Conversation is very often spontaneous, natural and informal. But even at its most casual it is governed by rules and principles of language and behaviour. This book lays bare the structure of conversation, describing what happens when people talk to each other and explaining why they say what they say in a wide variety of circumstances.
Ronald Wardhaugh explores many aspects of conversation, asking how conversations start, how we decide who will speak next, how we change the subject, and how we know when a conversation has finished.
How Conversation Works is the...
Conversation is very often spontaneous, natural and informal. But even at its most casual it is governed by rules and principles of language and behav...
Riddle Why is a telescope like a bad excuse? Answer Because anyone can see through it.
The authors of this book would like to help anyone - but particularly students of English - to "see through" language, whether as the instrument of perception or as the evasive code. They write about texts, and the making of texts, and how texts are made to carry various kinds of meaning; and the topics they choose to write about range from the lexicon of car maintenance manuals to the role of grammatical modality in literary criticism. Their aim is to help students who may have...
Riddle Why is a telescope like a bad excuse? Answer Because anyone can see through it.
This book is an account of the writing systems of the world from earliest times to the present. Its aim is to explore the complex ways in which writing systems relate to the language they depict. Writing, Coulmas contends, is not only the guide or garment of spoken language, but has a deep and lasting effect on the development of language itself.
His study takes in Egyptian hieroglyphics and the cuneiform system of the ancient Near East; he describes Chinese writing, discussing why an apparently cumbersome system has been used continuously for more than 3,000 years; he ranges...
This book is an account of the writing systems of the world from earliest times to the present. Its aim is to explore the complex ways in which writin...
This book is intended for anyone with a serious interest in language, but particularly for students taking introductory courses in language and linguistics. It explores a number of the fundamental key questions which concern linguists, they are treated in way that is as accessible as possible.
This book is intended for anyone with a serious interest in language, but particularly for students taking introductory courses in language and lingui...
This book traces the remarkable reconfigurations that English lexis has undergone in the past millennium. The vocabulary is studied as an indicator of social change, a symbol reflecting different social dynamics between speech communities, on models of dominance, cohabitation, colonialism and globalisation.
Comprehensive guide to the evolution of the English vocabulary.
Well known passages from literature are used to illustrate the variety of English words.
Accessible discussion of Latin, Greek, Germanic and Norman-French...
This book traces the remarkable reconfigurations that English lexis has undergone in the past millennium. The vocabulary is studied as an indicator of...
An Introduction to American English explores American English in the context of American history and institutions, while also making comparisons with British English.
An Introduction to American English explores American English in the context of American history and institutions, while also making comparison...
An Introduction to American English explores American English in the context of American history and institutions, while also making comparisons with British English.
An Introduction to American English explores American English in the context of American history and institutions, while also making comparison...
Multilingualism in the English-Speaking World is the winner of the BAAL Book Prize 2005.
Multilingualism in the English-Speaking World: Pedigree of Nations explores the consequences of English as a global language and multilingualism as a social phenomenon. Written accessibly, it explores the extent of diversity in 'inner circle' English speaking countries (the UK, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) and examines language in the home, school, and the wider community.
Considers the perspectives of English as a...
Multilingualism in the English-Speaking World is the winner of the BAAL Book Prize 2005.
This books explores why it is we believe what we believe about language, and why we persist in handing down from generation to generation a rag bag collection of fact and fantasy about language.
This books explores why it is we believe what we believe about language, and why we persist in handing down from generation to generation a rag bag co...
In this carefully researched, thought-provoking book, Geoffrey Hughes examines the trajectory of political correctness and its impact on public life. Focusing on the historical, semantic, and cultural aspects of political correctness, it will intrigue anyone interested in this ongoing debate.
A unique and intriguing journey through the trajectory of political correctness and its impact on public life, focusing on the historical, semantic, and cultural aspects of what PC means
Explores the origins, progress, content and style of political correctness, discussing and analyzing...
In this carefully researched, thought-provoking book, Geoffrey Hughes examines the trajectory of political correctness and its impact on public life. ...
