Junk English 2

by Ken Smith

Junk English 2 combines basic advice — peppered with contemporary examples of alarmingly common verbal atrocities — with entertaining invective. Based on the author's uncounted hours of exposure to infomercials, ads, and other dubious cultural forms, the book covers topics like "parasitic intensifiers," "-ize verbs," and the dreaded "weasel words." "Useless cabooses" — as well as frequently abused words like "focus," "factor," and "process" — are examined and put in their proper place, as are the seemingly unstoppable impulses toward vagueness and euphemisms. Written so that the ordinary writer and speaker of English can readily see the manipulations of language, especially in the post-9/11 era, Junk English 2 is useful as a quick reference, a source for further exploration, and a fun read. The book is arranged alphabetically, like a dictionary, providing a compendium of frequently abused words and suggested alternates.

Genres: Language, Writing, Reference, Nonfiction, Humor

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

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Reviews

[intrepideddie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a sad sequel to the first book "Junk English" (which wasn't terribly great, either). Some of the entries are the same, some are missing, and some are new. So, is it supposed to be an updated version of the first book, or more of a "volume 2"? It seems to fall somewhere in between. It's like the author started out with the intent to have all new material, but ran out of offending words so just copy-and-pasted a few entries from the first book.

My review of the first book applies to this one, as well: there is some good information in the book, but it's not particularly entertaining to read.

[Llewellyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as good as the first one if not better. There are a few exceptions where I think his criticisms of certain words are too harsh, but otherwise the book is a great linguistic criticism of a marketing/commercial-focused culture.