基本説明
Classic essays on the English language from famous literary figures, including Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, and John Betjeman. Contains a new introduction by Ned Sherrin.
Full Description
Until Nancy Mitford wrote "The English Aristocracy" in 1955, England was blissfully unconscious of U-Usage and its lethal implications. The phenomenon of "Upper-Class English Usage" had, it is true, already been remarked upon by Professor Alan Ross who, in an academic paper printed in Helsinki a year earlier, claimed that the upper classes were now distinguished solely by their use of language, but it was the Honourable Mrs Peter Rodd (as she was addressed by U-speaker Evelyn Waugh, Esq) who first let the cat out of the bag. Her article sparked off a public debate joined vigorously by Evelyn Waugh, "Strix", and Christopher Sykes, whose counterblasts are collected here. Osbert Lancaster, caricaturist of English manners, takes the debate into the visual dimension, and John Betjeman poeticizes on the theme.
Contents
Note. Contents. Introductionto be announced:. Alan S. C. Ross: U and Non-U: an essay on sociological linguistics. Nancy Mitford: The English Aristocracy. Evelyn Waugh: An Open Letter to the Honourable Mrs. Peter Rodd (Nancy Mitford) on a Very Serious Subject. 'Strix': Posh Lingo. Christopher Sykes: What U-Future?. John Betjeman: How to Get On in Society
