How language works
How language works
- Penguin Books, 2007
- xii, 500 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
how babies babble, words change meaning, and languages live or die
Introducing language Spoken language-- Written language-- Sign language-- Language structure-- Discourse-- Dialects-- Languages-- Multilingualism-- Looking after language.--
In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we're from and even who we want to be.
9780141015521
CLASS P - LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Linguistics
Language and languages
how babies babble, words change meaning, and languages live or die
Introducing language Spoken language-- Written language-- Sign language-- Language structure-- Discourse-- Dialects-- Languages-- Multilingualism-- Looking after language.--
In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we're from and even who we want to be.
9780141015521
CLASS P - LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
Linguistics
Language and languages
