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A history and discussion of language written specifically for a young audience in an accessible and entertaining style. He sheds light on fascinating aspects of linguistic history and looks forward to the future, exploring the effect of technology on our day-to-day reading, writing and speech. 'Crystal-clear, witty and informative, a book to bring out the linguist in us all' Roger McGough
Synopsis
From the first words of an infant to the peculiar modern dialect of text messaging, this book reveals language's myriad intricacies and quirks. It sheds light on the development of unique linguistic styles, the origins of obscure accents, and the search for the first written word.
Book Details
Publisher:
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Publication Date:
01-Mar-2011
ISBN:
9780300170825
Guardian review
A Little Book of Language by David Crystal review
the guardian Fri 22 April 2011
"It is language, more than anything else, which makes us feel human," argues Crystal, a linguist. He begins scaling what he describes as "the Mount Everest of subjects", with how we learn language: "Babies pick it all up naturally, like breathing." Astonishingly, three quarters of the babies in the world learn more than one language. As well as how we "the speaking animal" master the spoken, written and now texted word, Crystal explores the origins of words and how they evolve. In an enlightening and entertaining celebration of language and linguistics, he also writes passionately about endangered languages. There are about 6,000 languages in the world, but this diversity is dwindling fast: half will be gone by the end of this century. Languages have died out before, but the scale of the current losses is unprecedented. Each one represents a unique embodiment of a people's culture and life-world: "Language allows us to talk about our experience of the world in a way that no other means of communication can."