Showing titles in Linguistics

In this Very Short Introduction, Simon Horobin investigates how we have arrived at the English we know today and celebrates the way new speakers and new uses mean that it continues to adapt. Engaging with contemporary concerns about correctness, Horobin considers whether such changes are improvements or evidence of slipping standards.  

“A fascinating look at how we talk about women. . . . Dense with information and anecdotes, Mother Tongue touches on the hilarious and the devastating, with ample dashes of an ingredient so painfully absent from most discussions of sex and gender: humor.” ―Lisa Selin Davis, The Washington...

In 1381, Wat, the Tyler, and the peasants he represented urged of the king of England that serfdom should be abolished, the right of all to market their goods publicly should be allowed, the price of good land should not be over four pennies an acre, and that all past offenses should be pardoned. Instead of presenting their requests in a respectful manner, they took to the streets of East Anglia, Kent, and London. Although their demands were certainly reasonable, their methods were not.

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇮🇹 Изучать итальянский стало проще — в любое время и в любом месте! 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 С «Изучайте итальянский во сне — 1000 важных...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇷🇺 Imparare il russo è diventato più facile — in qualsiasi momento e in qualsiasi luogo 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 Con “Impara il russo mentre dormi - 1000 verbi e aggettivi” puoi studiare il russo in modo naturale e senza stress — sia...

L’Autobiogrammatica che avete tra le mani è un gioco sorprendente e vertiginoso: il racconto di un’esistenza – unica e comune – come la storia di un linguaggio. Esiste un legame segreto tra le due linee sinuose lungo cui si snoda la nostra vita: da una parte l’apprendistato dell’alfabeto, dei nomi, del lessico famigliare, dell’insulto, dello scherzo, delle lingue straniere, dei codici segreti, della poesia; dall’altra l’invadente amore per i genitori, la scuola che è un viaggio nell’ignoto, le seduzioni e dilazioni dell’amicizia e del desiderio, la contrattazione di un posto nel mondo.

From paddy wagon to rush hour, New York City has given us a number of our popular words and phrases, along the way fashioning a recognizable dialect all its own. Often imitated and just as often ridiculed, New York English has its own identity, imbued with the rich cultural history of (as New Yorkers tell it) the greatest city in the world. In You Talkin' to Me?, E. J. White explores the hidden history of English in New York City - a history that encompasses social class, immigration, culture, economics, and, of course, real estate.

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇵🇹 Изучать португальский стало проще — в любое время и в любом месте! 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 С «Изучайте португальский во сне — 1000 важные...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇷🇺 Imparare il russo è diventato più facile — in qualsiasi momento e in qualsiasi luogo 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 Con “Impara il russo mentre dormi - 1000 sostantivi importanti” puoi studiare il russo in modo naturale e senza stress —...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇷🇺 Imparare il russo è diventato più facile — in qualsiasi momento e in qualsiasi luogo 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 Con “Impara il russo mentre dormi - 1000 frasi per principianti” puoi studiare il russo in modo naturale e senza stress —...

This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. 🇵🇹 Изучать португальский стало проще — в любое время и в любом месте! 😴🚗🚶‍♂️💪 С «Изучайте португальский во сне — 1000 глаголов и...

In the 1970s, the behavioral psychologist Herbert S. Terrace led a remarkable experiment to see if a chimpanzee could be taught to use language. A young ape, named “Nim Chimpsky” in a nod to the linguist whose theories Terrace challenged, was raised by a family in New York and instructed in American Sign Language. Initially, Terrace thought that Nim could create sentences but later discovered that Nim’s teachers inadvertently cued his signing. Terrace concluded that Project Nim failed - not because Nim couldn’t create sentences but because he couldn’t even learn words.

"Manalive" (1912) is a book by G. K. Chesterton detailing a popular theme both in his own philosophy, and in Christianity, of the "holy fool", such as in Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" and Cervantes' "Don Quixote".

A man stands on Owl Creek Bridge with his hands tied, preparing to face death by hanging. Then the ground slips out from under him, the rope breaks, and he has a moment to reimagine his future. Praised for its experimental shifts in time and surprise ending, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” is not one to miss. It has been hailed by Kurt Vonnegut as “the greatest American short story.”

With so many Bible translations available today, how can you find those that will be most useful to you? What is the difference between a translation that calls itself “literal” and one that is more “meaning-based”? And what difference does it make for you as a reader of God’s Word?How...

Todos los días nos enfrentamos a situaciones en las que necesitamos que otros colaboren con nosotros para alcanzar nuestros objetivos. ¿Existe alguna técnica que haga que quieran ayudarnos y satisfacer nuestras demandas? La respuesta es muy sencilla: ¡Sí! Basado en las investigaciones...

Bloomsbury presents Proto by Laura Spinney, read by Emma Spurgin-Hussey The enthralling story of how today’s largest language family, spoken by nearly half the world’s population, descended from one ancient dialect. Daughter. Duhitár-. Dustr. Dukte. Listen to these English, Sanskrit...

Varna Shiksha describes the qualities, colors, genders, and devatas of the 50 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet and the unique and profound benefits of speaking the different letters of Sanskrit. This ancient text shows that every letter of the Sanskrit alphabet is a particle of infinity - a treasure of knowledge and organizing power.

The Woman Who Did, written in 1893 wholly and solely to satisfy the author's conscience, was perhaps the most controversial book of the late 19th century. Certainly, it was a succès de scandale and a commercial triumph. The heroine, Herminia Barton, chooses to live unmarried with her lover. When he dies, she endures many a trial for her beliefs - particularly after the stigma of bearing his child - being cast out from both families.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most intriguing novella. Austin Gilroy is a scientist and is by nature sceptical of anything to do with the occult. So when his colleague, Professor Wilson, introduces him to the mysterious and sinister hypnotist, Miss Penclosa, he is inclined to view her as a fraud. But when Gilroy's fiancée is hypnotised and Miss Penclosa makes her do the unthinkable, Gilroy is forced to change his views.