Table of Contents

1. Popular ideas about language; 2. Language and identity; 3. The structure of language; 4. The medium of language: speaking and listening; 5. The medium of language: reading and writing; 6. The medium of language: signing and seeing; 7. Child language acquisition; 8. Language, brain and handicap; 9. The languages of the world; 10. Language in the world; 11. Language and communication. Appendices 1 Glossary; 2 Special symbols and abbreviations used in The Encyclopedia of Language; 3 Table of the world's languages; 4 Further reading; 5 References; 6 Index of langauges, families, dialects and scripts; 7 Index of authors and personalities; 8 Index of topics

Promotional Information

This is a highly acclaimed, richly illustrated guide to the variety, structure, history and theory of language.

Reviews

' ... an ingenious tour de force ... a stunningly diverse linguistic menu' Robert Burchfield, The Times

' ... a celebration of language in all its oddity, beauty, fun, astonishing complexity and limitless variety' The London Review of Books

' ... imaginative and arresting ... deserves shelf-space in every home interested in language' The Times Literary Supplement

'Those who want to make pronouncements about language in the future must pass the test of knowing what is in the book' Dwight Bollinger