Linguistics (Advanced Researchers)

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 areimprovements, or evidence of slipping standards.

How many languages are there? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? In this Very Short Introduction, linguist Stephen Anderson addresses such questions as he illuminates the science behind languages.

Linguistics falls in the gap between arts and science, on the edges of which the most fascinating discoveries and the most important problems are found. Beginning at the 'arts' end of the subject with the common origins of languages, and finishing at the 'science' end with the newest discoveries regarding language in the brain, this guide covers all the major aspects of linguistics from a refreshing and insightful angle.

Considering multilingualism in the context of globalization, Maher also looks at the fate of many endangered languages as they disappear from the world.

This Very Short Introduction deals with the social life of language: language in its sociocultural context. The field ranges from micro-analyses to broadly-based policy and planning undertakings. As such, this book draws from sociolinguistics, the sociology of language, and psycholinguistics.The relationship between language and identity - whether of an individual or a group - is a strong thread linking all the topics covered in the book.