Tony Thorne
Encyclopedia
Tony Thorne is a British
author, linguist and lexicographer specialising in slang
, jargon and cultural history. He is a leading authority on language change and language usage in the UK and across the anglosphere
.
Thorne attended Hampton School
and the University of Kent
at Canterbury.
His latest title is The 100 Words That Make the English, published by Abacus in April 2011, and consists of essays on one hundred key words that are most emblematic of English identity in the 20th and 21st centuries. Thorne’s Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, remains one of the only treatments of the subject to be based on examples of authentic speech rather than purely upon written or broadcast sources, while Shoot the Puppy, a survey of the latest buzzwords and jargon, drew upon his inside experience of corporate life while working as a communications consultant for multinationals, NGOs and business schools.
After explorations in Central and Eastern Europe
following the fall of communism
and the opening of lost archives, Tony Thorne published the definitive English-language biography of the 16th century Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Bathory
, reputed to be a mass murderess who bathed in the blood of her victims. His Children of the Night is a comprehensive account of the historical origins of the vampire
myth as well as its subsequent representations in literature and popular culture. The book additionally examines contemporary vampire culture through interviews with self-styled ‘living vampires’.
Thorne has also written a life of the 18th century French waxworker, Madame Tussaud, for children, and writes on outsider
and visionary art
.
From 1991 to 2007 he was Director of the Language Centre at King's College London
where he is now Language and Innovation Consultant. He founded and oversees the Slang and New Language Archive at King’s, a library and database resource recording language change and tracking linguistic controversies.
He has written and presented programmes on language and popular culture for BBC Radio 4
and the BBC World Service
, and is a regular contributor to media discussions of language controversies, communication technologies and lifestyle innovations. He currently writes the ‘Yoofspeak’ column in the Times Educational Supplement
.
He has homes in London
, Slovenia
and Turkey
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author, linguist and lexicographer specialising in slang
Slang
Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...
, jargon and cultural history. He is a leading authority on language change and language usage in the UK and across the anglosphere
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
.
Thorne attended Hampton School
Hampton School
Hampton School is an independent boys' day school in Hampton, London, England.-History:In 1556, Robert Hammond, a wealthy brewer who had acquired property in Hampton, left in his will provision for the maintenance of a 'free scole' and to build a small schoolhouse 'with seates in yt' in the...
and the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
at Canterbury.
His latest title is The 100 Words That Make the English, published by Abacus in April 2011, and consists of essays on one hundred key words that are most emblematic of English identity in the 20th and 21st centuries. Thorne’s Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, remains one of the only treatments of the subject to be based on examples of authentic speech rather than purely upon written or broadcast sources, while Shoot the Puppy, a survey of the latest buzzwords and jargon, drew upon his inside experience of corporate life while working as a communications consultant for multinationals, NGOs and business schools.
After explorations in Central and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
following the fall of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and the opening of lost archives, Tony Thorne published the definitive English-language biography of the 16th century Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Bathory
Elizabeth Báthory
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess from the renowned Báthory family of Hungarian nobility. Although in modern times she has been labelled the most prolific serial killer in history, the number of murders has been debated...
, reputed to be a mass murderess who bathed in the blood of her victims. His Children of the Night is a comprehensive account of the historical origins of the vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
myth as well as its subsequent representations in literature and popular culture. The book additionally examines contemporary vampire culture through interviews with self-styled ‘living vampires’.
Thorne has also written a life of the 18th century French waxworker, Madame Tussaud, for children, and writes on outsider
Outsider Art
The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
and visionary art
Visionary art
Visionary art is art that purports to transcend the physical world and portray a wider vision of awareness including spiritual or mystical themes, or is based in such experiences.-Definition:...
.
From 1991 to 2007 he was Director of the Language Centre at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
where he is now Language and Innovation Consultant. He founded and oversees the Slang and New Language Archive at King’s, a library and database resource recording language change and tracking linguistic controversies.
He has written and presented programmes on language and popular culture for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
and the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, and is a regular contributor to media discussions of language controversies, communication technologies and lifestyle innovations. He currently writes the ‘Yoofspeak’ column in the Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
.
He has homes in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Works
- Jolly Wicked, Actually: The 100 Words That Make Us English, Little, Brown Book Group, 2009 ISBN 1408700891, published in a revised paperback edition entitled The 100 Words That Make the English, Abacus, 2011 ISBN 9780349121031
- Shoot the Puppy, Penguin, London 2007 ISBN 0141027061
- Dictionary of Contemporary Slang, Bloomsbury, first published 1990; latest edition published by A&C Black 2007 ISBN 0679737065
- Madame Tussaud, Short Books, London, 2004 ISBN 1904095291
- Children of the Night, Victor Gollancz, London, 1999 ISBN 0575066466
- Countess Dracula, Bloomsbury, London, 1997 ISBN 0747529000
- Fads, Fashions & Cults, Bloomsbury, London 1993 ISBN 0747513848
Contributor
- The Extraordinary Art of Laurie Lipton, beinArt Publishing, Brunswick, Victoria, 2010 ISBN 978-0-9803231-2-2
- Ed K Malmkjaer, Routledge Linguistics Encyclopedia, Routledge, London, 2009 ISBN 978-0-415-42104
- (with Neil Murray) (eds) Multicultural Perspectives on English Language and Literature, Tallinn Pedagogical University/King’s College London, Tallinn, London, 2004 ISBN 9985583361
- Malcolm McKesson, Matriarchy: Freedom in Bondage, Heck Editions, New York, 1996
- (with Gerald Lees) English on Business, William Collins, London, 1984 ISBN00 3706656
External links
- Tony Thorne Slang Research, (The Slang and New Language Archive) at Kings College London