Biting the Wax Tadpole: Misadventures of an Armchair Linguist
What can Johnny Cash’s lyrics teach us about the little-known Tangut dialect? Is ‘tabernacle’ really a swear word in Quebecois? Which language has absolutely no verbs? What is Earth’s politest insult? And what is biting the wax tadpole actually a translation of?*Prepare for a hilarious rollercoaster ride through hundreds of well-known, obscure, difficult, dead and even made-up languages.
What can Johnny Cash’s lyrics teach us about the little-known Tangut dialect? Is ‘tabernacle’ really a swear word in Quebecois? Which language has absolutely no verbs? What is Earth’s politest insult? And what is biting the wax tadpole actually a translation of?*Prepare for a hilarious rollercoaster ride through hundreds of well-known, obscure, difficult, dead and even made-up languages.
| Author | Elizabeth Little |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin UK |
| Place | London |
| Year | 2008-06-05 |
| ISBN | 9780141036441 |
| Binding | Paperback |
| Condition | Very Good |
How we describe the condition of our books
We are very proud of the condition of the books we sell (please read our testimonials to find out more!)
New: Exactly as it says.
As New: Pretty much new but shows small signs of having been read; inside it will be clean without any inscriptions or stamps; might contain a remainder mark.
Very Good: Might have some creases on the spine; no hard cracks; maybe slight forward lean and short inscription inside; perhaps very minor bumping on the corners of the book; inside clean but the page edges might be slightly yellowed.
Good: A few creases on the spine, perhaps a forward lean, bumping on corners or shelfwear; maybe an inscription inside or some shelfwear or a small tear or two on the dustjacket; inside clean but page edges might be somewhat yellowed.
Fair: In overall good condition, might have a severe forward lean to the spine, an inscription, bumping to corners; one or two folds on the covers and yellowed pages; in exceptional cases these books might contain some library stamps and stickers or have neat sticky tape which was used to fix a short, closed tear.
Poor: We rarely sell poor condition books, unless the books are in demand and difficult to find in a better condition. Poor condition books are still perfect for a good read, all pages will be intact and none threatening to fall out; most probably a reading copy only.