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Check It Out: Language rules in enticing ways

By Jan Johnston
Published: November 2, 2014, 12:00am

“The Reverend Guppy’s Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items were Named for Extraordinary People”

By Philip Dodd; Gotham Books, 265 pages

Welcome to November! Goodness, where does the time go? Halloween is over, Christmas is looming (less than two months away — zoinks!), and 2014 is sporting a long, gray beard in preparation for its final exit. Life moves quickly; but rest assured, the “wonderful world of Dewey” series still has many fascinating stops to make. Of course I’m assuming that shining the spotlight on the Dewey Decimal classification system is as fascinating to you as it is to me. Well, no matter; let’s soldier on to the next call number category — the very international 400s.

We have reached the section where language rules, and rules of language rule. What do I mean by this? Visit the 400s, and you’ll find dictionaries, grammar guides, language-learning tools (such as Spanish, Russian, Chinese — even sign language), and an eclectic selection of titles devoted to the remarkable, sometimes wacky, English language. For example, are you fluent in English but still stymied about when to use “there” instead of “their” or “they’re?” Stop fretting — go to the 400s. Want to know what your Italian neighbor is saying each time he leans out his window and shouts “buona sera!” as you pull in your driveway after a long day at work? Go to the 400s. Curious how the saxophone got its name? Go to the 400s, and for this particular query, consider checking out this week’s book, “The Reverend Guppy’s Aquarium.”

There are numerous books that delve into the origins and meanings behind words and phrases. And many of these titles are dictionarylike in their presentation: alphabetical lists of words/phrases accompanied by illuminating yet brief explanations. “The Reverend Guppy’s Aquarium” is different, and here is what I like about it (besides its quirky title): the author deliberately focuses on a very selective list of words — 15 to be exact.

How Philip Dodd narrowed down his list to fewer than 20 words is described by the author in the book’s introduction. First, he “came up with a selection of people whose names have become so much part of the language that when we hear them we think first of the object, not the person.” This left a smaller yet still robust list, so he also “put aside all objects named after characters … discarded cities and countries named after people … [shied] away from the profusion of brand names,” and his most important reason for inclusion was that each word had to have “a good story.” He does admit that his final list includes a few deliberate exceptions to his selection criteria, but why hold that against him when the overall result is so engaging?

So, let’s return to the saxophone question. I was surprised to learn that this instrument — so much a part of our musical culture — is not only a relative newcomer to the world of music (invented less than 200 years ago in 1840), it’s named after its inventor, Adolphe Sax. To learn more about the man behind the sax, so to speak, be sure to read pages 23-41. Don’t be surprised if you also learn a thing or two about the sarrusophone, heckelphone and the theremin — or, what I like to call, shirttail cousins to the “yakety sax.”

If you’re intrigued by musical Mr. Sax, I think you’ll also enjoy the stories of Reverend Guppy and the other “extraordinary people” included in this delightful read. I also hope that this column inspires you to go to the library and spend a bit of time in the language-rich 400s. If the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, the library is well-equipped to help you become a word ninja.


Jan Johnston is the collection development coordinator for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District. Email her at readingforfun@fvrl.org.

Review
&quot;The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items were Named for Extraordinary People&quot;
By Philip Dodd; Gotham Books, 265 pages
Review "The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items were Named for Extraordinary People" By Philip Dodd; Gotham Books, 265 pages Photo

"The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium: From Joseph P. Frisbie to Roy Jacuzzi, How Everyday Items were Named for Extraordinary People"

By Philip Dodd; Gotham Books, 265 pages

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