Steven Pinker meets Bill Bryson in this landmark exploration of language.In the author's own words, "How Language Works is not about music, cookery, or sex. But it is about how we talk about music, cookery, and sex-or, indeed, anything at all." Language is so fundamental to everyday life that we take it for granted. But as David Crystal makes clear in this work of unprecedented scope, language is an extremely powerful tool that defines the human species.Crystal off...

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...

Learning to talk is probably the greatest milestone in a child's development: a deeply moving and often hilarious experience for all parents.In this charming and informative book, Britain's leading expert on the English language talks you through every stage in your child's language development. Over thirty years after its original publication, this new and updated edition of Listen to your Child shows us that while the world our children are growing up in...

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.

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...

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...

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.

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...

"[A] whirlwind review of the history of English spelling . . . with small gems of discovery every few pages." — BooklistWhy is English spelling so difficult? In thirty-seven short, engaging and informative chapters, linguist and logophile David Crystal takes readers on a history starting with the Roman missionaries' sixth-century introduction of the Roman alphabet and ending with where the language might be going. He looks individually at each letter in the...

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 ...