Let's face it: There's no time like the present to learn English. It's the world's most widely spoken language. It permeates nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Mastering pronunciation, figures of speech, and idioms are just a few of the challenges students may face. Even so, learning to actually use American English comfortably isn't among the easiest of tasks, Author Jeannie Yang hopes to help with that. Numbered lessons and regimented exercises only serve to make an already daunting task seem impossible. They don't help, so they aren't welcome in this book. Professor Jeannie Yang has takes a new approach to learning conversational English-inviting you to the conversation! Written in the form of a movie screenplay, these fictional scenarios innovatively invite you to actively engage in conversations on a variety of subjects and in a variety of settings. As you speak their words, you can imagine that you are one of the characters-and you'll be learning at the same time. You'll meet - Mi Hee-a sweet and spunky young woman from Korea who dreams of studying at an American university - Kenny-an intellectual from Hong Kong who's lived and studied in the United States for years - Roy-Kenny's best friend, whose liberal use of slang is in stark contrast to Kenny's esoteric vocabulary Whether you are going on a cruise or heading for a job interview, this book serves as a practical and entertaining guide to getting more comfortable with conversational American English.

In the most reliable and readable guide to effective writing for the Americans of today, Wilson answers questions of meaning, grammar, pronunciation, punctuation, and spelling in thousands of clear, concise entries. His guide is unique in presenting a systematic, comprehensive view of language as determined by context. Wilson provides a simple chart of contexts—from oratorical speech to intimate, from formal writing to informal—and explains in which contexts a particular usage is appropriate, and in which it is not. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English provides the answers to questions about American English the way no other guide can with: * an A–Z format for quick reference; * over five thousand entries, more than any other usage book; * sensible and useful advice based on the most current linguistic research; * a convenient chart of levels of speech and writing geared to context; * both descriptive and prescriptive entries for guidance; * guidelines for nonsexist usage; * individual entries for all language terms. A vibrant description of how our language is being spoken and written at the end of the twentieth century—and how we ourselves can use it most effectively—The Columbia Guide to Standard American English is the ideal handbook to language etiquette: friendly, sensible, and reliable.

This guide to the language differences between the United States and United Kingdom is “a fascinating collection full of all kinds of surprises” (Minneapolis Star Tribune). Taxi rank . . . toad in the hole . . . dustman . . . fancy dress . . . American visitors to London (or viewers of British TV shows) might be confused by these terms. But most Britons would be equally puzzled by words like caboose, bleachers, and busboy. In Divided by a Common Language, Christopher Davies explains these expressions and discusses the many differences in pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary between British and American English. He compares the customs, manners, and practical details of daily life in the United Kingdom and the United States, and American readers will enjoy his account of American culture as seen through an Englishman’s eyes. Davies tops it off with an amusing list of expressions that sound innocent enough in one country but make quite the opposite impression in the other. Two large glossaries help travelers translate from one variety of English to the other, and additional lists explain the distinctive words of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. This delightful book is the ideal companion for travelers—or anyone who enjoys the many nuances of language.

For the first time, the editors of the acclaimed American Heritage(R) Dictionary have applied their efforts to word usage as its own subject. The result is this practical guide that includes chapters on grammar, style, diction, gender, social groups, pronunciation, word formation, science terms, and a subject and a word index.