Ammon Shea
Encyclopedia
Ammon Shea is an American writer, known for his nonfiction books about the English language
. With Peter Novobatzky, he wrote Depraved English (1999) and Insulting English (2001), which both highlight obscure and unusual English words. Shea later read the entire Oxford English Dictionary
, and documented his observations in Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages (2008). He was subsequently hired to work at Oxford University Press
as a consulting editor of American dictionaries. Shea has also contributed to the "On Language" column in Sunday's New York Times. Shea's most recent full-length work is The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads (2010).
A dictionary collector, Shea had already read Webster's Second International Dictionary
in the 1990s. Throughout his life, he has worked as a gondolier, a mover, and a busker.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. With Peter Novobatzky, he wrote Depraved English (1999) and Insulting English (2001), which both highlight obscure and unusual English words. Shea later read the entire Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
, and documented his observations in Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages (2008). He was subsequently hired to work at Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
as a consulting editor of American dictionaries. Shea has also contributed to the "On Language" column in Sunday's New York Times. Shea's most recent full-length work is The Phone Book: The Curious History of the Book That Everyone Uses But No One Reads (2010).
A dictionary collector, Shea had already read Webster's Second International Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary
Webster's Dictionary refers to the line of dictionaries first developed by Noah Webster in the early 19th century, and also to numerous unrelated dictionaries that added Webster's name just to share his prestige. The term is a genericized trademark in the U.S.A...
in the 1990s. Throughout his life, he has worked as a gondolier, a mover, and a busker.