Surely not eclectic?

A book was published this week (Monday, April 20) by local author, John A. A. Harrison of Iden called “Personal Prejudice in the Use of English” – and he has some strong (but interesting) prejudices.

And it is not his first venture into writing as he co-wrote a book on education called “Wot, No school?” and he is obviously “educated” as he spent two years at medical school before deciding that “the world would be a safer place for many patients if he did not practice medicine”.

Instead, he joined a major oil company and wound up as training manager for its large R&D department before working as a management consultant and writing articles on training.

He says quite early on his book that “this is a rant” and there is some truth in that. But there is also a useful bibliography at the back of his book along with 12 pages of a very detailed index.

So this is a book to read (some of the time) but also a book to dip into as when required to check out whether a word is appropriate, or not, and whether it is being used correctly.

I blame the Americans

I frequently rant at my computer because a word is being questioned on screen as an “error” so I turn to my two inch thick Oxford Dictionary and, yet again, I have failed to use the “American spelling” !

Now this book is one you might read for amusement for short periods (after first taking your blood pressure pills) or it is one you might want to dip into regularly over a long period – so the author’s interpretation of “this book is a loan” may differ from mine.

I do not use my “burn phone” much (well it was very cheap), but I do notice that texts are undermining the English language – and I could Twitter on about that at length.

But t’was ever so, though language can vary with environment, and mine did as I moved from journalism (eventually) into Whitehall – and civil servant speak. Indeed I recall, thankfully long ago, how I, and others, competed to decorate ministerial communications with really obscure words in the fairly certain chance they would never be spotted – until, I think, they were finally spotted by a gent from Hansard, who produce minutes of Parliamentary sessions – or at least used to before TV arrived.

Quirky – maybe the hat fits ?

This book will be available in all well known bookshops (when they re-open) and may be pre-ordered now from their websites, including Foyles, Waterstones, Blackwells and others such as Wordery.

I had thought of describing the book as “quirky” but, when I could not find it in his index, I was less sure. But it was in my Oxford Dictionary as “having peculiar or unexpected habits or qualities” – and that hat fits!

I was also going to say “eclectic” but his book says “this one of those words too frequently trotted out by people who want to sound well educated and knowledgeable”. Yep, that’s me – but I have a sense of humour too.

Image Credits: Dariusz Sankowski / Pixabay https://pixabay.com/photos/knowledge-book-library-glasses-1052010/ Pixabay License https://pixabay.com/service/license/.