huwp
Posts: 172
Joined: Aug. 2006
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FWIW I thought Bill Bryson's book was interesting and well written and, I suspect, well researched too. He loves the English language and that's a terribly good starting point.
The "imply" and "infer" confusion is very irritating as is "disinterested" for "uninterested". They mean different things and if we lose that difference then it diminishes the language.
I do love the way English can be very precise; I once tried to explain to a class of Italian students the difference between "glance" and "glimpse" both of which, I was told, were covered by the word "occhiata" meaning "a short sight of something".
Much as I love English, and French for that matter, I think my heart belongs to Italian. And Welsh, of course.
Huwp
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