From an acclaimed linguist, " part travelogue, part memoir, and part meditation on the intellectual and emotional underpinnings of language. . . . Priceless." ( Booklist)In this discursive jaunt through the groves and thickets of the English language, David Crystal creates an entertaining narrative account of his encounters with the language and its speakers. Woven from personal reflections, historical allusions, and observations of travel...

What do a comic alphabet, a glorious lipogram and a wellerism have in common?Or, an audit of accountants, an illusion of magicians, and an intrusion of spammers?And do you know how Shakespeare pronounced his name?Quirky, original, amusing and enlightening, this charming English Language Miscellany from David Crystal, one of the greatest British linguists of our time, offers fascinating observations on random, weird and witty words and expr...

A groundbreaking history of worldwide English in all its dialects, differences, and linguistic delights: "Informative . . . distinctive . . . a spirited celebration." — The GuardianIn this "well-informed and appealing" work ( Publishers Weekly), David Crystal puts aside the usual focus on "standard" English, and instead provides a startlingly original view of where the richness, creativity, and diversity of the language truly lies—in the accents an...

In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we’re from and even who we want to be.

When and why did 'thou' disappear from Standard English? Would a Victorian Cockney have said 'observation' or 'hobservation'? Was Jane Austen making a mistake when she wrote 'Jenny and James are walked to Charmonth this afternoon'?This superbly well-informed - and also wonderfully entertaining - history of the English language answers all these questions, showing how the many strands of English (Standard English, dialect and slang among them) developed to create the richly-varied l...

A vital resource for scholars, students and actors, this book contains glosses and quotes for over 14,000 words that could be misunderstood by or are unknown to a modern audience. Displayed panels look at such areas of Shakespeare's language as greetings, swear-words and terms of address. Plot summaries are included for all Shakespeare's plays and on the facing page is a unique diagramatic representation of the relationships within each play.

This is the definitive survey of the English language - in all its forms. Crystal writes accessibly about the structure of the language, the uses of English throughout the world and finally he gives a brief history of English. The book has been fully revised and there is a fascinating new chapter on 'The effect of technology' on the English language. 'Illuminating guided tour of our common treasure by one of its most lucid and sensible professionals' The Times 'A splendid blend of eruditio...

In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ('roe', in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ('loaf') to cutting edge ('twittersphere') and spanning the indispen...

Now in paperback, in the tradition of E. H. Gombrich's A Little History of the World, a lively journey through the story of languageWith a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, an understanding of the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, a narrative history written explicitly for a young audience, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language des...

An absolutely joyous, gasp-out-loud achievement. - Stephen FryShakespeare's flame is infectious. An olympic torch, for us all, to be enlightened, words which share the shadow and light of humanity's hues. - LionHeart, artist, poet and BBC Radio London presenterSilver Medal Winner at the 2024 Nautilus Book Awards.Shakespeare had an ear and hand that was able to capture our everyday thoughts and emotions, pin them to ...

The rapid endangerment and death of many minority languages across the world is a matter of widespread concern, not only among linguists and anthropologists but among all concerned with issues of cultural identity in an increasingly globalized culture. By some counts, only 600 of the 6,000 or so languages in the world are 'safe' from the threat of extinction. A leading commentator and popular writer on language issues, David Crystal asks the fundamental question, 'why is language death so ...

Did you know that the English language has over 150 words for the adjective 'drunk' developed over 1,000 years? Be prepared to learn words you have never heard before, find out fascinating facts behind everyday words, and be surprised at how lively and varied the English language can be. Published to critical acclaim in 2009, the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary is the first comprehensive thesaurus in the world to arrange words by meaning in order of first rec...