How to Write and Speak Better: A Practical Guide to Using the English Dictionary More Effectively [ハードカバー]

In 1979, I was part of a small military exercise working on a remote Fijian island. One evening, we were invited to a small party hosted by the local islanders who treated us proud. How curious that one of my enduring memories is that of a young Fijian lady berating the British major in charge for his use of poor English. I can hear her now as she actually said; "You have such a beautiful language, why are you destroying it by using such words."

In my youth, the way in which my language was used was as important as learning how to put one foot in front of the other. Since then, however, that importance has been lost. Not only do we regularly hear words pronounced such as "nuffink" instead of "nothing" but there is no attempt to rectify these errors of pronunciation. In addition, the letter "t" - especially from the middle of words such a "matter or water" is in danger of disappearing altogether. Just say the word "water" without using that middle "t" to get the idea. Most of these changes emanate from television. Time was when all BBC presenters used perfect English - so perfect it was known as "BBC English." Today, the emphasis has changed in favour of either a pretty face, a non-white or a heavy regional accent and any person who speaks "proper" English is unlikely to get a job on British TV at this time - Scottish, Irish, Welsh, heavy regional accent (or even Australian!) - Yes, but not English English. Consequently, the language is declining rapidly throughout the UK and most presenters are unaware of what is required. Please do not misunderstand. When I am in France, I expect to see a French person reading the news, when I am in Egypt, it will be an Egyptian - and so forth. So why are there so few English equivalents in England?

Whilst I am "not" an educated man, I did learn never to end a sentence with a preposition. For example; A train is not something "you travel in" it is something "in which you travel!" OK, I am on my hobby horse, but "good communication skills" is a phrase currently in use by so many people who simply do not understand what it means. TV presenters, especially, wield considerable power over the population and I find it a great pity that most are either unaware of their morale obligation to that audience or simply could not care less. If only they were all required to study this book and then have to be tested on its content prior to getting that job! Only then, perhaps, will the decline and fall of the English language have been arrested - at least as far as its use within the UK is concerned.

Beginning with a clear explanation of how the book is laid out - as opposed to "Chapter numbers and headings," we then have that vitally important page which details the symbols used to explain how each word is pronounced. I often wonder how many people look up a word in a dictionary in order to determine either its spelling or meaning but never concern themselves with correct pronunciation because they do not understand the symbols used to explain that point. In this work, everything is very clear. And it's all downhill from there. Either you are interested enough to study the subject and improve every (and I do mean "every") aspect of your communication skills or you are not. In short, this book will teach you all you need to know and the rest is up to you.

NM