"A truly extraordinary SF saga of epic scope." Kirkus starred reviewFive years after the Great Language Outage, lang-laws have been repealed, but world affairs have only gotten worse. The new automation agenda has resulted in a social caste system based on IQ. Manual employment is a thing of the past, and the lowest soc-ed class, the Unskills, are forced into permanent unemployment.In a world on the brink of civil war, a deadly insomnia pandemic threatens...

Language is central to our lives, the cultural tool that arguably sets us apart from other species. Some scientists have argued that language is innate, a type of unique human 'instinct' pre-programmed in us from birth. In this book, Vyvyan Evans argues that this received wisdom is, in fact, a myth. Debunking the notion of a language 'instinct', Evans demonstrates that language is related to other animal forms of communication; that languages exhibit staggering diversity; that we learn our...

From the barbed, childish taunt on the school playground, to the eloquent sophistry of a lawyer prising open a legal loophole in a court of law, meaning arises each time we use language to communicate with one another. How we use language - to convey ideas, make requests, ask a favour, and express anger, love or dismay - is of the utmost importance; indeed, linguistic meaning can be a matter of life and death. In The Crucible of Language, Vyvyan Evans explains what we know, and what we do,...

Since 2011, the use of emoji – deriving from the Japanese, meaning picture character – has become a global phenomenon.We send over 6 billion emoji every day and regularly send emoji-only messages, and, when Oxford Dictionaries named the ‘Face with Tears of Joy’ emoji as their ‘Word of the Year 2015’, it received an enormous amount of criticism.Whenever emoji are covered in the popular media the same burning questions come up: Can an emoji really be a word? ...

Using language and thought to fix events in time is one of the most complex computational feats that humans perform. In the first book-length taxonomy of temporal frames of reference, Vyvyan Evans provides an overview of the role of space in structuring human representations of time. Challenging the assumption that time is straightforwardly structured in terms of space, he shows that while space is important for temporal representation, time is nevertheless separate and distinguishable fro...

A general introduction to the area of theoretical linguistics known as cognitive linguistics, this textbook provides up-to-date coverage of all areas of the field, including recent developments within cognitive semantics (such as Primary Metaphor Theory, Conceptual Blending Theory, and Principled Polysemy), and cognitive approaches to grammar (such as Radical Construction Grammar and Embodied Construction Grammar). The authors offer clear, critical evaluations of competing formal approache...

"They who control language control everything."A genre-blending, dystopian Sci-Fi mystery-thriller that will make you think about language in a whole new way.Language is no longer learned, but streamed to neural implants regulated by lang-laws. Those who can't afford language streaming services are feral, living on the fringes of society. Big tech corporations control language, the world's most valuable commodity.But when a massive cyberattack cause...

A critique of the assumptions the mind makes, of how humans tend to categorize objects and ideas, and of the implications of these modes of thought." Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things presents some of the most stimulating ideas on mind and meaning that I have ever read. It . . . has far-reaching consequences and is sure to rattle the foundations of thinking and research in the cognitive sciences. Lakoff's book is ...

This book offers a unique perspective on meaning in language, broadening the scope of existing understanding of meaning by introducing a comprehensive and cohesive account of meaning that draws on a wide range of linguistic approaches.The volume seeks to build up a complete picture of what meaning is, different types of meaning, and different ways of structuring the same meaning across myriad forms and varieties of language across such domains, such as everyday speech, advertising,...

Learning About Language is an exciting and ambitious series of introductions to fundamental topics in language, linguistics and related areas. The books are designed for students of linguistics and those who are studying language as part of a wider course.Cognitive Linguistics explores the idea that language reflects our experience of the world. It shows that our ability to use language is closely related to other cognitive abilities such as categorization, perception, mem...

This new title in the popular 'Flash' series gets straight to the key facts of linguistics. In just 96 pacy, jargon-free pages, you will:- look at language- understand sound- get to grips with semantics- consider language change- explore psycholinguisticsand much more besides!