Q & Eh: Questions and Answers on Language with a Kiwi Twist - Softcover

Why is it not wrong to be doubly negative? Where do you place the stress in such words as 'dissect'? Where do 'wowser', 'craw thumper' and where did the 'f - word' come from? Do New Zealanders mangle the English language? Should we say different 'from' or 'to' or 'than'? We use it every day, but what is this thing called language, and are there rights and wrongs about its use? Four leading linguists, with specific interest in New Zealand English, tackle the common - place and quirky questions that arise from what we say, read and write. Funny, accessible, informative, this is a fascinating book.

Three of the authors teach linguistics at Victoria University (two as professors and one as associate-professor) and the fourth is Lexicographer and Director at the New Zealand Dictionary Centre in Wellington. They contribute to a popular language column in the Dominion-Post that has been running for several years and also appear regularly on Chris Laidlaw's radio show.