博客來
手足之爭：英式英語 vs. 美式英語
「英國腔最性感！」
「如果莎士比亞還活著，他說起話來會像美國人。」
「美國人毀了英語啊…」
你我都常聽見諸如此類的說法，但真相是…？
來聽聽美國語言學家的跨洋研究吧！
對於英美兩國的人來說，彼此語言的異同關係是著實造成了許多影響。像是英國人的 Amerilexicosis（對美式英語的病態強迫症反應）與優越感，或是美國人的 AVIC（美式英語的自卑感）。經營部落格 Separated by a Common Language 並於英國教書多年的 Lynne Murphy 利用這種相對立、戲劇化的差異來引起大家對於語法細節與拼寫差異的關注，再以語言學的專業探討英式與美式英語特殊關係的虛構與實情：是什麼塑造了大家對語言的偏見、刻板印象和不安全感？
牛津大學出版社的英美辭典數據庫僅有 78％ 的定義相重疊
面對同文同種如今卻漸行漸遠的兩國語言，Murphy 著眼於將美國與英國推向不同方向的社會、政治與語言力量：美國人如何從 centre 到 center。為何英國口音正遠離美國口音？當我們說 estate frown 或 middle class 時，有什麼不同的意義？這場文字戰爭有贏家嗎？Yanks 和 Brits 真的會互相理解嗎？Murphy 幽默詼諧的筆調讓人輕鬆看透這複雜的歷史淵源，讓讀者更「懂」英文！
造訪本書官網theprodigaltongue.com，測驗你的英語有多美式/英式！
「思慮緊密、有趣並且平易近人。」–《出版者周刊》
「Murphy 以非常精彩的細節與色彩討論了相當大的範圍。」–《泰晤士報》（文 / 博客來編譯）
An American linguist teaching in England explores the sibling rivalry between British and American English
“If Shakespeare were alive today, he’d sound like an American.”
“English accents are the sexiest.”
“Americans have ruined the English language.”
“Technology means everyone will have to speak the same English.”
Such claims about the English language are often repeated but rarely examined. Professor Lynne Murphy is on the linguistic front line. In The Prodigal Tongue she explores the fiction and reality of the special relationship between British and American English. By examining the causes and symptoms of American Verbal Inferiority Complex and its flipside, British Verbal Superiority Complex, Murphy unravels the prejudices, stereotypes and insecurities that shape our attitudes to our own language.
With great humo(u)r and new insights, Lynne Murphy looks at the social, political and linguistic forces that have driven American and British English in different directions: how Americans got from centre to center, why British accents are growing away from American ones, and what different things we mean when we say estate, frown, or middle class. Is anyone winning this war of the words? Will Yanks and Brits ever really understand each other?
