Language: history and general works Books

Book SynopsisIn his groundbreaking new book Daniel Everett seeks answers to questions that have perplexed thinkers from Plato to Chomsky: when and how did language begin? What is it? And what is it for? Daniel Everett confounds the conventional wisdom that language originated with Homo sapiens 150,000 years ago and that we have a 'language instinct'. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of fields, including linguistics, archaeology, biology, anthropology and neuroscience, he shows that our ancient ancestors, Homo erectus, had the biological and mental equipment for speech one and half million years ago, and that their cultural and technological achievements (including building ocean-going boats) make it overwhelmingly likely they spoke some kind of language. How Language Began sheds new light on language and culture and what it means to be human and, as always, Daniel Everett spices his account with incident and anecdote. His book is convincing, arresting and entertaining.Trade ReviewVery few books on the biological and cultural origin of humanity can be ranked as classics. I believe that Daniel Everett's How Language Began will be one of them. -- Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard UniversityHow Language Began occupies a rare literary space that explains complex issues clearly to general readers while being an original contribution to scholarship...the arguments he marshals and insights he provides are impressive...anyone interested in language would gain from reading this book. -- Oliver Kamm * Times *Ambitious...the subject-matter is completely enthralling...Everett is at the very top of his intellectual game. -- Harry Ritchie * Spectator *Important and fascinating -- Adrian Woolfson * Prospect *Everett is skilled at leavening an intellectually challenging treatise with humor ... A worthy book for general readers * Kirkus Reviews *When I first became interested in cultural evolution, cognitive revolutionaries would say that Noam Chomsky had proved that an innate language acquisition device was the key to linguistics. Daniel Everett is a leader of the counterrevolution that is putting culture and cultural evolution back at the center of linguistics, and cognition more generally, where I think it belongs. How Language Began is an accessible account of the case for a culture-centered theory of language. -- Peter Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California DavisPraise for Language: The Cultural Tool: 'A book whose importance is almost impossible to overstate. * Sunday Times *Revelatory. There is nothing about humans that is quite as astonishing as language. * Guardian *Impressively modest and reasoned. * Economist *The most important - and provocative - anthropological field work ever undertaken. -- Tom WolfePraise for Don't Sleep, There are Snakes: 'A worldwide bestseller that finds no competition from linguistic researchers. * New Scientist *A remarkable book. It is written with an immediacy even a Piraha might envy, and its conjunction of physical and intellectual adventure is irresistible. * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisIn the century since its birth, the crossword has evolved into the world''s most popular intellectual pastime: a unique form of wordplay, the codes and conventions of which are open to anyone masochistic enough to get addicted. In Two Girls, One on Each Knee, Alan Connor celebrates the wit, ingenuity and frustration of setting and solving puzzles. From the beaches of D-Day to the imaginary worlds of three-dimensional crosswords, to the British school teachers and journalists who turned the form into the fiendish sport it is today, encompassing the most challenging clues, particular tricks, the world''s greatest setters and famous solvers, PG Wodehouse and the torturers of the Spanish Inquisition, this is an ingenious book for lovers of this very particular form of wordplay.Trade ReviewAlan Connor's charming, fascinating history . . . is as elegantly sprinkled with surprising gems as the most satisfying crossword . . . thoroughly, consistently entertaining . . . In a single, gloriously decipherable chapter he lays out with perfect clarity the entire range of rules and devices through which cryptic clues work their magic * Sunday Times *It is witty, charming, encyclopaedic and highly readable - and it can be read in any order. Take a chapter or a paragraph, a puzzle or a clue. In each the reader will find something to intrigue and delight. * Spectator *Two Girls is a lovingly crafted little book, from the table of contents - where chapter titles are hidden in a crossword designed by the great Araucaria - to the index, which skips from "I give up, see frustration" via "primness in American crosswords", to finish with "zookeepers, beleaguered". * The Times *A lovingly crafted little book . . . Connor's wry, good-natured tone and his commitment to the serious business of play make him the perfect guide to a great pastime as it approaches its 100th birthday * Daily Telegraph *Connor writes with great flair . . . it is nice to dip in and out of his entertaining essays * Church Times *An ideal stocking filler * Metro *The brilliant new book on crosswords that delivers fun galore whether you're a doer or a duffer * Mail on Sunday *There is something to entertain even the most infrequent dabbler * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Politics and the English Language, the second in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell takes aim at the language used in politics, which, he says, ‘is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind’. In an age where the language used in politics is constantly under the microscope, Orwell’s Politics and the English Language is just as relevant today, and gives the reader a vital understanding of the tactics at play.Trade Review'Anybody who wants to write better will learn much from this essay… It is simultaneously hilarious and a dreadful warning.' (Allan Massie, The Scotsman) 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' (Irish Times)Table of ContentsPolitics and the English Language, Note on the Text, Notes, A Brief Biographical Sketch of George Orwell

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Book SynopsisA PULITZER PRIZE FINALISTA riveting, masterfully researched account of the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese language to the modern world, transforming China into a superpower in the processWhat does it take to reinvent the world''s oldest living language?China today is one of the world''s most powerful nations, yet just a century ago it was a crumbling empire with literacy reserved for the elite few, left behind in the wake of Western technology. In Kingdom of Characters, Jing Tsu shows that China''s most daunting challenge was a linguistic one: to make the formidable Chinese language - a 2,200-year-old writing system that was daunting to natives and foreigners alike - accessible to a globalized, digital world.Kingdom of Characters follows the bold innovators who adapted the Chinese script - and the value-system it represents - to the technological advances that would shape the twentieth century and beyond, from the Trade ReviewEnchanting... [Tsu's] love for the enigma and beauty of Chinese shines through in this delightful mix of history and linguistics... A pleasure to read -- Michael Sheridan * Sunday Times *Erudite and beautifully written -- Rana Mitter * TLS *Incredibly fascinating... Chinese is the oldest written language in the world, and this book is very much an aperture book. Look through its linguistic premise and a whole panorama of politics, technology and aesthetics springs into life... Remarkable -- Stuart Kelly * Scotsman *Impressive... A well-told story about those who created modern China not through the barrel of a gun or a little red book but through dictionaries, libraries and printing presses. As the Chinese say, heroes are born out of turbulent times, and what China has undergone has been nothing if not turbulent -- Cindy Yu * Spectator *[Tsu] brings to life the individuals who gave their all to solve China's problems with language technology, even as political and social turmoil was raging around them -- Gaston Dorren * Guardian *How to permit what Joseph Needham admiringly called "the glittering, crystalline world" of China's ancient ideographic script to run along the western-made telegraph wires, to be typewritten instead of brush-stroked, to make full use of Silicon Valley's internet and the iPhone, is a story of both dazzling technical and political fascination and an ever-swelling global importance. Jing Tsu has crafted a tale of this achievement with flair, originality and extraordinary narrative power: seldom have I read a book about modern China so informative, revelatory and enjoyable -- Simon WinchesterAn absolute joy to read. This stunning, meticulously researched book is the detective story of Chinese characters. Jing Tsu has seamlessly fused the craft of the linguistic historian with the artistry of the storyteller - including cliff-hangers -- David Crystal, author of THE STORIES OF ENGLISH and HOW LANGUAGE WORKSAn amazing story! How Chinese speech and script go to be standardized and made fit for the age of printing, data-processing and the internet is a true adventure story, told with brio and passion in this eye-opening book. It's a complicated tale, to be sure, and the solutions found verge on the miraculous. But the false starts, forgotten heroes, the rejections of the past and returns to tradition that are clearly laid out in this book also map out a cultural history of modern China. Immensely instructive and thoroughly enjoyable -- David Bellos, author of IS THAT A FISH IN YOUR EAR?Writing about writing is hard; writing about Chinese writing in English is devilish. Strokes, logographs, ideographs - even the basic terminology can cloud the mind like a calligraphy brush loaded with too much ink. Jing Tsu's brilliant solution is to focus on characters - not the ones written from left to right, top to bottom, but the actual living, breathing, thinking individuals who, since the start of the twentieth century, did everything they could to adapt the Chinese language and writing system to the modern world. In Kingdom of Characters, Tsu introduces us to a cast of unforgettable figures: the wanted fugitive who pushes for Mandarin as China's national tongue; the engineer and bamboo expert who develops a Chinese typewriter; the railway administrator who tries to figure out how to send telegrams in a language without an alphabet. Along the way, Tsu tells an essential story of modern China: a country at once transformed and yet deeply traditional -- Peter HesslerKingdom of Characters is an eye-opener. It approaches a central topic in modern and contemporary Chinese culture through a unique perspective, combining scholarship with vivid historical narrative. Jing Tsu wears her erudition lightly and gives us a fascinating and moving story. It shows the passionate struggle of generations of pioneers, who tried to find ways of reshaping and preserving the Chinese written script. It's a story of desperate strife, unflagging dedication, and ultimately, triumph -- Ha JinKingdom of Characters is a deeply engaging and revealing narrative of the Chinese language in modern times: its graphic and phonetic transformations, conceptual debates, technological innovations, and political contentions. Jin Tsu has brought together a series of key moments concerning Chinese modernity, from the first Chinese typewriter to the digital Sinosphere, from the script reform to the voice revolution. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, this book is indispensable for anyone interested in the sound and script of modern China -- Professor David Wang, Harvard UniversityInteresting and very readable -- Peter Gordon * Asian Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisEssential study guides for the future linguist. Language and Power is an introduction to how English is used to influence, persuade and position us within hierarchies. It is suitable for students at advanced level and beyond. Written with input from the Cambridge English Corpus, it looks at the linguistic techniques in situations where language is used to exert influence, exploring how contexts affect the language we use. Short activities help explain analysis methods, guiding students through major modern issues and concepts. It summarises key concerns and modern findings, while providing inspiration for language investigations and non-examined assessments (NEAs) with research suggestions.Table of Contents1. Language and power: 1.1. Inequality and power imbalance in society; 1.2. The power of language; 2. Types of power: 2.1. Concepts about power; 2.2. Politeness as a power tool; 2.3. Power and genre; 3. Language, power and the media: 3.1. Access to the media; 3.2. The language and power of journalism; 3.3. The language and power of advertising; 3.4. The language and power of charity appeals; 4. Language, power and occupation: 4.1. Exclusive features of occupational language; 4.2. Workplace interactions; 4.3. The negotiation of roles: the customer is always right; 5. Language, power and education: 5.1. Traditional classroom discourse; 5.2. A more collaborative classroom; 6. Language, power and politics: 6.1. Ideology and critical discourse analysis; 6.2. Political rhetoric in speeches, interviews and debates; 7. Language, power and the law: 7.1. A register rooted in tradition; 7.2. Functions and features of legal language in written discourse; 7.3. Spoken language in the courtroom; Ideas and answers; References.

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers reveals the trajectory of the Greek language from the Mycenaean period of the second millennium BC to the current day.Trade Review"Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." (Choice, 1 February 2011) "…one of Horrocks' greatest achievements is the skill with which he demonstrates the special value of the history of Greek, thinking about the Greek language in terms of breadth and depth that are unusual among linguists working on Greek." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, 9 May 2011)Table of ContentsPreface to the First Edition xii Preface to the Second Edition xv IPA Chart xvii The Greek Alphabet xviii Introduction: The Scope and Purpose of This Book 1 Part I Ancient Greek: From Mycenae to the Roman Empire 7 1 The Ancient Greek Dialects 9 1.1 The Coming of the ‘Greeks’ to Greece 9 1.2 The Earliest Records: Mycenaean Greek 10 1.3 Greek Dialect Relations and the Place of Mycenaean 13 1.4 Some Examples 24 1.4.1 Some basic dialect characteristics 24 1.4.2 West Greek 28 (a) Laconian 28 (b) Cretan 29 (c) Elean 30 (d) Phocian 31 1.4.3 Aeolic 32 (a) Boeotian 32 (b) Thessalian 33 (c) Lesbian 34 1.4.4 East Greek 36 (a) Arcadian 36 (b) Ionic 37 (c) Attic 40 2 Classical Greek: Official and Literary ‘Standards’ 43 2.1 Introduction 43 2.2 The Language of Homer and its Influence 44 2.2.1 Ionian epic 44 2.2.2 Ionian elegy and iambus 49 2.2.3 Personal lyric 50 2.2.4 Choral lyric 53 2.2.5 Athenian drama 56 2.3 Official and Literary Ionic 60 3 The Rise of Attic 67 3.1 Attic as a Literary Standard 67 3.2 ‘Great Attic’ as an Administrative Language 73 4 Greek in the Hellenistic World 79 4.1 Introduction 79 4.2 The Koine as an Extension of Great Attic 80 4.3 The Impact and Status of the Koine 83 4.4 The Fate of the Ancient Greek Dialects 84 4.4.1 Introduction 84 4.4.2 Koineization: the case of Boeotian 84 4.4.3 Doric koines: Tsakonian 87 4.5 The Koine in the Hellenistic Kingdoms 88 4.6 The Koine as an Official Language 89 4.6.1 Introduction 89 4.6.2 Macedonian Koine: the development of infinitival constructions 90 4.6.3 The articular infinitive 94 4.7 Language and Literature in the Hellenistic World: The Koine as a Literary Dialect 96 4.7.1 Introduction 96 4.7.2 Historiography: Polybius 97 4.7.3 The Koine as the language of technical prose 98 4.7.4 Reaction against the Koine: Hellenistic poetry 98 4.7.5 Reaction against the Koine: Asianism and Atticism 99 4.7.6 Popular literature: romances 100 4.7.7 Drama: the ‘new’ Attic comedy and the mime 101 4.7.8 Jewish literature: the Septuagint 106 4.8 Clitic Pronouns and the Shift Towards VS Word Order 108 4.9 Analogical Pressure on the Strong Aorist Paradigm 109 4.10 The Spoken Koine: Regional Diversity 110 4.10.1 Introduction 110 4.10.2 Egypt 111 4.10.3 Asia Minor 113 4.11 Private Inscriptions and Papyri: Some Major Trends 114 4.11.1 Introduction: datives, future periphrases, the nom-acc plural of consonant-stems 114 4.11.2 Phonological developments 117 4.11.3 Other morphological developments: partial merger of the 1st and 3rd declensions 120 4.12 Conclusion 122 5 Greek in the Roman Empire 124 5.1 Roman Domination 124 5.2 The Fate of Greek 125 5.3 The Impact of Bilingualism: Greek and Latin in Contact 126 5.4 Roman Attitudes to Greek Culture 132 5.5 Atticism and the Second Sophistic 133 5.6 Atticist Grammars and Lexica: Aelius Aristides 137 5.7 The Official Koine in the Roman Republican Period 141 5.8 Past-Tense Morphology 143 5.9 Official Writing of the Roman Imperial Period 144 5.10 ‘Colloquial’ Literature 146 5.10.1 Epictetus 146 5.10.2 The New Testament 147 5.11 Later Christian Literature: Stylistic Levels 152 5.11.1 The Apostolic Fathers 152 5.11.2 The impact of Atticism 155 5.11.3 Callinicus and Theodoret 156 6 Spoken Koine in the Roman Period 160 6.1 Introduction 160 6.2 Summary of the Principal Developments in the Vowel System 160 6.3 Some Illustrative Examples 163 6.3.1 Athenian Attic 163 6.3.2 Egyptian Koine 165 6.4 The Development of the Consonant System 170 6.5 Some Egyptian Texts 172 6.5.1 Letter 1: clitic pronouns and word order, control verbs with i{na ['ina]-complements 172 6.5.2 Letter 2: ‘short’ 2nd-declension forms, the merger of aorist and perfect 174 6.5.3 Letter 3: the decline of 3rd-declension participles 178 6.5.4 Letter 4: the decline of the dative 183 6.6 Conclusion 187 Part II Byzantium: From Constantine I to Mehmet the Conqueror 189 7 Historical Prelude 191 7.1 The Later Roman Empire 191 7.2 The Age of Transition: Ioustinianós and the Arab Conquests 194 7.3 The Middle Byzantine Period: Iconoclasm, Renaissance and Decline 197 7.4 The Late Byzantine Period: Stabilization, Defeat and Fall 200 8 Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Major Issues 207 8.1 Introduction 207 8.2 Greek and Other Languages in the Early Byzantine Period 207 8.3 The Prestige of Greek 210 8.4 Greek in the Later Empire 212 8.4.1 Introduction 212 8.4.2 Byzantine Atticism 213 8.4.3 The first experiments with the vernacular 214 8.4.4 The vernacular literature of the 14th and 15th centuries 216 8.4.5 The romances 217 8.4.6 Other vernacular material 219 8.5 ‘The Koine’ in Byzantium 220 8.5.1 The inheritance from antiquity 220 8.5.2 Academic and ecclesiastical Greek 220 8.5.3 Official and administrative Greek 221 8.5.4 Practical writing in the middle period 222 8.5.5 Chronicles 222 8.5.6 Christian exegetical literature and hagiography 225 8.5.7 A new written standard in the later empire 226 8.6 The Balkan Sprachbund: Future Formations 227 8.7 Conclusion 229 9 Byzantine Belles Lettres 231 9.1 Introduction 231 9.2 The Early Period: Prokópios (First Half of the 6th Century) 231 9.3 The Middle Period: Michaél Psellós (1018–1078 or 1096) 233 9.4 The Modal Imperfect 237 9.5 The Late Period: Anna Komnené (1083–c.1153) 238 9.6 After the Fall: Michaél Kritóboulos (15th Century) 240 9.7 Conclusion 242 10 The Written Koine in Byzantium 244 10.1 Introduction 244 10.2 Chronicles in the Early and Middle Periods 245 10.2.1 Malálas (c.491–c.578): generics 245 10.2.2 Theophánes the Confessor (c.760–818) 251 10.3 Hagiography and Exegetical Works 253 10.3.1 Ioánnes Móschos (c.550–619) 253 10.3.2 St Germanós (c.640–733) 256 10.4 Paraenetic Literature of the Middle Period 258 10.4.1 Konstantínos VII Porphyrogénnetos (905–59) 258 10.4.2 Kekauménos (11th century) 262 10.5 The Metaphrases of the Palaiologan Period 264 10.6 Academic Greek in the Late Period: Máximos Planoúdes (c.1255–c.1305) 268 10.7 Official Greek of the Later Empire 270 10.8 Conclusion 271 11 Spoken Greek in the Byzantine Empire: The Principal Developments 273 11.1 Introduction 273 11.2 The Completion of Sound Changes Beginning in Antiquity 274 11.3 Grammatical Consequences of Aphaeresis 277 11.4 Old and New Patterns of Subordination: Clitic Pronouns and VSO Order 277 11.5 Dialect Diversity in Medieval Greek 281 11.6 Later Phonetic and Phonological Developments 281 11.7 Nominal Morphology and Syntax 284 11.7.1 The dative case, prepositional phrases 284 11.7.2 Feminine nouns of the 1st declension: paradigm standardization 285 11.7.3 Masculine nouns of the 1st declension: paradigm standardization 286 11.7.4 Interplay between the 1st and 3rd declensions: imparisyllabic paradigms 286 11.7.5 Neuters 288 11.7.6 The definite article 289 11.7.7 Adjectives 289 11.7.8 Pronouns 292 (a) Indefinite pronouns 292 (b) Interrogative pronouns 293 (c) Relative pronouns 293 (d) Demonstrative pronouns 295 (e) Personal pronouns 296 11.8 Verb Morphology and Syntax 296 11.8.1 The infinitive 296 11.8.2 Participles 297 11.8.3 Futures and conditionals, pluperfects and perfects 298 11.8.4 The spread of k-aorists: the aorist passive 302 11.8.5 Imperfective stem formation 303 (a) The fate of the -mi [-mi] verbs 303 (b) Nasal suffixes 305 (c) The suffixes -avzw [-'azo]/-ivzw [-'izo] 307 (d) The suffix -euvw [-'evo] and its influence: verbs in -ptw [-pto] 312 (e) The contract verbs 313 11.8.6 Personal endings 316 (a) Indicative and subjunctive 317 (b) Past-tense morphology: active and aorist middle/ passive; the augment 318 (c) The active paradigm: present tense 319 (d) The middle/passive paradigm: present tense 320 (e) The middle/passive paradigm: the imperfect 320 11.9 Conclusion 323 12 Texts in the ‘Vernacular’ 325 12.1 The Early and Middle Periods 325 12.1.1 Introduction 325 12.1.2 The Protobulgarian inscriptions 325 12.1.3 Acclamations: origins of the ‘political’ verse form 327 12.2 Vernacular Literature of the 12th Century 333 12.2.1 The epic of Digenés Akrítes 333 12.2.2 Ptochopródromos 337 12.3 The 14th and 15th Centuries: The Palaiologan Court and Frankish Rule 342 12.3.1 The original romances of the Palaiologan period 342 12.3.2 Greek–Romance contact: perfects/pluperfects, negative polarity, clitics 345 12.3.3 The Chronicle of the Morea 349 12.3.4 The translated romances 357 12.4 The First Dialect Literature: Cyprus and Crete 360 12.4.1 Introduction 360 12.4.2 Early dialect literature in Cyprus: Machairás’ chronicle 362 12.4.3 Early vernacular literature in Crete 366 12.5 Conclusion 368 Part III Modern Greek: From the Ottoman Empire to the European Union 371 13 Ottoman Rule and the War of Independence 373 13.1 The Early Years 373 13.2 Ottoman Decline 374 13.3 Revolution and Independence 377 14 Spoken Greek in the Ottoman Period 379 14.1 The Impact of Turkish 379 14.2 The Spoken Dialects of Modern Greek 381 14.2.1 Introduction: diversification, and the basis for a modern spoken standard 381 14.2.2 Local vernaculars in the central region; Sofianós’ grammar and the educated standard 384 14.2.3 Greek in the west: the South Italian dialects 388 14.2.4 Greek in the south and south-east: the Dodecanese, Cyprus and Crete 391 14.2.5 Greek in the east: Pontus and Cappadocia 398 14.2.6 The northern dialects 404 14.3 Popular Culture in the Turkish Period: The Folk Songs 406 15 Written Greek in the Turkish Period 413 15.1 Continuity 413 15.2 The Impact of the Enlightenment 419 15.3 Contemporary ‘Demotic’ 423 15.4 The Roots of the ‘Language Question’ 426 16 The History of the Modern Greek State 428 16.1 Irredentism: Triumph and Disaster 428 16.2 Dictatorship and War 431 16.3 Recovery, the Colonels and the Restoration of Democracy 433 17 The ‘Language Question’ and its Resolution 438 17.1 Koraís 438 17.2 The Roots of Demoticism: Solomós and the Ionian Islands 442 17.3 The Rise of Katharévousa 445 17.4 Reaction: Psycháris and the Demoticist Programme 446 17.5 The Progress of Demoticism 454 17.6 The 20th Century: Crisis and Resolution 456 17.7 Standard Modern Greek 462 17.8 A Range of Styles 466 Bibliography 471 Index 493

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Book SynopsisFrom Singapore to Scotland, Canada to the Channel Islands, Namibia to New Zealand and beyond, International English takes you on a fascinating journey through the varieties of English spoken around the world. Comparisons across the varieties provide a comprehensive guide to differences in phonetics, phonology, grammar and vocabulary, making this a useful resource for teachers of English as a foreign language and linguistics students alike. This sixth edition has been thoroughly updated to include the following: new sections on the Death of RP, Estuary English, Multicultural London English, the Dublin accent and Fijian English; updated material on RP phonology, New Zealand English phonology, Australian English lexis, North American English lexis and the Northern Cities Chain Shift; revised and updated references and bibliography. This textbook comes with free-to-download MP3 files at www.routledge.com/9781138233Trade Review'A clear, accessible and well-written guide to the major Englishes of the globe, keeping pace with developments in the field, embracing newly described varieties, yet concise and focussed - the essential starting point for students of varieties of English.'David Britain, University of Bern, Switzerland'Ever wonder how English differs from place to place? From the UK to the US, South Africa and Fiji, readers will learn local pronunciations, word choices (gumboots vs. wellingtons), grammatical differences (got vs. gotten), and politeness techniques (thanks vs. please). It’s like taking a trip around the world!'Sali A. Tagliamonte, University of Toronto, Canada'This slim volume contains an impressive amount of detail about different forms of English as used around the world. ... Overall, this is an excellent, compact resource with a price which reflects the research it contains.'Val Hamilton, Freelance reviewer, Nethy Bridge, UKTable of Contents Standard English in the world English, Australasian, South African and Welsh English The pronunciation of Northern American English English and North American English: grammatical, orthographical and lexical differences Scottish and Irish English West Indian English and English-based creoles Lesser-known Englishes Second language varieties of English GlossaryBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisThis new edition of a timeless classic demonstrates how the use of clear, rational thinking and logic can win any argument, however emotionally charged the topic in question. It describes the typical flaws of reasoning in argument and shows how language can be used to deceive - and how to avoid being deceived. It will show you how, by learning what is ''straight'', rational language, and clear thought, you can disentangle emotionally charged rhetoric and hold your own in any argument or debate, no matter how challenging. Although written nearly 80 years ago, this book proves that certain principles remain timeless; it has shown many thousands over the decades how to cope with media spin and distorted reasoning - and now it will do the same for you.Trade Review'It is neither a dry nor weighty tome, but is jam-packed with raw rational sense. It will give you techniques for identifying fallacies and false arguments. It will help protect you from the devious subterfuges of politicians and preachers, journalists and jingoists. It is sweet manna from a rational heaven. Thouless describes 38 dishonest tricks that are commonly used in arguments (there may be more). ' * answersingenes.blogspot.com *"Straight and Crooked Thinking remains one of the most succinct and practically-applicable books ever written. One blogger named it as his favorite book of all time, describing it as "a concise work of supreme genius." * http://neglectedbooks.com *"...put it back on the mass market, where it belongs! (...) get it on every bookshelf on the planet." * http://answersingenes.blogspot.com/2007/11/straight-crooked-thinking.html *Table of Contents : 1. Different ways of using language : 2. Words and facts : 3. The meanings of words : 4. Definition and some of its difficulties : 5. Good and bad definitions : 6. All and some : 7. Some dishonest tricks in argument : 8. Some logical fallacies : 9. Habits of thought : 10. Prejudice : 11. Predigested thinking : 12. Pitfalls in analogy : 13. Oratory and suggestion : 14. Tricks of suggestion : 15. Straight thinking : 16. The future of straight thinking : Appendix 1: Thirty-seven dishonest tricks commonly used in argument, with the methods of overcoming them : Appendix 2: A discussion illustrating crooked thinking : Index

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Book SynopsisSwearing, it turns out, is an incredibly useful part of our linguistic repertoire. Not only has some form of swearing existed since the earliest humans began to communicate, but it has been shown to reduce physical pain, help stroke victims recover their language, and encourage people to work together as a team. Swearing Is Good For You is a spirited and hilarious defence of our most cherished dirty words, backed by historical case studies and cutting-edge research. From chimpanzees creating their own curse words to a man who lost half his brain in a mining accident experiencing a new-found compulsion to swear, Dr Emma Byrne outlines the fascinating science behind swearing: how it affects us both physically and emotionally, and how it is more natural and beneficial than we are led to believe.Trade ReviewA good book about bad language by a trash-talking woman? Sign me up! Swearing Is Good for You makes science feel downright celebratory. -- Mary Norris, bestselling author of Between You & MeAn impressive catalogue of research showing how effing and blinding helps us deal with pain, bond with others, is associated with intelligence and makes us more inclined to trust each other... a glorious uplifting read. -- Lucy Kellaway * Financial Times *Swearing has been the subject of considerable scientific analysis, it turns out, which Byrne's book deftly reviews...Swearing is stinky cheese and malbec in a world of clean eating. -- India Knight * The Sunday Times *A chatty, humorously informative narrative that rummages through the science of bad language, grabbing at sociology, psychology, neuroscience and anthropology. -- Hephzibah Anderson * The Mail on Sunday *This excellent book backs up my long-held theory that people who swear are generally less uptight or anxious than those who don't...I think the most joyous bit about this book is learning that swearing is a powerful and acceptable weapon in a woman's armoury, a strong signal that we don't have to adhere to old-fashioned, traditional views of what is "ladylike", a phrase I often hear when swearing is discussed in mixed-gender debates. -- Lorraine Candy * The Sunday Times Style *Byrne is a science writer with a PhD in robotics and a gleefully robust attitude to language... Swearing Is Good For You is a lively defence of its subject. -- James McConnachie * The Sunday Times *Entertaining and informative ... reminds you of the mysterious pleasure of using words that are not meant to be said. -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *A lively examination of a neglected subject. * The Week *The next time someone tells you off for swearing, give them a copy of this book. Byrne explains all the ways in which swearing is good for us, from pain relief to team bonding, and reveals what cursing chimpanzees can tell us about the origin of dirty words. * BBC Science Focus *

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Book SynopsisThis book is an accessible and authoritative A-Z that provides up-to-date definitions of over 1,600 current grammatical terms, with hundreds of useful example sentences and helpful quotations from the scholarly literature. An invaluable guide to all those interested in the English language.Trade ReviewAn in-depth explanation of grammatical terms for writers, those who teach writing and grammar, or who love words and their combinations. This is a world of information in an inexpensive package. * Library Journal *In this second edition, Bas Aarts, as a leading academic grammarian, has added his authority to an already highly-respected vade mecum to English grammar. The comprehensive up-to-date coverage of the book brings a balanced in-depth treatment of the variant grammatical terminologies that can be so confusing. This makes it an indispensable reference guide for students, teachers, academics and anyone challenged or fascinated by the world of English grammar. * Professor Geoffrey Leech, Lancaster University *Review from previous edition grammar as the total system of the language ... well defined and well illustrated with quotations from grammarians ancient and modern." * Times Literary Supplement *This is an excellent, scholarly work, yet outstandingly practical and genuinely accessible by any reader seeking better to understand existing grammar texts. * Reference Reviews *

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Book SynopsisGeorge Orwell’s essay examines the power of language to shape political ideas. It is about the importance of writing concisely, clearly and precisely and the dangers to our ability to think when language, especially political language, is obscured by vague, clichéd phrases and hackneyed metaphors. In it, he argues that when political discourse trades clarity and precision for stock phrases, the debasement of politics follows. First published in Horizon in 1946, Orwell’s essay was soon recognised as an important text, circulated by newspaper editors to their journalists and reprinted in magazines and anthologies of contemporary writing. It continues to be relevant to our own age.

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Book SynopsisPresenting key insights from contemporary syntactic theory in one clear and coherent narrative, this lively textbook provides a concise introduction to the formal theory of syntax, avoiding unnecessary detail. It is suitable for undergraduate students in linguistics, modern languages and English.Trade Review'A lucid, accessible, and deeply informed introduction that leads carefully to substantial understanding of language and linguistics. A very welcome contribution.' Noam Chomsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology'This introduction to syntax is a new and interesting teaching tool. The way it is conceived allows the students to get insights into the reasoning mechanisms of formal syntax that go beyond technicalities. The approach is sound and solid and also provides useful exercises and activities that help the student to start working with the basic bricks of syntactic theory acquiring at the same time the gist of linguistic analysis.' Cecilia Poletto, Goethe University, Frankfurt and University of Padua, ItalyTable of ContentsIntroduction. The language machine; 1. Categories and features; 2. Merge; 3. Theta theory; 4. Case theory; 5. Agreement and uninterpretable features; 6. Movement and remerge; 7. Unifying movement and agreement; 8. Syntax and morphology; 9. Syntax and phonology; 10. Syntax and semantics; Afterword; Glossary; References; Index.

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Book SynopsisA vibrantly illustrated collection of cat-related proverbs and idioms collected from around the world?by the New York Times bestselling author of Tiny But Mighty, beloved by millions online as the Kitten Lady.There?s more than one way to get the job done, or as they say in Finland, ?There are many ways, said Grandma, while wiping the table with a cat. . . .?In this charming, gift-worthy collection, renowned kitten rescuer, humane educator, and author Hannah Shaw shares 60 feline-focused phrases gathered during her worldwide travels as an animal advocate. Perfect for cat lovers, language nerds, and avid travelers, Cat Got Your Tongue? presents each saying in its native language along with an English translation, a simple explanation of its meaning and use, and a delightful illustration by New Yorker cartoonist Sophie Lucido Johnon. For example:? Portuguese: ?Quem não tem cão caça com gato? or ?One who has no dog hunts with a cat? (we must make do with the resources we have)? Yiddish: ?Vern zol fun dir a blintshik, un di kats zol dikh khapn,? or ?May you turn into a blintz and be snatched by a cat? (a curse expressing ill will)? Dutch: ?De kat op het spek binden,? or ?tie the cat to the bacon? (to forbid something that?s very tempting, like kids with a cookie jar)Featuring proverbs from India, France, China, Malaysia, Turkey, Holland, and many more?in languages from Arabic to Spanish?this enchanting little book reveals the central role that cats play in cultures everywhere, whether to impart a wise piece of advice, insult a rude neighbor, or as they say in Romania, to ?look like the cat at a calendar? (appear very confused).

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Book SynopsisAn indispensable companion for readers, writers, and even casual users of the language, the Penguin Modern Classics edition of Kingsley Amis''s The King''s English features a new introduction by Martin Amis.The King''s English is Kingsley Amis''s authoritative and witty guide to the use and abuse of the English language. A scourge of illiteracy and a thorn in the side of pretension, Amis provides indispensable advice about the linguistic blunders that lie in wait for us, from danglers and four-letter words to jargon and even Welsh rarebit. If you have ever wondered whether it''s acceptable to start a sentence with ''and'', to boldly split an infinitive, or to cross your sevens in the French style, Amis has the answer - or a trenchant opinion. By turns reflective, acerbic and provocative, The King''s English is for anyone who cares about how the English language is used.Kingsley Amis (1922-1995), born in London, wrote poetry, criticism, and short Trade ReviewA terrific book ... learned, robust, aggressive, extremely funny -- Sebastian Faulks

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Book SynopsisThe best introduction to word history ever published combines scholarship with readability. OED's chief etymologist shows how words originate and change. He explores the histories of place and personal names and explains how to use different kinds of evidence, historical as well as linguistic. This is a book for everyone interested in words.Trade ReviewThis is an immaculate work in every sense, proudly flying the banners of authority and of hegemony ... a galazy of fascinating examples ... a brilliant, addictive work indispensable for school and academic libraries at all levels, and for all with any interest in words and the enchanted patterns they weave. * H. G. A. Hughes, Reference Reviews *a very readable, informative, content-packed introduction for the beginner; for the initiated it provides an incentive to ponder the many open questions presented. As such it can be unreservedly recommended. * Elmar Seebold, Anglia *Our strong expectations of The Oxford Guide to Etymology are fully realized * Nicoline van der Sijs, Nederlandse Taalkunde *Very much to be welcomed * Paul T. Roberge, English Language and Linguistics *Table of ContentsAbout this book ; 1. Introduction ; 2. What is a Word? Which Words Need Etymologies? ; 3. Are Words Coherent Entities? ; 4. Word Formation ; 5. Lexical Borrowing ; 6. The Mechanisms of Borrowing ; 7. Change in Word Form ; 8. Semantic Change ; 9. Etymology and Names ; 10. Conclusion ; Glossary ; Suggested for Further Reading ; References ; General Index ; Index of Word Forms

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis'Marvellous . . . I read it with astonished delight . . . It is equally scholarly and entertaining.' - Jan Morris 'Quirky and compelling.' - The Times Once we've learned it as children, few of us think much of the alphabet and its familiar sing-song order. And yet the order of the alphabet, that simple knowledge that we take for granted, plays a major role in our adult lives. From the school register to the telephone book, from dictionaries and encyclopaedias to library shelves, our lives are ordered from A to Z. Long before Google searches, this magical system of organization gave us the ability to sift through centuries of thought, knowledge and literature, allowing us to sort, to file, and to find the information we have, and to locate the information we need. In A Place for Everything, acclaimed historian Judith Flanders draws our attention to both the neglected ubiquity of the alphabet and the long, complex history of its rise to prominence. For, while the order of the alphabet itself became fixed very soon after letters were first invented, their ability to sort and store and organize proved far less obvious. To many of our forebears, the idea of of organizing things by the random chance of the alphabet rather than by established systems of hierarchy or typology lay somewhere between unthinkable and disrespectful.A Place for Everything fascinatingly lays out the gradual triumph of alphabetical order, from its possible earliest days as a sorting tool in the Great Library of Alexandria in the third century BCE, to its current decline in prominence in our digital age of Wikipedia and Google. Along the way, the reader is enlightened and entertained with a wonderful cast of unknown facts, characters and stories from the great collector Robert Cotton, who denominated his manuscripts with the names of the busts of the Roman emperors surmounting his book cases, to the unassuming sixteenth- century London bookseller who ushered in a revolution by listing his authors by 'sirname' first.Trade ReviewMarvellous . . . I read it with astonished delight . . . It is equally scholarly and entertaining. -- Jan MorrisQuirky and compelling . . . She is a meticulous historian with a taste for the offbeat; the story of the alphabet suits her well . . . Fascinating. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *A library and academic essential. -- Libby Purves * The Times *One of the many fascinations of Judith Flanders’s book is that it reveals what a weird, unlikely creation the alphabet is. -- Joe Moran * Guardian *Judith Flanders’s A Place for Everything presents itself as a history of alphabetical order, but in fact it is more than that. Rather, as the title suggests, it offers something like a general history of the various ways humans have sorted and filed the world around them – a Collison –level view of the matter, in which alphabetical order is just one system among many.’ -- Dennis Duncan * The Spectator *Judith Flanders has a knack for making odd subjects accessible . . . In A Place for Everything, the popular historian paints alphabetisation as one of our most radical acts. . . Flanders retains a sense of fun . . . finds contemporary resonance in humanity's search for order. * i *Praise for Judith Flanders' previous book, Christmas: A Biography: 'A catalogue of colourful information, and as surprising an assortment of items as any you might find heaped up under a tree.' -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * Observer *A well-researched account. There are more footnotes here than there are presents under a Rockefeller Christmas tree. Indeed, the book is stuffed with facts – enough to satiate even the most ravenous postprandial taste for quizzing. * Sunday Times *[An] entertaining biography . . . Following the fine tradition of light entertainment Christmas books, Judith Flanders provides lots of trivia . . . However, there is much more to it than that. Flanders is a respected social historian, best known for studies on Victorian life, and the strength of this warm book lies in its quiet erudition. * The Times *Judith Flanders . . . likes Christmas (I think), but she loves reality and its awkward, amusing facts. (A previous book of hers, Inside the Victorian Home, is deep, bright and encompassing.) * New York Times *The non-fiction I most enjoyed . . . an excellent subject, carried out with exemplary care and authority. -- Philip Hensher * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisA landmark reference guide to the LGBTQIA+ community's contributions to the English language-an intersectional, inclusive illustrated glossary featuring more than 800 terms created by and for queer culture.With a foreword from Paula Akpan Do you know where "yaaaas queen!" comes from? Do you know the difference between a bear and a wolf? Do you know what all the letters in LGBTQIA+ stand for? The Queens' English is a comprehensive guide to modern gay slang, queer theory terms, and playful colloquialisms that define and celebrate LGBTQIA+ culture. This modern dictionary provides an in-depth look at queer language, from terms influenced by celebrated lesbian poet Sappho and from New York's underground queer ball culture in the 1980s to today's celebration of RuPaul's Drag Race. The glossary of terms is supported by full-color illustrations and photography throughout, as well as real-life usage examples for those who don't quite know how to use "kiki," "polysexual," or "transmasculine" in a sentence. A series of educational lessons highlight key people and events that shaped queer language; readers will learn the linguistic importance of pronouns, gender identity, Stonewall, the Harlem Renaissance, and more. For every queen in your life-the men, women, gender non-conforming femmes, butches, daddies, and zaddies-The Queens' English is at once an education and a celebration of queer history, identity, and the limitless imagination of the LGBTQIA+ community.Trade ReviewA fun, engaging and comprehensive guide... Every time I opened the book I learned something new, enjoying turning the pages of this celebration of queer theory -- Eric Page * Gscene *A must for better understanding queer culture, especially the contributions of Black and Latinx trans people to pop culture at large. * Library Journal Review *Chloe Davis's delightfully informative, succinct, helpful and playful dictionary of more than 800 LGBTQIA+ words and fabulous phrases is truly 'sickening' (defined within as 'astonishingly impressive'). * ShelfAwareness *

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Book SynopsisEvery language in the world shares a few common features: we can ask a question, say something belongs to us, and tell someone what to do. But beyond that, our languages are richly and almost infinitely varied: a French speaker can't conceive of a world that isn't split into un and une, male and female, while Estonians have only one word for both men and women: tema. In Dyirbal, an Australian language, things might be masculine, feminine, neuter - or edible vegetable. Every language tells us something about the people who use it. In I Saw the Dog, linguist Alexandra Aikhenvald takes us from the remote swamplands of Papua New Guinea to the university campuses of North America to illuminate the vital importance of names, the value of being able to say exactly what you mean, what language can tell us about what it means to be human - and what we lose when they disappear forever.

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Book SynopsisWe Irish have enriched the English language with a slew of snazzy gems. Did you know we're the ones behind quarks, electrons and vectors, Sudocrem and Wellington boots? No surprise that we invented begrudgery, but croquet and Wunderkindwere us too! So if some yahoo is getting on your nerves, don't box him in the gob hit him with Irishisms galore, and you'll soon put the kibosh on his shaninagans. Y'dig?Written and illustrated by Colin Murphy and Donal O'Dea, the craggy old blokes behind the bestselling Feckin' Collection and Stuff Irish People Love.

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Book SynopsisIrish history and folklore is rich with proverbs and sayings of old, full of timeless wisdom that still has resonance and truth today. This beautifully designed hardback brings together a whole host of these sayings and proverbs on topics as diverse as aging, the seasons, fate and nature.Learn to banter like the Irish with these wise, witty and wicked sayings. And remember ...?It?s a good story that fills the belly?

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of the bestselling Motherfoclóir, Non-fiction Irish Book of the Year. A TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR. What do we talk about when we talk about Irish? When we talk about saving or supporting a language do we mean the musical combination of syllables, or something more profound? How do new words enter a language, and what is the relationship between that strange dialect called Hiberno-English and its parent language? Craic Baby picks up exactly where Motherfoclóir left off and explores the very new and very old parts of the Irish language from a personal perspective. While Motherfoclóir was steeped in memory and a father-son relationship, Craic Baby hinges on the beginnings of a father-daughter relationship, and how watching a child learn to communicate changes how you think about language. Craic Baby will share more Irish words and issues connected to the language, in the same style as Motherfoclóir, but treated with greater confidence and more depth.Trade ReviewDarach Ó Séaghdha's observations and reflections are intelligent and interesting * Irish Times *Ó Séaghdha wasn't keen on learning traditional Irish language when he was young. Inspired by his dad, he later made it his goal to help preserve it * The Big Issue *A wonderful blend of rudeness and erudition * TLS Books of the Year *I'd stray away from my beloved fiction for [Craic Baby] Darach O'Seaghdha's follow up to the brilliant Motherfoclóir * Irish Times Books of the Year *Darach Ó Séaghdha has a gift for bringing Irish to life, through humour and through fascinating stories of why it is the way it is * Irish Daily Mirror *In Craic Baby, Ó Séaghdha wants to address fundamental points about language in Ireland on a longish agenda. And he does it brilliantly * Irish Examiner *

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Book SynopsisTHINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT FRANCE: You burnt Joan of Arc! ? Smuggling live chickens into rugby matches is patriotic ? How many times to kiss on the cheek ? Where not to cross the road ? French guns don't go 'bang' ? What do you call a party? ? bon appetit is vulgar ? A six-pack is a bar of chocolate ? The dangers of being called Peter or Penny ? Your smallest finger is your 'ear' finger ? The importance of Wednesdays ? How to tip ? and when to celebrate Christmas? Forget the French you learnt at school. Based on twenty years of hard-won knowledge, Pardon My French takes you through all the words you need to survive, shows how and why they work, and steers you past all the pitfalls and potential embarrassments of speaking French in France. From sugar-cube etiquette to why the Marseillaise is all about slaughtering Austrians and Prussians as bloodily as possible, Charles Timoney lays bare the Gallic mindset alongside their bizarre language. Covering all areas of everyday life from eating and drinking to travel, work and, crucially, swearing and sounding like a teenager, this is not just the most entertaining, but also the most useful book on France and the French you'll ever read.

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Book SynopsisThis is the first full-scale reference grammar of Classical Greek in English in a century. The first work of its kind to reflect significant advances in linguistics made in recent decades, it provides students, teachers and academics with a comprehensive yet user-friendly treatment. The chapters on phonology and morphology make full use of insights from comparative and historical linguistics to elucidate complex systems of roots, stems and endings. The syntax offers linguistically up-to-date descriptions of such topics as case usage, tense and aspect, voice, subordinate clauses, infinitives and participles. An innovative section on textual coherence treats particles and word order and discusses several sample passages in detail, demonstrating new ways of approaching Greek texts. Throughout the book numerous original examples are provided, all with translations and often with clarifying notes. Clearly laid-out tables, helpful cross-references and full indexes make this essential resourcTable of ContentsPreface; Abbreviations, symbols, editions; On terminology; Part I. Phonology and Morphology: 1. The signs and sounds of Classical Greek; 2. Introduction to nominal forms; 3. The article; 4. Nouns; 5. Adjectives and participles; 6. Adverbs; 7. Pronouns; 8. Correlative pronouns and adverbs; 9. Numerals; 10. The dual: nominal forms; 11. Introduction to verb forms; 12. The present; 13. The aorist: active and middle; 14. The aorist: passive; 15. The future: active and middle; 16. The future: passive; 17. The perfect (and future perfect): introduction; 18. The perfect: active; 19. The perfect: middle-passive; 20. The future perfect; 21. The dual: verb forms; 22. Principal parts; 23. Word formation; 24. Accentuation; 25. Ionic and other dialects; Part II. Syntax: 26. Introduction to simple sentences; 27. Agreement; 28. The article; 29. Pronouns and quantifiers; 30. Cases; 31. Prepositions; 32. Comparison; 33. The verb: tense and aspect; 34. The verb: mood; 35. The verb: voice; 36. Impersonal constructions; 37. Verbal adjectives; 38. Questions, directives, wishes, exclamations; 39. Introduction to complex sentences; 40. Introduction to finite subordinate clauses; 41. Indirect statements; 42. Indirect questions and indirect exclamations; 43. Fear clauses; 44. Effort clauses; 45. Purpose clauses; 46. Result clauses; 47. Temporal clauses; 48. Causal clauses; 49. Conditional clauses; 50. Relative clauses; 51. The infinitive; 52. The participle; 53. Overview of subordinate constructions; 54. Overview of moods; 55. Overview of the uses of ἄν; 56. Overview of negatives; 57. Overview of the uses of ὡς; Part III. Textual Coherence: 58. Introduction; 59. Particles; 60. Word order; 61. Four sample passages; Bibliography; Indexes.

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Book SynopsisAn essential text for a new generation of twenty-first-century English language enthusiasts, its dual purpose as both a reference and textbook will appeal to English language lecturers and students as well as non-native English speakers. Audio resources recorded by David Crystal for this new edition bring the text to life.Table of Contents1. Modelling English; Part I. The History of English: 2. The origins of English; 3. Old English; 4. Middle English; 5. Early modern English; 6. Modern English; 7. World English; Part II. English Vocabulary: 8. The nature of the lexicon; 9. The sources of the lexicon; 10. Etymology; 11. The structure of the lexicon; 12. Lexical dimensions; Part III. English Grammar: 13. Grammatical mythology; 14. The structure of words; 15. Word classes; 16. The structure of sentences; Part IV. Spoken and Written English: 17. The sound system; 18. The writing system. Part V. Using English: 19. Varieties of discourse; 20. Regional variation; 21. Social variation; 22. Personal variation; 23. Electronic variation; Part VI. Learning About English: 24. Learning English as a mother tongue; 25. New ways of studying English.

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Book SynopsisWhere does the ampersand get its name from? What does the hashtag have to do with commerce in ancient Rome? Keith Houston gives the answers in this delightfully entertaining book.From the pilcrow to the ampersand, the entire cast of Shady Characters reflects the changes in written communication through the ages, charting how punctuation has adapted to each new technological innovation. Together, these shady characters form a rich, entertaining and surprising history of the written word and our ongoing attempts to shape it.''Engaging typographical journeys . . . Houston brings to life a history of ingenuity and imagination'' The Times''Entertaining, informative, a must-read. If ever a book deserved its hardbacked, reverse-embossed, lavishly illustrated, thick white heavy paper incarnation, and a place on an actual bookshelf, it is Shady Characters'' Guardian''Houston brings considerable wit to the 5,000-year-old

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Book SynopsisDiscover words to surprise, delight, and enamor. Learn terms for the sunlight that filters through the leaves of trees, for dancing awkwardly but with relish, and for the look shared by two people who each wish the other would speak first. Other-Wordly is an irresistible gift for lovers of words and those lost for words alike.

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth biography of the Latin language from its very beginnings to the present day from the widely acclaimed author of Empires of the Word'.The Latin language has been a constant in the cultural history of the West for over two millennia. It has shaped the way we think of ourselves and of our (central) place in the world. It has formed and united us as Europeans, has been the foundation of our education for centuries and defined the way in which we express our thoughts, our faith and our knowledge of the workings of the world. And yet, Latin began life as the cumbersome dialect of a small southern Italian city-state.Its active use lasted three times as long as Rome''s Empire and its use echoes on in the law codes of half the world, in terminologies of biology and medicine, and until forty years ago in the litany of the Catholic Church, the most populous form of Christianity.In Ad Infinitum', Nicholas Ostler examines the reasons why Latin made such a long-lasting impact on language, and how it managed to stay alive for two millennia despite the cultural superiority of Greek. He will look at how Latin''s sturdy roots remained untouched while empires rose and fell, the influence of religion, war and the ways it has progressed through medieval times right up until the present day.Trade ReviewPraise for 'Empires of the Word': 'It is a compelling read, one of the most interesting books I have read in a long while…a great book. After reading it you will never think of language in the same way again.' Guardian 'Learned and entertaining…remarkably comprehensive as well as thought-provoking.' Observer 'Ostler is particularly good on this linguistic fragility…This richly various book offers new insights and information for almost everyone interested in the past.' Sunday Telegraph 'A serious work of scholarship, but one that can be read from cover to cover by the amateur enthusiast…the breadth of this analysis is breathtaking…it does its job admirably.' Spectator 'Ambitious and well-researched.' New Statesman

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Book SynopsisAn entertaining, informative, and elegantly designed guide that makes understanding punctuation marks and symbols simple and fun.A rollicking linguistic ride for fans ofEats, Shoots & LeavesandJust My Type.What is the purpose of the comma perhaps the most used symbol in the English language and what are the proper uses of the asterisk? Do quote marks go inside or outside punctuation? What about a quote within a quote a quote from someone quoting someone else? How much space goes on either side of an ellipsis? What's the difference between an en dash and an em dash?Snails and Monkey Tails is a show-stopping guide with more than 75 uniquely designed two-colour spreads. Award-winning graphic designer Michael Arndt explores the typographic origins, names, and shapes of both common punctuation marks and symbols, as well as the proper and diverse usage of each. From the full stop to the question mark, the semicolon to the en dash, symbols and marks are an integral part of language.Trade Review"From commas to semicolons, from slashes to asterisks, from guillemets to octothorpes (named, perhaps, after athlete Jim Thorpe), you’ll never look at punctuation the same way again." Michael Bierut, partner, Pentagram

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Book SynopsisFrom dardledumdue, which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through forkin robbins, the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to clemt, a Lancashire word that means hungry, this title investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides insight into the history of the English language.Trade ReviewIt's an interesting and, at times, hilarious read. One for word-lovers * The Sun *A scattershot guide to regional British vocabulary, from "gutties" to "woollyback" and beyond * Big Issue Scotland *An amenable, approachable but intelligent look at regional idiom and slang * thebookbag.co.uk *

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Book SynopsisAlmost everyone swears, or worries about not swearing, from the two year-old who has just discovered the power of potty mouth to the grandma who wonders why every other word she hears is obscene. Whether they express anger or exhilaration, are meant to insult or to commend, swear words perform a crucial role in language. But swearing is also a uniquely well-suited lens through which to look at history, offering a fascinating record of what people care about on the deepest levels of a culture--what''s divine, what''s terrifying, and what''s taboo. Holy Sh*t tells the story of two kinds of swearing--obscenities and oaths--from ancient Rome and the Bible to today. With humor and insight, Melissa Mohr takes readers on a journey to discover how swearing has come to include both testifying with your hand on the Bible and calling someone a *#$&!* when they cut you off on the highway. She explores obscenities in ancient Rome--which were remarkably similar to our own--and unearths the history oTrade ReviewStudying swearing is a way of studying human nature itself ... Holy Sh*t, Melissa Mohr's book on the history of profanity ... would all be good places to start. * The Economist *Blending scholarly insight and ribald esprit, Holy Sh*t is a treasure trove of curious that will delight the logophile and the deviant alike. * Houman Barekat, Times Literary Supplement *... an excellent book about history of language. * William Leith, Evening Standard *... informative, often entertaining book * Susan Elkin, Independent i *I want to quote all of this to you, that's how much fun this history of swearing is * Alison Flood, Bookseller *Insightful, accessible and witty. * The Lady *Throughout time, as words have left FCC-monitor territory and entered everyday conversation, we've kept coming up with new ways to express our greatest, angriest, most enthusiastic exclamations. And that process is pretty fucking cool. * Atlantic Monthly *Intelligent and enjoyable... Ms. Mohr leads us on an often ear-boggling tour of verbal depravity, through the medieval and early-modern periods (via a fascinating analysis of scatological phrasing in early Bible translations) to the Victorian era and then our own time. * Wall Street Journal *...one of the most absorbing and entertaining books on language I have encountered in a long time * Washington Post *As someone who relies on various forms of obscenity, vulgarity and profanity for roughly 75% of my written and verbal communication, I found this book fascinating and illuminating. Melissa Mohr's scholarship is rigorous, her prose trenchant and delightful; right from page one, Holy Sh*t is a motherf*cker. We are what we swear by and about, and this slim volume represents a significant and deeply enjoyable contribution to our understanding of ourselves. * Adam Mansbach, #1 New York Times bestselling author of GO THE F*CK TO SLEEP *[Mohr's] approach positively twinkles with pleasure and amusement… This is a cracking f****** book, and innominables to anyone who says otherwise. * Sam Leith, The Guardian *In Holy Sh*t, Melissa Mohr makes curses, oaths, profanities, and swear words the occasion for an entertaining and far-ranging historical journey, from the disputes over religious oaths in the Tudor period to the labored delicacies of the Victorians to our modern debates about expletives in the media and our new-found reticence about racial and religious slurs. One-stop shopping for anyone interested in the nether reaches of the English vocabulary. * Geoff Nunberg, University of California at Berkeley, Language Commentator on NPR's Fresh Air *Profanity - the language that offends us-tells a great deal about who we are and how we got that way. Melissa Mohr's Holy Sh*t is a fascinating investigation, both provocative and immensely informative. I found it compulsively readable. * Stephen Orgel, author of Imagining Shakespeare *Digressions on the art of equivocation and the etymology of some of the most infamous curses are highlights of the book, but those looking for a Devil's Dictionary of bad language should look elsewhere-this is some serious sh*t. * Publishers Weekly *Informed, enlightening and often delightfully surprising. * Kirkus Reviews *Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: Romana Simplicitate Loqui: To Speak with Roman PlainnessChapter 2: On Earth as It Is in HeavenChapter 3: Tearing God to Pieces: The Middle AgesChapter 4: The Rise of Obscenity: The RenaissanceChapter 5: How Trousers Became Unmentionable and Legs Disappeared Altogether: The 18th and 19th CenturiesChapter 6: The Law and Science of Swearing: The Twentieth CenturyConclusion

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Book SynopsisBanter, chit-chat, gossip, natter, tete-a-tete: these are just a few of the terms for the varied ways in which we interact with one another through conversation. David Crystal explores the factors that motivate so many different kinds of talk and reveals the rules we use unconsciously, even in the most routine exchanges of everyday conversation.Trade ReviewA useful addition to an English teacher's armoury and certain to pique students' interest in the language that happens all around them, all the time... Let's Talk is a powerful statement about our species and the centrality to it of conversation in all its collaborative glory. * Nikolai Luck, Teaching English *For Crystal, the aim of a conversation is to make everyone happy or, at least, satisfied at the end ... [he] has definitely achieved that. * Training, Language & Culture *For the teacher or advanced student there are masses of insights in the book and examples of how language is used to manage conversation... For Crystal the aim of a conversation is to make every-one happy or, at least, satisfied at the end. Citing Dr Johnson once again, conversation should create 'a pleasing impression'. David Crystal has definitely achieved that. * Barry Tomalin, Training, Language & Culture *I've always enjoyed Crystal's books and this one was no exception... it's certainly a good read I would recommend to anyone with an interest in language or conversation. * Shiny New Books *Table of Contents1: Greetings! 2: In the beginning... 3: A thousand years of conversation 4: Exchanges 5: Taking turns - or not 6: Interrupting 7: What we talk about 8: How we talk about it 9: Taking it easy 10: Story-telling 11: Stylistic options 12: The vocal and the visual 13: Conversation as theatre 14: Online 'conversations' 15: Cultural conversations 16: Breaking the rules 17: Does conversation change? 18: #Almost done Epilogue References Index

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Book Synopsis''A delightful compendium'' - Evening StandardHave you ever had a feeling that you couldn''t quite describe, because no English word exists for it?Indeed, without such a word, it''s difficult to remember or understand the feeling, and to talk about it with other people. This applies to all aspects of life, but most of all that most sought-after of feelings, happiness, where our ability to both experience and understand it is limited by the words at our disposal. However, all is not lost. Even if English has not created a word for a specific feeling, another language probably has. These are known as ''untranslatable'' words, because they lack an exact equivalent in another language. By discovering and learning these words, the boundaries of our world expand accordingly. These words allow us to give voice to feelings that we''ve probably experienced, but have previously lacked the ability to conceptualise. They may even allow us to encounteTrade Reviewa delightful book * Daily Mail *[a] delightful compendium * Evening Standard *A delightful book * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisDespite a history of hundreds of years of research analysing aspects of English grammar, there are still open problems which continue to baffle language researchers today. Such grammar mysteries' arise for a number of reasons: because the language is changing; because different speakers of the language adhere to distinct norms and thus introduce and maintain variation in the system; because there are differences between the grammar of spoken and written English. This book illuminates some of the complexities of the subject, the areas where new discoveries await and why it matters.Through a series of accessible and engaging case studies on various aspects of grammar, from multiple negation to possession, the authors present grammar as an intellectual challenge. This book brings out into the open questions about language usage to which we still do not have good answers in a bid to make variation overt and to revel in the mystery of the English language.Both aimed at the Trade Review'In this exciting and innovative book Calude and Bauer demystify English grammar by cracking some of its hard nuts. Warmly recommended to anyone who is interested in the study of English syntax.'Bas Aarts, UCL, UK'This unconventional treatment of a wide selection of topics in English grammar calls many previous explanations into question. In citing factors which influence speakers' choices it goes beyond the narrow confines of traditional grammars to include overarching factors like on-going change, spoken-written differences, and the language variety of the speaker-user.'Stephan Gramley, Bielefeld University, GermanyTable of ContentsList of TablesPreface1 Introduction2. What you must say, what you can say and what you do not say: Grammar and norm 3. Over and out: Prepositions4. You’ll never get nowhere: Double negatives5. All the way from the Ukraine: The definite article6. A large amount of exceptions: Countability7. The author has finished this chapter last year: The present perfect8. An even more interestinger topic: Comparatives and superlatives9. I’m lovin’ it: The progressive10. The good, the bad and the ugly: Adjectives11. What it is is a nonstandard feature: Double be construction12. Human dogs and inhuman people: Gender and related matters13. The chapter that I put too many pronouns in it: Shadow pronouns14. There’s heaps of money to be won: Number agreement15. Because I’m worth it: Insubordinate clauses16. They are cleverer than she and I: Pronominal case17. Is that your wife again?: Possession18. ConclusionGlossary: Language for languageIndex

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Book SynopsisA sequel to the extremely popular I Adulted: Stickers for Grown-Ups, I Adulted at Work! is a whimsically illustrated book containing 250 removable stickers that congratulate supposed grown-ups on a job well done . . . or at least a job done.Despite official reports, most adults feel completely and totally ill-prepared to deal. With anything. They still, as purportedly self-sufficient grown-ups, look toward older generations and think, How did they do that? So the easiest and best way to find comfort is to look not ahead at uncertainty (or, heaven forbid, around at the chaos currently surrounding them), but to the past to their simpler childhoods. And it is with brightly colored stickers in the workplace that they will finally find peace of mind. For a little while, at least. Filled with 250 full-color removable stickers that can be used to decorate journals, notebooks, or your lapel to proudly and publicly proclaim work life''s little victories, I Adulted at Work! is the ideal nostalgic and practical book for anyone who feels a sense of accomplishment by making it through a day on the job without calling their mother for help.

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Book SynopsisBorn as a Germanic tongue with the arrival in Britain of the Anglo-Saxons in the early medieval period, heavily influenced by Norman French from the 11th century, and finally emerging as modern English from the late Middle Ages, the English language has grown to become the linguistic equivalent of a superpower, and is now sometimes described as the world''s lingua franca. Worldwide some 380 million people speak English as a first language and some 600 million as a second language. A staggering one billion people are believed to be learning it. English is the premier international language in communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, and diplomacy and also on the Internet. It has been one of the official languages of the United Nations since its founding in 1945. It is considered by many good judges to be well on the way to becoming the world''s first universal language. Author Philip Gooden tells the story of the English language in all its richness and variety. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as ''OK'', ''beserk'', ''curfew'', ''cabal'' and ''pow-wow'', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works of Shakespeare. The Story of English is a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation, and one that is accessibly and authoritatively told by an author in perfect command of his material.Table of ContentsA Universal Language? The Celts and the Romans. The Anglo-Saxons. The Viking Effect. The Norman Conquest. Chaucer's English. The Age of Shakespeare. Faith and Science. A New-Found Language. The Age of Doctor Johnson. American Independence. The Spread of English. The Nineteenth Century. English Now. The Future of English. English: Right and Wrong. English: Taking Sides. Appendix of Grammatical Terms, Principal Periods and Key Figures. Index. Further References.

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Book SynopsisInnovations and Challenges in Social Media Discourse Analysis provides a key introduction to the analysis of everyday discourse on social media platforms.Outlining the challenges involved in the study of social media discourse that includes social interaction, relationality, intersubjectivity, and intermodality, this book takes a social semiotic approach to offer a useful reconceptualisation of existing tools and introduces new methodologies to help those studying in this area.Drawing on a range of corpora that feature tweets, Instagram photos, YouTube comments, and emoji, this book is essential reading for students studying modules on discourse analysis and language and media.

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Book SynopsisIn Language Online, David Barton and Carmen Lee explore the evolving landscape of digital communication. This extensively updated second edition reflects the latest research and developments, addressing key contemporary issues such as online aggression, digital activism, and the growing impact of AI on human communication. It also examines how digital communication has shaped and been shaped by global events like the COVID-19 pandemic and incorporates multimodal discourse.With case studies from diverse geographical contexts, languages, and platforms, the book illustrates how digital language practices vary across cultures. This edition places greater emphasis on the intersection between online and offline communication, highlighting how digital interactions are deeply integrated into everyday life.Written in a clear and accessible style, Language Online balances theory with practical analysis, providing valuable insights into the relationship between language and digital technologies. Complete with discussion topics and real-world examples, this is an essential read for students and scholars of new media, literacy, and multimodality in language and linguistics.

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Book SynopsisGuide to Reporting Verbs is an accessible guide to citing sources in academic writing across the disciplines. The way writers introduce previous literature is essential to authorial voice. Specifically, the effective use of reporting verbs can highlight important details about the cited work while allowing writers to present themselves as experts in their field. This reference guide lists the most common reporting verbs across various disciplines in the hard and soft sciences and provides important information about how they can be used in academic writing.The book:â lists the most prevalent reporting verbs across six disciplines: applied linguistics, biology, history, philosophy, political science, and physicsâ provides information on authorial voice for each reporting verbâ highlights effective use of each reporting verb through inclusion of a definition, the lemma along with a few members of the word family, stance act(s), common contextual envi

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Book SynopsisResearching Stylistics: A Student Guide explores key topics in literary and non-literary stylistics, examining the multiple ways in which students can undertake research in this discipline. Inherently practical and reader-friendly in focus, the book is both a guide to key elements of the research process and a useful overview of core knowledge and successful research projects in stylistics.The book provides an overview of stylistics as a discipline, identifying its core principles and working parameters. It outlines, in a clear and systematic way, the design stages and practical considerations needed to plan for and undertake research. Reflecting the latest thinking in contemporary stylistics, the book demonstrates how various methods can be applied to study a range of different text types. The practical activity of âdoingâ stylistics and key examples from existing research are emphasised so that readers will be confident in their ability to apply their knowledge to their own working contexts.This is an essential text for advanced students and researchers working in stylistics and discourse analysis, and those working in interdisciplinary spaces who would be interested in exploring how stylistics can support their work.

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