Southeastern professor's ‘Word on Words’ translated into Chinese
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: August 28, 2013
HAMMOND- The vocabulary book "The Word on Words: The Play of Language," written by Southeastern
Louisiana University English Professor Norman German, has been translated into Chinese
by famed lexicographer Zhai Xiangjun.
Xiangjun is a retired professor of English at Fudan University in Shanghai and
now the senior editor at Fudan University Press. Textbooks written or edited by Xiangjun
are widely used by universities in mainland China. He is noted for his translation
of the American classic "Gone with the Wind."
First published in 2011, "The Word on Words" was written by German to help students
preparing for aptitude or admissions tests such as the SAT, ACT, or GRE as well as
a supplemental text for those studying English as a second language. The work defines
and examines 1,500 words through the context of fascinating essays about their origins
and roots.
The book focuses on vocabulary, etymology, memory devices, usage, and the lucid
or playful aspects of language. Through exercises, puzzles, and quizzes it takes an
interactive approach, using humor as a memory device to help its readers build a more
dynamic vocabulary.
Upon receiving the news his book would be published in Chinese, German was pleasantly
surprised.
"I was shocked the book would be published in China," he said, "but then my agent
explained that the Chinese are interested in English because it is the foremost language
of the business world. My next shock came upon seeing the cover of the book. Seeing
the title in Chinese characters gave me a surreal feeling that I still get when I
look at it."
When first published, "The Word on Words" was given positive reviews and noted
as one of the "Best of 2011" by Kirkus Reviews, an American book review magazine,
which ranked it as first in "Best of Indie" in the category Arts and Letters and fourth
in non-fiction for books produced by independent publishers.
