- The English language has over one million words, but the average educated person knows about 20,000 words and uses about 2,000 in a week.
- The average kindergarten student has seen more than 5,000 hours of television, more time than it takes to earn a bachelor's degree (Laubach Literacy Action Council).
- Forty-four percent of all American adults do not read a single book over the course of a year. (Literacy Volunteers of American)
- Many newspapers write to a fourth-grade reading level.
- Most college students study to background music or conversation, and many work on papers while fielding text messages and cell phone calls.
- Text messaging erodes concern for spelling and punctuation (okay, not really a statistic, just common sense).
She states in her opening, "Like any other life-sustaining resource, language can be depleted, polluted, contaminated, eroded, and filled with artificial stimulants. Like any other resource, it needs the protection of those who recognize its value and commit themselves to be good stewardship."
Fortunately she spends most of the book detailing strategies we all can follow, "practices that may help to retrieve, revive, and renew our precious language resources."
This book is not just for us English majors. It's an exploration of our rich language and how it really needs to be rescued and restored. Precision and vitality do matter, even in the midst of our digital world.
Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies
by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
For list of all sellers:
http://books.google.com/books?id=JwUVKtxIgTIC&sitesec=buy&source=gbs_buy_s&cad=0
goodreads Reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6598133-caring-for-words-in-a-culture-of-lies
Marilyn's Website:
http://marilynchandlermcentyre.com
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