - one which will make your reader
feel that it is just the word you should have used. Joseph Conrad has said, “Give me the right
word and the right accent [that is, emphasis] and I will move the world.”
The Dictionary
At
a conservative estimate, the English language has at least half a million
words; the number increases every year.
Clearly no one person knows everything there is to be known about all
the words in English or in any other language.
Plagiarism
The
word plagiarism came in to the
English language from Latin. In old
Roman times plagiarius was a term for
a kidnapper, one who abducted the child or slave of another. Today plagiarism
is applied to the stealing of ideas rather than persons. A plagiarist, therefore, is one who copies or
appropriates the ideas, words, artistic productions of another person, and, by
using them without giving due credit, passes them off as his own. In school this is looked upon as plain
cheating. There is essentially no
difference between copying from a book in the library and from the examination
paper of the student sitting next to you.
In either case you are claiming credit to something that is not
yours. In the out-of-school world,
patent and copyright laws have been devised to prevent this form of dishonesty
and to punish offenders.
Card Catalogue
A
card catalogue is an alphabetical index of all the books, pamphlets, bulletins,
and periodicals in the library. The
cards are filed according to authors, titles, and subjects.
Catalogues
vary in their completeness, but you may always be certain that there will be a
card for every book in the library filed under the name of its author.
DON”T MISS THESE!!!
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No. 1 Book Publicity Resource: 2019 Toolkit For Authors
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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and
interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of
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@theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more
important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2019. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in
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IBPA’s Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the
top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best
resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America.
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