Download or read book David Crystal s 50 Questions About English Usage eBook written by David Crystal and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-28 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compact, user-friendly book authored by David Crystal which draws on his extensive experience and knowledge of the English language. David Crystal regularly receives questions about usage from all over the English-teaching world. In this book he gives his answers to fifty of the topics that are often raised, ranging from general enquiries about the language as a whole to very specific points of grammar, pronunciation, orthography, vocabulary, idiom, and style.
Download or read book English as a Global Language written by David Crystal and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-29 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.
Download or read book Language and the Internet written by David Crystal and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-08-31 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher description
Download or read book The Stories of English written by David Crystal and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2005-09-06 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A groundbreaking history of worldwide English in all its dialects, differences, and linguistic delights: “Informative . . . distinctive . . . a spirited celebration.” —The Guardian In 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 and dialects of nonstandard English users all over the world. Whatever their regional, social, or ethnic background, each group has a story worth telling, whether it is in Scotland or Somerset, South Africa or Singapore. He reminds us that for several hundred wonderful years, there was no such thing as “incorrect” English—and traces the evolution of the language from a few thousand Anglo-Saxons to the 1.5 billion people who speak it today. Moving from Beowulf to Chaucer to Shakespeare to Dickens and the present day, Crystal puts regional speech and writing at center stage, giving a sense of the social realities behind the development of English. This significant shift in perspective enables us to understand for the first time the importance of everyday, previously marginalized, voices in our language—and provides an argument too for the way English should be taught in the future. “A work of impeccable scholarship [that] could easily serve as a standard textbook for students of linguistics, but Mr. Crystal, reaching out to a more general audience, recognizes that even the most avid reader might flinch at the sections on Old Norse grammatical influence. Cleverly, he has sprinkled the book with little digressions, set apart in boxes, that address historical mysteries, strange loanwords, interesting etymologies and the like.” —The New York Times “Learned and often provocative . . . demonstrates repeatedly that common conceptions about language are often historically inaccurate—split infinitives bothered no one until recently (likewise sentence-ending prepositions).” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Simply the best introductory history of the English language family that we have. The plan of the book is ingenious, the writing lively, the exposition clear, and the scholarly standard uncompromisingly high.” —J.M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
Download or read book Alan Maley s 50 Creative Activities Pocket Editions written by Alan Maley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alan Maley's 50 Creative Activities is based on the belief that fostering creativity leads to the development of more critical and exploratory mind-sets. It contains an extensive range of activities covering creative writing, working with music and sound, working with drama and the voice, playing with language and hands-on activities. Drawing on the work done in creativity studies, Alan Maley considers how new ideas are generated and makes a distinction between the processes which stimulate creativity and creative products.
Download or read book Making a Point written by David Crystal and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The triumphant concluding volume in David Crystal's classic trilogy on the English language combines the first history of English punctuation with a complete guide on how to use it. Behind every punctuation mark lies a thousand stories. The punctuation of English, marked with occasional rationality, is founded on arbitrariness and littered with oddities. For a system of a few dozen marks it generates a disproportionate degree of uncertainty and passion, inspiring organizations like the Apostrophe Protection Society and sending enthusiasts, correction-pens in hand, in a crusade against error across the United States. Professor Crystal leads us through this minefield with characteristic wit, clarity, and commonsense. In David Crystal's Making a Point, he gives a fascinating account of the origin and progress of every kind of punctuation mark over one and a half millennia and offers sound advice on how punctuation may be used to meet the needs of every occasion and context.
Download or read book The Story of English in 100 Words written by David Crystal and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2011-10-13 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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. 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).
Download or read book Language Death written by David Crystal and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2002-04-29 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 important?', reviews the reasons for the current crisis, and investigates what is being done to reduce its impact. This 2002 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.
Download or read book Strictly English written by Simon Heffer and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-05-31 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Be in no doubt: the beer was drunk but the man drank the beer." "We must avoid vulgarities like 'front up'. If someone is 'fronting up' a television show, then he is presenting it." Simon Heffer's incisive and amusingly despairing emails to colleagues at the The Daily Telegraph about grammatical mistakes and stylistic slips have attracted a growing band of ardent fans over recent years. Now, in his new book Strictly English, he makes an impassioned case for an end to the sloppiness that has become such a hallmark of everyday speech and writing, and shows how accuracy and clarity are within the grasp of anyone who is prepared to take the time to master a few simple rules. If you wince when you see "different than" in print, or are offended by people who think that "infer" and "imply" mean the same thing, then this book will provide reassurance that you are not alone. And if you believe that precise and elegant English really does matter, then it will prove required reading.
Download or read book Spell It Out written by David Crystal and published by Profile Books. This book was released on 2012-09-06 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is there an 'h' in ghost? William Caxton, inventor of the printing press and his Flemish employees are to blame: without a dictionary or style guide to hand in fifteenth century Bruges, the typesetters simply spelled it the way it sounded to their foreign ears, and it stuck. Seventy-five per cent of English spelling is regular but twenty-five per cent is complicated, and in Spell It Out our foremost linguistics expert David Crystal extends a helping hand to the confused and curious alike. He unearths the stories behind the rogue words that confound us, and explains why these peculiarities entered the mainstream, in an epic journey taking in sixth century monks, French and Latin upstarts, the Industrial Revolution and the internet. By learning the history and the principles, Crystal shows how the spellings that break all the rules become easier to get right.
Download or read book Does Science Need a Global Language written by Scott L. Montgomery and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-05-06 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In early 2012, the global scientific community erupted with news that the elusive Higgs boson had likely been found, providing potent validation for the Standard Model of how the universe works. Scientists from more than one hundred countries contributed to this discovery—proving, beyond any doubt, that a new era in science had arrived, an era of multinationalism and cooperative reach. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology all play a role in making this new era possible, but something more fundamental is also at work. In all scientific endeavors lies the ancient drive for sharing ideas and knowledge, and now this can be accomplished in a single tongue— English. But is this a good thing? In Does Science Need a Global Language?, Scott L. Montgomery seeks to answer this question by investigating the phenomenon of global English in science, how and why it came about, the forms in which it appears, what advantages and disadvantages it brings, and what its future might be. He also examines the consequences of a global tongue, considering especially emerging and developing nations, where research is still at a relatively early stage and English is not yet firmly established. Throughout the book, he includes important insights from a broad range of perspectives in linguistics, history, education, geopolitics, and more. Each chapter includes striking and revealing anecdotes from the front-line experiences of today’s scientists, some of whom have struggled with the reality of global scientific English. He explores topics such as student mobility, publication trends, world Englishes, language endangerment, and second language learning, among many others. What he uncovers will challenge readers to rethink their assumptions about the direction of contemporary science, as well as its future.
Download or read book Scott Thornbury s 101 Grammar Questions Pocket Editions written by Scott Thornbury and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compact, user-friendly reference book addressing many of the kinds of questions about grammar that regularly confront teachers, both novice and experienced, when planning or executing their lessons. A glance at any web-site, discussion forum or social network shared by teachers of English suggests that teachers are constantly asking each other questions related to pedagogical grammar. These may simply be questions about terminology or categorisation ('What's a clause?'; 'Is like a preposition?'), or they may seek to unravel subtle grammatical distinctions ('What's the difference between for and since?) or explain persistent learner errors ('Why in bed and not in the bed?'). This book is designed to fulfil this basic, everyday need - as well as being a book that can be read for interest, and even pleasure, in its own right.
Download or read book Making Sense of Grammar written by David Crystal and published by Longman. This book was released on 2004 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author explains structure and then shows how it works in different language contexts - the literary, the non-literary, the spoken and the written. He explores a wide range of linguistic themes including sociolinguistics, language acquisition and register, and shows how our language can be interpreted.
Download or read book Translation Today written by Gunilla M. Anderman and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2003 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text provides a snapshot of issues reflecting the changing nature of translation studies at the beginning of a new millennium. Resulting from discussions between translation theorists from all over the world, topics covered include: the nature of translation; English as a "lingua franca"; public service translation and interpreting; assessment; and audio-visual translation. The first part of the work covers a discussion stimulated by Peter Newmark's paper, and the second part allows invited colleagues to develop his topics.
Download or read book Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue written by John McWhorter and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-10-27 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).
Download or read book Words Words Words written by David Crystal and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2007 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Words, Words, Words is all about the wonder of words. Drawing on a lifetime's experience, David Crystal explores language in all its rich varieties through words: the very building blocks of our communication. Language has no life of its own: it only exists in the mouths and ears, hands, eyes and brains of its users. As we are guided expertly and passionately through the mysteries and delights of word origins, histories, spellings, regional and social variations, taboo words, jargon, and wordplay, the contribution we all play in shaping the linguistic world around us becomes evident. Words, Words, Words is a celebration of what we say and how we say it. It invites us to engage linguistically with who we are: to understand what words tell us about where we come from and what we do. And as they continually shape our lives, it suggests ways that we can look at words anew and get involved with collecting and coining words ourselves.
Download or read book Language in the Digital Era Challenges and Perspectives written by Daniel Dejica and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-11-05 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book pinpoints the impact of new technologies on language and communication, highlights the evolution and changes undergone by humanities in conjunction with technological innovation, and looks at how language has adapted to the challenges of today’s digitized world.
