In this core textbook, Laurie Bauer's engaging style brings linguistics to life and introduces readers to the fundamentals of the subject. Each essential area of linguistics is dealt with in turn, thereby providing readers with a clear...

"The media are ruining English"; "Some languages are harder than others"; "Children can't speak or write properly anymore. Such pieces of "cultural wisdom" are often expressed in newspapers and on radio and television. Rarely is there a...

Praise for the previous edition "I am sorry it did not exist when I was a student... and I expect it to be a useful addition to every linguistics student's bookshelf." Nordic Journal of Linguistics The go-to- companion for anyone...