Thread: Amazon

Amazon is a useful resource for finding Russian books, because their warehouse is so huge it basically has any book you could want - I particularly recommend the uh.. recommendations. Here's a rather unorthodox piece of English I found in a synopsis:

Book Description
Advanced Beginning through Intermediate Intermediate students of Russian will connect with these contemporary stories created especially for them. Written by three contemporary Russian-language authors, the tales reflect... Read more

hmmm.. not sure that intermediate intermediate is a very descriptive phrase.. and for those learning English note that it should be specially without the "e."

Ьн пщщв Щеещ,

You must look at it in a different way. Note:

Book Description
Advanced
Beginning through Intermediate
Intermediate students of RUssian will.....

You see, there's got to be something that comes after "through."

And I don't see anything wrong with "especially" there, but of course, I don't speak the Queen's language all too well, living here...

Specially means for a special purpose or audience etc. e.g.
This book is written specially for you
Especially means particularly, very, etc. e.g.
This book is especially long

Originally Posted by Oddo

Specially means for a special purpose or audience etc. e.g.
This book is written specially for you
Especially means particularly, very, etc. e.g.
This book is especially long

The entries at dictionary.com don't agree with you on that, Oddo, and neither does my unconscious mind. It may be one of those things that has changed over the years.
Actually, come to think of it, neither did Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan
(Especially for you...)

As for intermediate intermediate, it certainly looks silly, but I suppose you know what they mean:
Elementary/Beginner
Pre-Intermediate
Intermediate (which you could call Intermediate Intermediate)
Upper Intermediate
Advanced
etc.

The back of my dictionary has a "commonly confused words" section, detailing all the things which must p... off foreigners and confuse natives as well. I like it because it says splitting infinitives is now recognised as a perfectly acceptable practice. I hate pedantry without any reason. I love pedantry with reason though