This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.                              

Product Description: dabberlick [noun, Scotland] A mildly insulting way of talking about someone who is tall and skinny. 'Where's that dabberlick of a child?' fubsy [adjective, Lancashire] Plump, in a nice sort of way. squinch [noun, Devon] A narrow crack in a wall or a space between floorboards...read more

Product Description: THE FASCINATING AND SURPRISING HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPELLING FROM DAVID CRYSTAL, EVERYONE'S FAVORITE EXPERT LOGOPHILEWith The Story of English in 100 Words, David Crystal took us on a tour through the history of our language. Now, with Spell It Out, he takes on the task of answering all the questions about how we spell: "Why is English spelling so difficult?" Or "Why are good spellers so proud of their achievement that when they see a misspelling they condemn the writer as sloppy, lazy, or uneducated?" In thirty-seven short, engaging and informative chapters, Crystal takes readers on a history of English spelling, starting with the Roman missionaries' sixth century introduction of the Roman alphabet and ending with where the language might be going...read more

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 6000 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 important?', reviews the reasons for the current crisis, and investigates what is being done to reduce its impact. The book contains not only intelligent argument, but moving descriptions of the decline and demise of particular languages, and practical advice for anyone interested in pursuing the subject further.

Product Description: An authoritative, entertaining book about our accents, and what they say about us Some people say scohn, while others say schown. He says bath, while she says bahth. You say potayto. I say potahto And—wait a second, no one says potahto...read more

This volume is one in a series of monographs being issued under the general title of "Disorders of Human Communication". Each monograph deals in detail with a particular aspect of vocal communication and its disorders, and is written by internationally distinguished experts. Therefore, the series will provide an authoritative source of up-to-date scientific and clinical informa­ tion relating to the whole field of normal and abnormal speech communication, and as such will succeed the earlier monumental work "Handbuch der Stimm­ und Sprachheilkunde" by R. Luchsinger and G. E. Arnold (last issued in 1970). This series will prove invaluable for clinicians, teachers and research workers in phoniatrics and logopaedics, phonetics and linguistics, speech pathology, otolaryngology, neurology and neurosurgery, psychology and psychiatry, paediatrics and audiology. Several of the monographs will also be useful to voice and singing teachers, and to their pupils. G. E. Arnold, Jackson, Miss. F. Winckel, Berlin B. D. Wyke, London Preface This book tries to illustrate the practice as well as the principles involved in applying linguistics to the analysis of language disability. In writing it, I have as­ sumed an audience of professional speech and hearing clinicians who have had little or no formal training in linguistics. Each Chapter therefore begins with a resu­ me of the main theoretical and descriptive principles needed in order to carry out a clinical linguistic analysis. The relevance oflanguage acquisition studies is a major theme within this resume.

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 indispensable words that shape our tongue (and, what) to the more fanciful (fopdoodle), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language via the rude, the obscure, and the downright surprising.

'You speak a language that I understand not.' Hermione's words to Leontes in The Winter's Tale are likely to ring true with many people reading or watching Shakespeare's plays today. For decades, people have been studying Shakespeare's life and times, and in recent years there has been a renewed surge of interest into aspects of his language. So how can we better understand Shakespeare? How did he manipulate language to produce such an unrivaled body of work, which has enthralled generations both as theater and as literature? David Crystal addresses these and many other questions in this lively and original introduction to Shakespeare's language. Covering in turn the five main dimensions of language structure - writing system, pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and conversational style - the book shows how examining these linguistic 'nuts and bolts' can help us achieve a greater appreciation of Shakespeare's linguistic creativity.

Explores the history, current status, and potential of English as an international language of communication, featuring in the new edition coverage of English on the Internet and the concept of an English 'family' of languages. Simultaneous. (Language)

Presents more than five thousand terms in over three thousand entries, including new words and senses that have developed in the past five years.

Product Description: The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, today a world-famous bestseller, has always been a ground-breaking dictionary. In its first edition, The Concise Oxford Dictionary was adapted by Henry Watson Fowler and Francis George Fowler from The Oxford Dictionary (now known as the Oxford English Dictionary)...read more

Product Description: ‘A brilliantly accessible introduction to core topics in English language and linguistics. My students loved it.’ David Adger, Queen Mary, University of London, UK ‘Entertaining, clear and informative. David Crystal’s lectures demystify and enrich the English language for students of all levels...read more

Product Description: The Internet is now an integral part of contemporary life, and linguists are increasingly studying its influence on language. In this student-friendly guidebook, leading language authority Professor David Crystal follows on from his landmark bestseller Language and the Internet and presents the area as a new field: Internet linguistics...read more