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Language professionals tend to accumulate vast numbers of reference works. Whether you are just getting started or looking to expand your existing library, here are some titles that your colleagues can recommend. For listings of online references, see our Resources page. 

  • Bad Science, Ben Goldacre 
  • Baxter’s English Survival Kit: Praktische Engelse Taaltips, Andy & Astrid Baxter
  • Between you and I: A little book of bad English, James Cochrane (previously editor as Penguin Books)
  • Butcher's Copy-editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-editors and Proofreaders, Judith Butcher, Caroline Drake & Mareen Leach (2006, fourth edition is fully revised and updated). This volume is a classic in Britain and beyond.
  • Culture and Conventions: Writing and Reading Dutch Scientific English, Joy Burrough-Boenisch
  • Dictionary of American Idioms, Adam Makkai, MT Boatner, JE Gates
  • Dictionary of Troublesome Words, Bill Bryson 
  • Effective Writing in English: A Sourcebook, Mike Hannay & JL Mackenzie
  • Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. & E. B. White  
  • Elephants of Style: A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English, Bill Walsh
  • English Prepositional Idioms, Frederick T. Wood
  • Gettysburg Approach to Writing and Speaking Like a Professional, Philip A. Yaffe
  • Handboek Zakelijk Engels, Andy & Astrid Baxter 
  • Lapsing into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things that Can Go Wrong in Print and How to Avoid Them, Bill Walsh 
  • Oxford Guide to Plain English, Martin Cutts
  • Principles and Pitfalls of English grammar, JL Mackenzie 
  • Reader-friendly Biomedical Articles, Anne Bless & Ed Hull
  • Reader-friendly Scientific Documents, Anne Bless & Ed Hull 
  • Revising and Editing for Translators, Brian Mossop 
  • Survival Guide for Scientists, Ad Lagendijk
  • Technical Translation, Jody Byrne
  • Writing in English: A Guide for Advanced Learners, Dirk Siepmann, John D. Gallagher, Mike Hannay & J. Lachlan Mackenzie 
  • 201 Dutch Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses, Henry Stern

Copywriting

Several titles that freelance copywriter Francis Cox recommends:

  • The Copywriter’s Handbook, Robert W. Bly, Owl Books, 2006. A classic that should be on any copywriter's bookshelf.
  • The Online Copywriter’s Handbook, Robert W. Bly, McGraw Hill, 2002. Some useful information but very repetitive and likely to date quickly.
  • Secrets of a Freelance Writer: How to Make $100,000 a Year, Robert W. Bly, Owl Books, 2006. This got me started as a freelancer.
  • The Wealthy Freelancer, Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage & Ed Gandia, Alpha, 2010. Despite the doubtful title, this is full of great strategies and tips for freelancers.

Dictionaries

  • Groot Kluwer Polytechnische Woordenboek
  • Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English
  • Van Dale Grote Woordenboek EN-NL/NL-EN
  • Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary

Reference and Style Guides 

  • Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
  • The Cambridge Guide to English Usage
  • The Chicago Manual of Style
  • The Economist Style Guide (used for SENSE publications)
  • The Oxford Guide of Style

Journal

  • De Talen: 126 jaar toonaangevend tijdschrift in talen en vertalen (Uitgever: Tandem Felix, Nijmegen)

Published works by members of SENSE

Among SENSE members are several noted authors and translators.

 

■   Journeys in the Light

 

by Jan Arriens

'A delightful read, good for your enjoyment whatever your age.' Jez Smith in The Friend 22 Nov 2007

  

Pronoun Press 2007

ISBN 978-0-9556183-1-4

 

■   Seeking the Source

 

 

by Jan Arriens

'Though these tales can be read purely for enjoyment, they are many-layered and deserve to be turned to again and again. A delightful, inspiring book.' Joy Burrough in eSense.

  

2005, republished 2007

by Pronoun Press

ISBN 8-0-95556183-2-1

 

■   Righting English that's gone Dutch

 

 

by Joy Burrough-Boenisch

A contrastive stylebook exploring the zone where Dutch and English meet and giving advice on writing English right. This updated and expanded edition has been largely rewritten. It includes new material based on linguistic research, plus new insights from recent British and American style manuals. It also gives advice on using the Internet as a Dunglish checker. There are two new chapters: one on inversion and the other on writing style. It's entertaining and authoritative - essential reading for anyone writing or editing English in a Dutch environment.

  

Kemper Conseil

Voorburg 2004

ISBN 9076542082

 

■   The Glittering Sea

 

 

by Donald Gardner

'Donald Gardner is one of the most exciting and surprising poets around. His work will turn your head (and mind) upside down - whether it's commenting on the after-affects of jet lag after one of his numerous trips to New York City or warning you jovially about the coming of the millennium.' Bruce Weber, poet and poetry producer, author of How the Poem Died.  Visit Donald's website for more information.

  

Hearing Eye Books,

London 2006

 

■   I Dreamed in the Cities at Night (Remco Campert)

 

 

by Donald Gardner

Donald Gardner’s book of translations of Dutch poet, Remco Campert. For more information visit Arc Publications.

 

 

  

Arc Publications 007

ISBN 10:190461436

ISBN 13:9781604614364

■   The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)

 

by Susan Massotty

The Definitive Edition, edited by Otto M. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, was translated by Susan Massotty. Doubleday’s original edition (1952), with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt, was translated by honorary SENSE member Barbara M. Mooyaart. Anne Frank's Diary is among the most enduring documents of the twentieth century. Since its publication in 1947, it has been read by tens of millions of people. The Definitive Edition restores diary entries that were omitted from the original edition.

  

Anchor 1996

ISBN 978-0-385-48033-8

(0-385-48033-4)
Last Updated on Monday, 28 November 2011 18:31