What do words like unkindness, haggard, asparagus, jizz, and the singular they have to do with birds? Quite a lot, actually. From Old English roots and Shakespearean idioms to Victorian slang and modern online lingo, Birding English charts a dynamic course through English's past, present, and future by admiring the plumage of falcons, the songs of sparrows, and the flight of ducks.
With each of his fifty mini essays, Jeremy Withers uses birds as a point of entry into a key moment in the development of English: its origins in the Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Germanic languages, the influence of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, the creation of English's first dictionaries and grammar books, and the arrival of rhyming slang and portmanteaus. Ideal for word nerds and bird nerds alike, this book will enchant anyone who's ever been captivated by the song of a bird or the song of a word.
| ISBN: | 9781685970697 |
| Publication date: | 28th July 2026 |
| Author: | Jeremy Withers |
| Publisher: | University of Iowa Press an imprint of University Of Iowa Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 242 pages |
| Series: | A Bur Oak Book |
| Genres: |
Language teaching and learning Wildlife: birds and birdwatching: general interest |
What do words like unkindness, haggard, asparagus, jizz, and the singular they have to do with birds? Quite a lot, actually.
Birding English features in the following genres: Language teaching and learning, Wildlife: birds and birdwatching: general interest
Paperback. £28.80, down from the £32.00 cover price. Not Available.
Birding English was written by Jeremy Withers and published by University of Iowa Press an imprint of University Of Iowa Press
Birding English has 242 pages
Yes it is part of A Bur Oak Book series
£28.80, reduced from £32.00. Not Available.