Linguistics

What are the unique characteristics of sign languages and what can they tell us about language more generally? This volume comprises 25 chapters by an international team of scholars, who discuss more than 40 sign languages, old and young, around the world, providing a wealth of linguistic and anthropological information on such topics as the languages’ history and transmission, their grammatical structures and variation both within and between languages.

Designed for all intermediate learners, as well as those following the Michel Thomas method, this conversational course focuses on colloquial language and the conversation strategies used by native Spanish speakers. The ten lessons cover a range of topics and aim to advance overall fluency, expand vocabulary and improve listening, comprehension and grammar. The boxed set comprises a text book, one MP3 CD-ROM and one interactive CD-ROM.

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Part of the Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics series, this volume of eleven essays presents Tanya Reinhart’s Theta System (as developed up to her death in 2007), examines its underpinnings and its advantages, and suggests further developments.

Covering a wide range of genres, this study of the communicative aspects of English manuscripts from the 14th to 19th centuries demonstrates how handwritten texts can be used to analyse the history of language as communication between individuals and groups.

Providing sociolinguistic and historical information on lesser-known native varieties of English around the world, this volume comprises 18 essays arranged by region, from Orkney and Shetland to Pitcairn Island.

Addressed to advanced students of phonological theory, this text considers the concept of neutralization from many different theoretical perspectives and schools of linguistic thought and discusses both its function-negative and function-positive roles.

For students of English language and linguistics who are frustrated by the tedious ‘rule book’ teaching of English grammar, this textbook approaches the grammar of a language ‘as a dynamic, constantly changing set of habit patterns that allows people to communicate with one another’. The book offers a rigorous introduction to English grammar and syntax, with examples, exercises and chapter summaries.

Jonathan Robinson curates the British Museum's archive of sound recordings illustrating British accents and dialects. He has compiled this quirky yet fascinating glossary by using such audio material collected from present-day dialect speakers, as well as old dictionaries' evidence of historical usage, so that the Wordbank not only provides a snapshot of vernacular English in the early 21st century but also reveals the ancient origins of many words and phrases in use today.

A systematic and accessible introduction to the lexicology of modern English, exploring the sources of modern English words and the development of vocabulary over time, looking meanings. 9”x7”

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How do you say 'a bunch of muppets' in French? Is 'faire la bombe' as explosive as it sounds? With over 700 everyday expressions and their idiomatic English equivalents, this book offers an entertaining way to improve your language skills while discovering the origins of both languages' most curious phrases. You'll also learn when to beware of literal translation – and which phrases might land you in trouble.

A sign language that cut across language barriers played a crucial role among the various Indian nations, and it survives today. This book contains a comprehensive description of the language, from phonology to discourse, and compares it with other sign languages.

Each of these invaluable introductory guides to today's critical terminology offers an original overview by a leading literary or cultural critic.

In these nine essays, linguists based in or connected with Liverpool draw on current scientific research into Merseyside’s language to explore the history, place names and development of Scouse. Slightly off-mint.

James Chapman’s textbook is his ‘synopsis’, with examples from literature and a notation based on music, of Joshua Steele’s Prosodia Rationalis (1775), which argued that English shared the same accidents of speech – accent emphasis, pause, force and quality of sound – as ancient Greek and Latin. Facsimile reprint. No jacket.

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This guide to common grammatical, lexical and semantic issues in Arabic translation is suitable for classroom use by university students and as a reference work for professional translators. The authors highlight common pitfalls in working both from English to Arabic and from Arabic to English, suggesting strategies for effective translation, offering guidance on correct usage and discussing idiomatic expressions in both languages. Each problem is illustrated with examples drawn from contemporary literature and media texts.

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