Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Cambridge University Press (1987), Paperback, 472 pages
Description
Where did human language come from? How many languages are there? How do we acquire our first language or learn a second one? The highly acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language by David Crystal answers these and other questions about language. From hieroglyphics to trucker talk, from Shakespeare in pidgin to sneezing in Tongan, this is a stimulating and richly illustrated guide to the variety, structure, history and theory of language. David Crystal not only conveys the intrinsic fascination of the subject, but also its enormous complexity. The visual dimension of the encyclopedia throws a fresh light on what has traditionally been treated as a non-visual subject, with many drawings, photographs, maps, display boxes and extracts all integrated within the text. In addition, appendices, meticulous cross-referencing and indexing ensure that this is an authoritative work of reference for students, professionals and general readers alike.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member NaggedMan
Wonderful book, open it at any page and there's something of interest. I hope someone will buy me the 3rd edition!!
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
Crystal is smart, his talents bend toward the encyclopedic (fox not hedgehog), and there is lots of good information in here and I'm glad I read through it to get a bit of basic grounding in all the far-flung corners of language study as I became by surprise a full-time editor in the field of
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linguistics (what, who, huh me? I was gonna be a speech pathologist/lexicographer/civil servant/journalist/teacher/diplomat/English prof! Life is a slow foreclosure, I suppose). But I can't help but wonder a bit, who else other than people looking to get a basic all-around grounding in language fields is this book good for? Anything it can do, Wikipedia can do better. I guess old habits, like the making of encyclopedias, die hard; I guess they are being slowly foreclosed on too. Mutatis mutandis! Show Less
LibraryThing member booktsunami
I've made a bit of an exception with my review of this book. Normally, I read the book cover to cover before writing my review. But, in this case, we have a 472 large pages packed with information. It is really a reference book and one can dip into it at any point and learn something fascinating. I
1. Popular ideas about language
2. Language and identity..such as geographic or social identity.
3. The structure of language ...including statistical analysis of language and grammar.
4.The medium of language: speaking and listening
5. The medium of language: writing and reading
6. The medium of language: signing and seeing
7. Child language acquisition
8. Language, brain and handicap (such as deafness).
9. Languages of the world
10. Language in the world (eg translation, world languages such as Esperanto).
11. Language and communication (including chimpanzee communication).
There is a wealth of detail here, Tables, charts, maps and little information boxes. It really is a fascinating book. I certainly intend to come back to it and delve into it more systematically than I have to date.
Oh, the version that I have is somewhat dated ..and is really a version from 1987...though reprinted in 1992. I'm sure that the field of linguistics has moved on a long way from there ...though I also suspect that the substance of the book will still be sound. I did notice the technology (computers etc) were, of course, very dated.
nevertheless I give it 5 stars.
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must say that I was fascinated as I skimmed my way through. The scope of language is vast...though the author freely admits his field is linguistics and there are whole fields of language such as the philosophy of language where he is not expert. He covers a vast range of topics under 11 main headings which are:1. Popular ideas about language
2. Language and identity..such as geographic or social identity.
3. The structure of language ...including statistical analysis of language and grammar.
4.The medium of language: speaking and listening
5. The medium of language: writing and reading
6. The medium of language: signing and seeing
7. Child language acquisition
8. Language, brain and handicap (such as deafness).
9. Languages of the world
10. Language in the world (eg translation, world languages such as Esperanto).
11. Language and communication (including chimpanzee communication).
There is a wealth of detail here, Tables, charts, maps and little information boxes. It really is a fascinating book. I certainly intend to come back to it and delve into it more systematically than I have to date.
Oh, the version that I have is somewhat dated ..and is really a version from 1987...though reprinted in 1992. I'm sure that the field of linguistics has moved on a long way from there ...though I also suspect that the substance of the book will still be sound. I did notice the technology (computers etc) were, of course, very dated.
nevertheless I give it 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member hippietrail
Beautiful presentation but doesn't cover the range of topics I had hoped for.
LibraryThing member drinkingtea
This book weighs a ton. It is a marvelous paperweight. It also has lots of interesting information in bite sized morsels. It's just the sort of thing you'd love to carry with you on a trip, but don't because it will double the weight of your luggage.
LibraryThing member annbury
Absolutely necessary for any language maven -- lots and lots about lots and lots. Very useful when one is looking things up (though one must use the index, since it's not alphabetical) and great fun for browsing. It came out in 1997: an update would be nice.
LibraryThing member keylawk
Notes - Describes the conflict between descriptive and prescriptive; contains photograph of the world's largest book. I need to examine this.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
1987
Physical description
480 p.; 11 inches
ISBN
0521264383 / 9780521264389