"Utterly fascinating"... Home Education Magazine The Book Edition of Bethump'd with Words is a companion to the board and travel editions of the game. Its purpose is to present the history of English in a succinct and humorous but memorable form, and also provide more entertaining and enlightening questions about the language and its words. It's an arm-chair version of the board game. That story in sum: Despite English's humble origins and carefree attitude toward the use and abuse of words, which some mistakingly see as a sign of fragility, it is one of the world's most powerful and enduring languages. FROM THE INTRODUCTION "Speakers of English rarely profess their love of the language with the emotion or terms used by speakers of other languages. Yet love is there and it's there 'in spades.' It's an affection, however, with a revealing and peculiar difference. While the French, for example, are moved to rapture by the mellifluous sounds and poetic rhythms of their language and, predictably, react with disdain when the mood's disrupted by 'harsh' foreign entities, speakers of English love words: individual words, French words, German words, Japanese words, Yiddish words, Russian words, Melanesian words, Spanish words, indeed, any and all words. In sum, 'English' is less the name for a clearly defined language than for an obsessive attitude toward the fundamental tools of language." ...Covey MacGregor Based on the award-winning board games, author Covey MacGregor takes readers on an enlightening fun-filled journey through the origins, history, and evolution of English. He presents the historical highlights of the language beginning in 449 when "Young Englisc" (which some chronologically-challenged linguists call "Old English") arrives in Britain in the long ships of brothers Hengist and Horsa of Jutland, and ends centuries later in 1997 when the language, in robust young adulthood, playfully named a bunch of rocks on Mars. The trip out of rustic obscurity in 449 to Martian preeminence in 1997, however, was anything but smooth and, in its teenage centuries, the growing language faced terrifying challenges, including near-extinction experiences at the hands of adversaries Norse and French. Read the book to learn who we have to thank for not waking up each morning with Norse as our mother tongue! The book also contains 44 games with 1,032 questions which, like those in the board and travel game editions, are devoted to the comical and peculiar aspects of everyday words and the story of the language. It's a 'must-have' source of supplemental questions and an armchair companion for everyone who plays and enjoys the board games. For the complete list of category definitions and more sample questions from the Book Edition, click here SPOONERISMS What did Reverend William Spooner really mean to say when, officiating a wedding, he said to the groom: "Son, it's kisstomary to cuss the bride"? (See Ans.1) WORD ORIGINS Sometime around 1546, what word evolved out of the idea that the first month of marriage is the sweetest? (See Ans.2) SLANG In the slang-laden jargon of the military, is a soldier in full dress, including helmet, flak jacket, and automatic weapon said to be wearing 'battle rattle', 'play clothes', or 'Mommy's comforts'? (See Ans.3) CANADIANISMS Which of these nicknames did Canadians coin for their weakening dollars during the worldwide financial crises of the late 1990s? a. Dizzy Lizzies b. Northern Lites c. Limp Loonies (See Ans.4) WORD EVOLUTIONS What word appeared in English in 1687 defined as 'infected with measles', evolved to 'infested with worms', and is now defined as 'contemptibly small'? (See Ans.5) NAMES & NICKNAMES During World War II in Europe, what ethnic group among the American soldiers referred to German dictator Adolph Hitler as "posah-tai-oo", which means 'crazy white man'? (See Ans.6) ANSWERS 1. "Son, it's customery to kiss the bride" 2. honeymoon 3. battle rattle 4. Limp Loonies 5. measly 6. Native Americans, which in this case were Comanches Paperback, 280 pgs, Covey MacGregor |