| Description |
xii, 500 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 485-486) and index. |
| Summary |
"This book 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 linguist Crystal makes clear, language is an extremely powerful tool that defines the human species. Crystal offers general readers a personal tour of the intricate workings of language. He moves effortlessly from big subjects like the origins of languages, how children learn to speak, and how conversation works to subtle but revealing points such as how email differs from both speech and writing in important ways, how language reveals a person's social status, and how we decide whether a word is rude or polite. Broad and deep, but with a light and witty touch, this is a layman's guide to how we communicate with one another.--From publisher description. |
| Contents |
Introducing language: How what works? -- How to treat body language -- How we use the 'edges' of language. |
|
Spoken language: How we make speech sounds -- How we transmit sounds -- How we hear speech sounds -- How we perceive speech -- How we describe speech sounds -- How we describe consonants and vowels -- How we organize the sounds of speech -- How we use tone of voice -- How children learn speech sounds : the first year -- How children learn speech sounds : later years -- How speech can go wrong. |
|
Written language: How we write -- How we make writing systems : early times -- How we make writing systems : modern times -- How we read -- How we write and spell -- How we learn to read and write -- How reading and writing can go wrong -- How writing and speech differ -- How the electronic medium differs. |
|
Sign language: How sign language works -- How sign languages vary. |
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Language structure: How the brain handles language -- How to investigate language structure -- How we mean -- How we analyse meaning -- How we learn vocabulary -- How children learn to mean -- How dictionaries work -- How names work -- How vocabulary grows -- How we study grammar -- How words work -- How we classify words -- How sentences work -- How we learn grammar. |
|
Discourse: How we discourse -- How conversation works -- How we choose what to say -- How we can't choose what to say. |
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Dialects: How we know where someone is from -- How to study dialects -- How we know what someone is : the ethnic issue -- How we know what someone is : the social issue -- Howe we know who someone is : the stylistic issue -- How we know where someone is : the contextual issue -- How dialects differ from languages. |
|
Languages: How languages die -- How languages are born -- How language began -- How language changes -- how language families work -- How the Indo-European family is organized -- How other Eurasian families are organized, part one -- How other Eurasian families ore organized, part two -- How the Indo-Pacific Island families are organized -- How African families are organized -- How American families are organized. |
|
Multilingualism: How multilingualism works -- How we cope with many languages : translate them -- How we cope with many languages : supplement them -- How we cope with many languages : learn them -- How we cope with many languages : teach them -- How we cope with many languages : plan them -- How not to look after languages. |
|
Looking after language: How to look after languages : recognizing principles -- How to look after languages : recognizing functions -- How to look after languages : recognizing varieties -- Teaching people to look after languages. |
| Subject |
Linguistics.
|
|
Language and languages.
|
| ISBN |
1585678481: $30.00 |
|
9781585678488 |
|
