Philosophical Dictionary
Philosophical Dictionary
(OP)
Not really a review, but perhaps a conversation starter?
[babbling]
This ("Languages" from Voltaire's 1764 Philosophical Dictionary) is something I ran across quite by accident while perusing the web for etymology of of a word I found in an Eng-Tips post. So perhaps it's only marginally "Engineering Language/Grammar Skills" related, but I did think it was fascinating reading for anyone interested in language. I haven't (yet) read any of the other sections.
In particular, his musings on why French was such a dominant tongue are interesting when compared to posts in thread1010-155479 and thread1010-164969. I also really appreciate his last few paragraphs about language (d)evolving through common use (or mis-use).
[/babbling]
[babbling]
This ("Languages" from Voltaire's 1764 Philosophical Dictionary) is something I ran across quite by accident while perusing the web for etymology of of a word I found in an Eng-Tips post. So perhaps it's only marginally "Engineering Language/Grammar Skills" related, but I did think it was fascinating reading for anyone interested in language. I haven't (yet) read any of the other sections.
In particular, his musings on why French was such a dominant tongue are interesting when compared to posts in thread1010-155479 and thread1010-164969. I also really appreciate his last few paragraphs about language (d)evolving through common use (or mis-use).
[/babbling]




