Language Arts: Sound smarter without trying harder

The Very Lazy Intellectual

Language Arts

Sound smarter without trying harder

Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Avon, Massachusetts

Contents

Introduction

Language Learning in the United States

The Problem

Bilingualism

Parental Beliefs

Official English

Changes to Language

The Spread of Change

New Words

How Languages Change

Why Languages Change

The Components of Change

The Art of Translation

Learning to Speak

Brain Development

Middle English

Old English

Ancient Manuscripts

Early Copy Centers

Writing as Profession

The Novel

Literary Theory

Four Theories

Literary Terms

Literary Criticism

Schools of Criticism

Aestheticism

Expressionism

Impressionism

Modernism

Postmodernism

Naturalism

Realism

Romanticism

Surrealism

Comedy

Drama

Tragedy

Shakespeare

Authorship Doubts

Cheat Sheet for Language Arts

Also Available

Copyright Page

Introduction

If we were to look up the term lazy in a dictionary, we might expect to find some unflattering connotations. Let’s skip over such definitions as adverse or resistant to work, slothful, and sluggish, and adopt a more positive, charitable perspective. If instead we consider lazy as economical or avoiding waste, we get a much better picture of the idea behind The Very Lazy Intellectual series.

This series of books is a set of short, economical references full of the fundamental knowledge you need to know to sound as if you really know something about a particular academic subject. The Very Lazy Intellectual: Language Arts lays out the indispensable facts, crucial high points, and fascinating elements of the development and usage of the English language to build your knowledge foundation.

Whether you want to refresh your memory of a long-since forgotten course, or merely wish to be able to say something intelligent about grammar or etymology, this book will help. Enjoy the low-effort scholarship of The Very Lazy Intellectual: Language Arts.

If you’d like to learn more about language arts, check out The Lazy Intellectual, available in print (978-1-4405-0456-3) and eBook (978-1-4405-0888-2) formats.

Language Learning in the United States

In many areas of business and government in the United States, there is an acute need for individuals who speak and understand a language other than English. Language was identified as the intelligence community’s single greatest need in a report issued in September 2001 by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The late Senator Paul Simon declared in 2001 that some eighty federal agencies need proficiency in nearly one hundred foreign languages … . Only eight percent of American college students study another language.

The Problem

Of the small number of Americans who study a foreign language, very few attain any proficiency. The Foreign Service Institute, the Federal Government’s