Showing titles in Linguistics

Banter, chit-chat, gossip, natter, tete-a-tete: these are just a few of the terms for the varied ways in which we interact with one another through conversation. David Crystal explores the factors that motivate so many different kinds of talk and reveals the rules we use unconsciously, even in the most routine exchanges of everyday conversation.

"Appartengo a quella parte dell'umanità che passa gran parte delle sue ore di veglia in un mondo fatto di righe orizzontali: un mondo che può essere molto ricco, magari ancor più ricco di quello non scritto, ma che comunque richiede un aggiustamento speciale per situarsi al suo interno. Quando mi stacco dal mondo scritto per ritrovare il mio posto nell'altro, in quello che usiamo chiamare il mondo, fatto di tre dimensioni, cinque sensi, popolato da miliardi di nostri simili, questo equivale per me ogni volta a ripetere il trauma della nascita." (Italo Calvino)

In the ancient country of Orn an old man called the Bee-man spends his life in the company of bees. He lives humbly and contentedly until a Junior Sorcerer happens by with some disturbing news: The Bee-man, he says, has been transformed - he once was someone (or something) entirely different. But who? Or what? A giant or a prince? A dog or a dragon? The now restless Bee-man sets out on a quest to ascertain his original form, telling himself, "When I see it, I shall be drawn toward it."

Listen to At the Earths Core with a movie-style soundtrack and amplify your audiobook experience. Dr. Abner Perry (Peter Cushing) is an English scientist who has invented a massive drill that can dig deep into the Earth. Joined by his adventure-seeking American backer, David Innes (Doug McClure), Perry accidentally discovers an underground civilization of primitive humans who live in fear of telepathic flying monsters. David becomes intrigued by the beautiful native Dia (Caroline Munro), and must rescue her when she is chosen as a human sacrifice.

On Heroes, Hero Worship, and The Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle, is a collection of six lectures given in May 1840 about prominent historical figures. It sets out Carlyle's belief in the importance of heroic leadership, his view of how the world would be if powerful and inspired men were to have the power he thought they deserved. The collection includes figures ranging from religion to literature and politics, and the figures chosen were presented by Carlyle as archetypal examples of individuals who had dramatically impacted history for good or ill.

Almost everyone swears, or worries about not swearing, from the two year-old who has just discovered the power of potty mouth to the grandma who wonders why every other word she hears is obscene. Whether they express anger or exhilaration, are meant to insult or to commend, swear words perform a crucial role in language. But swearing is also a uniquely well-suited lens through which to look at history, offering a fascinating record of what people care about on the deepest levels of a culture - what's divine, what's terrifying, and what's taboo.

In The Napoleon of Notting Hill, his first novel, G. K. Chesterton creates a witty satire of staid government, set in a London of the future. Auberon Quinn, a common clerk who looks like a cross between a baby and an owl and is often seen standing on his head, is one day told that he has been randomly selected to be His Majesty the King. He decides to turn London into a medieval carnival for his own amusement - with delightful results.

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.

Why does writing exist? What does it mean to those who write? Born from the interplay of natural and cultural history, the seemingly magical act of writing has continually expanded our consciousness. Portrayed in mythology as either a gift from heroes or a curse from the gods, it has been used as both an instrument of power and a channel of the divine, a means of social bonding and of individual self-definition.

Passion and intrigue among the upper classes form the basis of Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde's first successful play, which displays his trademark wit and wisdom. Beautiful and innocent Lady Windermere finds out that her husband has been keeping company with the scandalous and mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Her discovery unleashes a host of tensions at her 21st birthday party, where London's elite have gathered to gossip.

A devastating depiction of obsessive love and a haunting portrait of a captivating but dangerous woman. When the young Chevalier des Grieux first sets eyes on the exquisitely beautiful and charming Manon Lescaut they fall passionately in love. But his happiness turns to bitter despair when he...

Here is the remarkable story of how this humble language took vigorous root in Eastern European shtetls and in the Jewish quarters of cities across Europe; how it achieved a rich literary flowering between the wars in Europe and America; how it was rejected by emancipated Jews; and how it fell victim to the Holocaust. And also how, in yet another twist of destiny, Yiddish today is becoming the darling of academia. Yiddish is a history as story; a tale of flesh-and-blood people with manic humor.

Spoon River has 244 accounts of the lives of people in the town that explain its goings on over a couple of centuries. Each free form verse is presented as an epitaph of one of the citizens delivered themselves, often criticizing the words said about them on their tombstone or the monument or stone left above them. The stories build on one another as well as reference various family members and others mentioned in other stories.

E. M. Forster’s first novel explores the comic and tragic effects of culture clash between insular, provincial British personalities and sensual Italian culture and atmosphere. Lilia Herriton, an impulsive 33-year-old widow from London, travels to Tuscany, where she falls in love with both Italy and the handsome, carefree Gino Carelli, a dentist’s son 12 years her junior. When news reaches the snobbish Herriton family that Lilia intends to marry again, this time to an unsuitable Italian, the domineering Mrs. Herriton sends her son, Philip, to prevent the catastrophe - but he arrives too late.

Frank Delaney's language based panel quiz game series revolves around the English language. This upbeat, fun word battle sees a host of well-known contributors battling to say the word first. The series is filmed in front of a live audience at a wide range of literary festivals in the UK and live in the BBC Studios.

For high-beginner to low-intermediate learners. Master tricky Spanish irregular verbs in the next 30 days, with this innovative, story-based immersion method. Just listen to one section per day, complete the exercises, and watch as irregular verbs fall into place and improve your speech without a hitch! With 30-Day Mastery: Invincible Irregular Verbs you'll learn through example and context, just like native speakers do! The magic of learning through story is that your main focus is actually not on memorising anything...you concentrate on understanding and enjoying the story!

An entertaining and informative guide to the most common 150 words even smart people use incorrectly, along with pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and tangled histories of use and misuse. Even the most erudite among us use words like apocryphal, facetious, ironic, meteorite...

The Woodlanders is vintage Hardy. The story revolves around the young woman Grace Melbury, who returns to the leafy world of Little Hintock and soon finds herself at the center of a number of tragic events. In penetrating, incisive and beautiful prose, Hardy tells a moving tale of unrequited love as fate and the constraints of society thwart the happiness of our heroine.

Wondering when to expect baby's first word? Want to get your toddler talking? Worried your child is not speaking as clearly as his peers? When it comes to language acquisition, all parents have questions, and Time to Talk has the answers.

In a fortuitous laboratory accident, crack scientist Richard Seaton has unlocked the secret of atomic energy. Now, partnered with his wealthy engineering-genius friend Martin Crane, he's preparing to give the world the gift of limitless, virtually free energy - and of space travel. But others want Seaton's secret for themselves.