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David Crystal
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How Language Works: How Babies Babble, Words Change Meaning, and Languages Live or Die Paperback – Illustrated, November 1, 2007

by David Crystal (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 239 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Steven Pinker meets Bill Bryson in this landmark exploration of language.

In the author's own words, "How Language Works is not about music, cookery, or sex. But it is about how we talk about music, cookery, and sex-or, indeed, anything at all." Language is so fundamental to everyday life that we take it for granted. But as David Crystal makes clear in this work of unprecedented scope, language is an extremely powerful tool that defines the human species.

Crystal offers general readers a personal tour of the intricate workings of language. He moves effortlessly from big subjects like the origins of languages, how children learn to speak, and how conversation works to subtle but revealing points such as how email differs from both speech and writing in important ways, how language reveals a person's social status, and how we decide whether a word is rude or polite.

Broad and deep, but with a light and witty touch, How Language Works is the ultimate layman's guide to how we communicate with one another.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    512 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Publishing Group
  4. Publication date
    November 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.28 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    158333291X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1583332917
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

? ?[Crystal] succeeds again and again with clarity, wit, and enthusiasm. . . . Time and again a point is made and illustrated with a fact or anecdote that perfectly drives it home. . . . It is a marvelous ride.?
?"The New York Times"

? ?An invigorating plunge . . . A crash course in linguistics, covering spoken, written, and sign language . . . The book will prove, to language geeks, invaluable.?
?"The San Diego Union-Tribune"

? ?An impeccably organized guide to language . . . sure to become a standard reference.?
?"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)



A a[Crystal] succeeds again and again with clarity, wit, and enthusiasm. . . . Time and again a point is made and illustrated with a fact or anecdote that perfectly drives it home. . . . It is a marvelous ride.a
a"The New York Times"
A aAn invigorating plunge . . . A crash course in linguistics, covering spoken, written, and sign language . . . The book will prove, to language geeks, invaluable.a
a"The San Diego Union-Tribune"
A aAn impeccably organized guide to language . . . sure to become a standard reference.a
a"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

[Crystal] succeeds again and again with clarity, wit, and enthusiasm. . . . Time and again a point is made and illustrated with a fact or anecdote that perfectly drives it home. . . . It is a marvelous ride.
"The New York Times"
An invigorating plunge . . . A crash course in linguistics, covering spoken, written, and sign language . . . The book will prove, to language geeks, invaluable.
"The San Diego Union-Tribune"
An impeccably organized guide to language . . . sure to become a standard reference.
"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

"[Crystal] succeeds again and again with clarity, wit, and enthusiasm .... Time and again a point is made and illustrated with a fact or anecdote that perfectly drives it home....It is marvelous ride."

"An impeccably organized guide to language ... sure to become a standard reference."

"An invigorating plunge ... A crash course in linguistics, covering spoken, written, and sign language ... The book will prove, to language geeks, invaluable."

About the Author

David Crystal is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor, and the editor of The Penguin Encyclopedia.

 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Publishing Group; Illustrated edition (November 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 158333291X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1583332917
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.21 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.28 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 239 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
David Crystal

David Crystal

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David Crystal is honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. He has written or edited over 100 books and published numerous articles for scholarly, professional, and general readerships, in fields ranging from forensic linguistics and ELT to the liturgy and Shakespeare. His many books include Words, Words, Words (OUP 2006) and The Fight for English (OUP 2006).

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
239 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

B. Henriksen
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read!
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very good book! Well written and easy to understand. Users must keep in mind that the pronunciation examples are in brittish english. But that is it! Excellent read.
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Midge
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is fascinating. I found that I don't ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book is fascinating. I found that I don't actually read it all the way through, page by page, but skip around. This book could be read and re-read.
One person found this helpful
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Carlos
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
it's a good book for wanting to learn how we develop our language.
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Renee Veale
5.0 out of 5 stars A very interesting Book
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the book very much, Mr. Crystal writes about a very
complicated subject, he shares his great knowledge in a
easy to understand and entertaining way.
One person found this helpful
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Coraima Santana
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2017
Verified Purchase
Excellent book. Very interesting
One person found this helpful
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Soe Than
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
A manual for me, written by the author I admire most.
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Andreas N.
3.0 out of 5 stars A very thorough book on language
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
It feels very complete. It covers so many areas of language and somertimes it even gets a bit too specific.
2 people found this helpful
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Ray Cemic
4.0 out of 5 stars A Total Book on Language
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2007
Verified Purchase
This book covers every aspect of language: the physiological, paralingual communication, nuances of language, and almost any other thing that you can think of involving language. It is from England so some of the spellings and phrasings are different, but I found it to be interesting, readable, and full of new information, based on the latest research.
18 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sandra
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Reviewed in Mexico on April 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
It is useful for language teachers !
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Tatjana Linnik
5.0 out of 5 stars The only book about languages you need to read
Reviewed in Germany on November 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
I’ve read a lot of books about languages, language learning, impact of languages, how language works, how to speak, etc. But this is the only book that covers all aspects at once.

It is fascinating how the author manages to compress that much information in one book. I highly recommend reading it!
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Shane White
5.0 out of 5 stars superb
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2021
Verified Purchase
David Crystal covers many key linguistics topics, from why languages die to how language may have evolved to defining what language actually is (for example, is body language actually *language*?)

Each topic is covered in a chapter of around five pages and linguistic-specific terms are only used where necessary, which makes this book accessible to the general reader.

I was impressed with the wide range of subjects covered and like his writing style, which is always very clear and engaging.

A great book.
One person found this helpful
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Cliente Amazon
1.0 out of 5 stars Mal estado
Reviewed in Spain on February 25, 2021
Verified Purchase
El libro estaba sucio por fuera y escrito por dentro. Decepcionada.
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Nichol
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2018
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It was a gift that was well received
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