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English Language Word Builder

by Bob Jackman

324 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-2985; ISBN 1-4251-6473-0; US$30.00, C$30.00, EUR20.49, £15.49

This book provides a unique view of the English language, organising 82,500 core words by length, familiarity and part of speech while indicating how new words can be built from each core word.

About the Book

The English Language Word Builder organises English words in a way that is beneficial to anyone wishing to improve their vocabulary, from those learning the English language through to those wishing to excel at word games such as Scrabble.

The book contains the basic form of some 82,500 words from two to nine letters in length, and is organised in chapters depending on the word length. Within each chapter, words are designated as either familiar or less familiar, with the familiar words deemed to be those of most use when communicating in English.

With the exception of less familiar nine-letter words, each word is assigned a part of speech which is evident from formatting applied. For example, underlining indicates verbs while bolding indicates adjectives and other words that cannot be pluralised. Symbols are used to indicate additional forms of each basic word, with a special symbol being used to designate irregular verbs.

Within sections of familiar words in each chapter, words are grouped in accordance with their part of speech. Within sections of less familiar words, words are grouped firstly into those which are built from shorter words, and then into all other words with various groupings depending on the word length.

Available single letter extensions of basic words are shown by a lower case letter at the end of each capitalised main word. This enables users of the book to build on their existing vocabulary to make new words, either for use in wordgames or in communicating in English.

About the Author

Bob Jackman is an expert Scrabble® player, having won the Australian National Championships in 1993 and 2003, and represented Australia five times at the World Scrabble Championships, most recently in Mumbai, India in 2007. He is a cofounder of of the Trans-Tasman Challenge, a biannual event pitting the best of Australia against the best of New Zealand, and won that inaugural event in 1996.

Through his SOWPODS website, he has been instrumental in promoting International Scrabble and assisted countries such as South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Nigeria and Malta in establishing local ratings systems. He is an active member of both the ratings and tournament committees of the World English Scrabble Players Association, and has maintained the International Scrabble ratings system since its inception in 1993.

Prior to compiling the English Language Word Builder, he published a series of booklets of three to nine letter words, complete with definitions of key words. These publications provided the basis for his latest work.

In Australia he has been head of Scrabble New South Wales since 1991, and steered its growth from six to over fifty affiliated Scrabble clubs. He has been instrumental in establishing a School Scrabble network in the State, promoting Scrabble as both a means of improving literacy and numeracy skills and a competitive game of enjoyment.