How Language Works: How Babies Babble, Words Change Meaning, And Languages Live or Die - Hardcover

Crystal, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1585678481 ISBN 13: 9781585678488

Publisher: Overlook Pr, 2006

Synopsis

A lighthearted exploration of the origin, function and purpose of language addresses a wide range of topics to offer insight into what can be learned through verbal and body language, from the role of gestures and the evolution of grammar to the intricacies of different languages and the layout of the human throat.

About this title

About the Authors

David Crystal is the leading authority on language and the best-loved author of books including The Stories of English, Shakespeare s Words, Language and the Internet, Language Death, and, most recently, he entered the lists with The Shakespeare Miscellany. Editor of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language and The Penguin Encyclopedia, and a professor of linguistics, he received the Order of the British Empire for his services to the English language.

David Crystal is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor, and the editor of The Penguin Encyclopedia.

David Crystal is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor, and the editor ofThe Penguin Encyclopedia.

From the Inside Flap

A parrot uncomprehendingly rattles off a string of words learned by rote. And we marvel! Yet we seem to take our own astonishing linguistic powers for granted the ability to speak, listen, and understand, to read and write. We all understand why language works we have to communicate to survive and now David Crystal, the world authority on language, shows us how.How are languages born? How does conversation work? How do we learn how to read? How do gestures and tone of voice impact communication? And what happens when a language goes wrong? How Language Works answers questions about the innumerable facets of language, from how we absorb all those grammatical rules to how we decide if a word is rude or polite. Whether looking at the whistle languages of the Canary Islands, or describing the layout of the human throat; whether assessing the importance of eyebrow flashes in conversation, or showing how the way we speak betrays who we want to be How Language Works is a book that will enrich the lives of everyone who reads it. Illuminating and intriguing, this landmark book is the ultimate guide to the mysteries of the language we all use every day.

Edition details

• Publisher: Overlook Pr
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1585678481
• ISBN 13: 9781585678488
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 500