by William L. Leap (1996)
Do gay men communicate with each other differently than they do with straight people? If they do, how is "gay men's English?" different from "straight English"? This work addresses these questions and looks at gay men's English as a cultural and a linguistic phenomenon. This text focuses not on items of vocabulary, word history and folklore but on linguistic practices - co-operation, negotiation and risk-taking - which underlie gay men's conversations, storytelling, verbal duelling, self-description and construction of outrageous references. The author "reads" conversations for covert and overt signs of gay men's English, using anecdotes drawn from gay dinner parties, late-night airplane flights, restaurants, department stores and gourmet shops, and other all-gay and gay/straight settings. He incorporates material from other interviews and discussions with gay men, life-story narratives, gay magazines, newspapers, books and material from his own life. The topics addressed include establishing the gay identities of "suspect gays", recollections of gay childhood, erotic negotiation in health club locker rooms, and gay men's language of AIDS. The text shows how gay English speakers use language to create gay-centred spaces within public places, to protect themselves when speaking with strangers, and to establish common interests when speaking with "suspect gays". It also explores why learning gay English is a critical component in gay men's socialization and the acquisition of gay culture.
Wendell Johnson
One of the fundamental books on Semantics along with S.I.Hayakawa's Language in thought and action and Stuart Chase's Tyranny of Words, Folklore of Capitalizm and Science and Sanity. Must read for understanding of how language is used in understanding things, news, views, analsis etc
Randall A. Wells
Like a physical workout, Stretch limbers up the writing joints. Its seven chapters each focus on one assignment: The Informal Essay, the Meditation, the Story, Technical Instructions, Other Exposition, Direct Persuasion, and Indirect Persuasion. This stimulating variety helps the student expand his or her range of motion as a writer. Each chapter provides a motivating introduction, a warm-up, a professional model of writing, two student models, practical instruction, abundant topic possibilities, hints for revision, a set of optional writing challenges, and a poem (or song lyrics) illustrating a major idea of the chapter in a striking way.
Neil Postman
In this brilliantly challenging response to the education crisis, Neil Postman returns to the subject that established his reputation as one of our most insightful social critics. Starting from his belief that schooling is now too often a trivial pursuit, a mechanical exercise, he argues with stunning clarity that we have lost sight of the inherent value and substance of learning, and sets out to restore it for our time. Postman begins by portraying the American education of an earlier part of this century, when we knew what schools were for - to create a coherent, stable, unified culture out of a people of diverse traditions, languages, and religions. Shifting his focus to contemporary education, Postman outlines the markedly different narratives, or "gods," that underlie our present conception of school, and shows how poorly they serve us. The new gods are economic utility (education only as a means to a good-paying job), consumership (the belief that you are what you accumulate), technology (a reliance on mechanical solutions, not critical judgment), and separatism ("multicultural" instincts that split groups off from a unifying cultural pluralism). In describing how education may reasonably and creatively respond to - or redefine - these problems of modernity, the author presents useful narratives to help schools recover a sense of purpose, tolerance, and respect for learning. These include the Spaceship Earth (preserving the earth as a unifying theme), the Fallen Angel (learning driven not by absolute answers but by an understanding that our knowledge is imperfect), the American Experiment (emphasizing the successes and the failures of our evolving nation), the Law of Diversity (exposure to all cultures in their strengths and their weaknesses), and Word Weavers (the fundamental importance of language in forging our common humanity). Postman's The End of Education heralds a new beginning. It seeks to provide solutions while provoking debate. Postman offers a redefinition of the end of education - the essential first step before we rethink and freshly determine the means.
Star Jones Rynolds
Star Jones Reynolds had done it all. College on scholarship, law school on loans, and life by faith. She had achieved a prestigious career as a lawyer and prosecutor, provided much-needed calm and insight while reporting the Rodney King and O. J. Simpson trials on television, and landed a spot cohosting one of America's most popular daytime television shows, The View. Then why was she feeling so down?It all began when Star took a close look at herself and her life and realized she wasn't happy with what she saw: obesity precluded her from crossing her legs, she needed an asthma inhaler, she couldn't fasten her own necklace, and, worst of all, she got too tired to shop — a disaster because Star Jones Reynolds is a seriously committed shopper.Then she realized something else: with all her extraordinary accomplishments, none of it mattered without true love. Thinking long and hard, she finally understood that she hadn't yet met the man of her dreams because she wasn't ready for him.Star decided to make it happen. She began a personal journey to reconstitute her physical look, emotional state, and already strong spirituality. Even if she didn't find love, it would be a win-win situation because she'd emerge from the experience a healthier, happier woman — one who could truly shine. Unless you live on another planet, you know Star succeeded in her quest and did find true love — and it wasn't that hard at all. In Shine, she shares it all in her wise, revealing, irreverent, laugh-out-loud style.Shine is divided into three main sections, each exploring core issues of interest to women. Part One guides women toward being their most attractive physical selves using Star's personal secrets on losing weight and finding hair, fashion, and makeup chic (inexpensively). Part Two asks tough questions about emotional preparedness for a relationship and shows you how to think like lawyers, and how to get your financial and emotional houses in order. Part Three delves into a woman's spiritual life — discover how to talk to God no matter what your religion. Spiking the book are Star's "absolutes" — truisms that have always worked for her and continue to give her guidance — quizzes and self-assessment exercises that will help you focus on your particular strengths and weaknesses.Everyone knows Star Jones Reynolds is a success story, a happy, rough-edges-to-emotional-and-financial-riches tale. Until you read this book, you won't know how she got there — and how you can echo her triumphs and shine.