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This book is about language that is designed to mean what it does not seem to mean. Ciphers and codes conceal messages and protect secrets. Symbol and magic hide meanings to delight or imperil. Languages made to baffle and confuse let insiders talk openly without being understood by those beyond the circle. Barry Blake looks at these and many more. He explores the history and uses of the slangs and argots of schools and trades. He traces the centuries-old cants used by sailors and criminals in Britain, among them Polari, the mix of Italian, Yiddish, and slang once spoken among strolling players and circus folk and taken up by gays in the twentieth century. He examines the sacred languages of ancient cults and religions, uncovers the workings of onomancy, spells, and gematria, looks into the obliqueness of allusion and parody, and celebrates the absurdities of euphemism and jargon. Secret Language takes the reader on fascinating excursions down obscure byways of language, ranging across time and culture. With revelations on every page it will entertain anyone with an urge to know more about the most arcane and curious uses of language.
au.com.bandaconsulting.shop.book.beans.Description@27f72952
By: Barry J. Blake
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 191mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 27mm
Weight: 370g
ISBN:
9780199691623
ISBN 10: 0199691622
Pages: 352
Publication Date: October 2011
Audience: General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In stock at Abbey's Bookshop
This is in stock in our store and available now.
1. On Being Mysterious; 2. From Anagrams to Cryptic Crosswords; 3. Talking in Riddles; 4. Ciphers and Codes; 5. Biblical Secrets; 6. Words of Power; 7. Words to Avoid; 8. Jargon, Slang, and 'Secret Languages'; 9. The Everyday Oblique; 10. Elusive Allusions; 11. Finale; Appendix: answers to the problems; Select Bibliography; Index
<br> Intriguing. It is good to have a book that gives you something to ponder without being ponderous itself. And it can be recommended in particular to anyone disposed to find language itself, as such, a source of pleasure. --InsideHigherEd.com<p><br> Covers a lot of ground. Reminds us that the rehearsal of that moment when concealing becomes revealing is a powerful resource-one might even reserve the word divine for it. --TheNation.com<p><br>
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