The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Very informative
  • good breadth; a bit shallow
  • 1st Edition same as 2nd Edition and a lot Cheaper
  • An excellent help for all interested in English language!
  • A broad look at the English Language - great articles and amply illustrated
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
David Crystal
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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  1. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
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ASIN: 0521530334

Book Description

Rarely has a book so packed with accurate and well researched factual information been so widely read and popularly acclaimed. This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language has been fully revised for a new generation of language-lovers. The book is longer and includes extensive new material on world English and Internet English, in addition to completely updated statistics, further reading suggestions and other references. First Edition Hb (1995): 0-521-40179-8 First Edition Pb (1997): 0-521-59655-6 David Crystal is a leading authority on language, and author of many books, including most recently Shakespeare's Words (Penguin, 2002), Language and the Internet (Cambridge, 2001) and Language Death (Cambridge, 2000). An internationally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he received an Order of the British Empire in 1995 for his services to the English language.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Very informative.......2007-09-03

First thing I need to say is that this book is an overview of English Language and designed for average intelligent adults, not for serious academic settings. You'll notice plenty of photographs, charts, and such. It's quite fun to flip to any page and just start reading. It included a lot of contemporary figures, like pop singers, current politicians, and authors. It tried to make readers understand the older form of English culture by linking the current one to it. I must say this approach worked only so far as to get your feet wet. Again, it's an introductory sort of book, but still has many things we modern citizens don't know about English.

4 out of 5 stars good breadth; a bit shallow.......2007-03-23

This book is somewhere between a reference and an entertainment. It has a large amount of material, some useful as well as other that is merely curious. It is beautifully printed, but the large format might be difficult to handle. Open it anywhere and you are sure to find something you did not know.

5 out of 5 stars 1st Edition same as 2nd Edition and a lot Cheaper.......2006-12-15

Buy the 1st Edition and save yourself thirty bucks.

It's got the same cover (but a different color), the same number of pages (506 pages) and is as far as I can tell, the exact same book. I'm tired of "edition inflation." Buy the first edition and save yourself a lot of money.

5 out of 5 stars An excellent help for all interested in English language!.......2006-02-18

I'm a student of the Department of English Studies in Poland and I found the book a great help; everything's explained accurately and clearly, and the general layout is so neat that it's a pleasure to read the book! Of course, the book will be extremely helpful mostly for people really interestd in the English linguistics and similar topics closely connected with English language. Personally, I find the book just GREAT; it met my expectations and it's one of the most precious books in my whole library! RECOMMENDED!!!!

5 out of 5 stars A broad look at the English Language - great articles and amply illustrated.......2005-07-26

We use English everyday. We even studied spelling and grammar in school (maybe not as much as we should have studied). However, most of us do not know the origins of the language, how it has changed over the centuries, or its variants around the globe. Today, English is used by more people in India than in the United Kingdom and the United States combined. So, whose English is authoritative and why? I am not saying it is not the Queen's English that is not the standard of our language, I am just pointing out that there is room for discussion and reconsideration.

David Crystal has provided an amply illustrated journey through English that begins with considerations of what a model of English might look like and then takes us through a fascinating history of our language from the Old English through today's World English. Part II provides five chapters on the vocabulary and lexicon of English. Part III tackles the knotty problem of English grammar. Part IV discusses spoken and written English, Part V talks about the varieties of using English by region, societal variation, and even personal variation. Part VI talks about learning and studying English. The appendices are full of useful information such as a glossary, references, further reading list, index, and so forth.

The book is worth having just for the concise history it provides the English language, but the other discussions are worth knowing about and considering the various points of view the author provides us. As always, it is not necessary to agree with everything provided by a scholar to benefit from what he provides us. Just wrestling with the ideas and clarifying why you disagree with this or that point, or digging deeper to gain a richer understanding than the author provides are certainly worthwhile benefits to be gained.

An excellent read and reference for your bookshelf.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages
Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
  • great reference for an experienced linguist
  • Absolutely magnificent. A bit heavy on the Semitic though
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521562562

Book Description

CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title of 2006 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages is the first comprehensive reference work treating all of the languages of antiquity. Clear and systematic in its approach, the Encyclopedia combines full linguistic coverage of all the well-documented ancient languages, representing numerous language families from around the globe. Each chapter focuses on an individual language or, in some instances, a set of closely related varieties of a language. Providing a full descriptive presentation, each of these chapters examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of that language, and places the language within its proper linguistic and historical context. The Encyclopedia brings together an international array of scholars, each a leading specialist in ancient language study. While designed primarily for linguistic professionals and students, this work is invaluable to all whose studies take them into the realm of ancient language. Roger D. Woodard is the Andrew V.V. Raymond Professor of Classics at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He previously served on the faculties of Classics and/or Linguistics at the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College. Among his other books are Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer: A Linguistic Interpretation of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (Oxford, 1997) and co-author of Ovid's Fasti ( Penguin, 2000). He is a member of the Linguistic Society of America and the American Philological Association.

Download Description

The Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages is the first comprehensive reference work treating all of the languages of antiquity. Clear and systematic in its approach, the Encyclopedia combines full linguistic coverage of all the well-documented ancient languages, representing numerous language families from around the globe. Each chapter focuses on an individual language or, in some instances, a set of closely related varieties of a language. Providing a full descriptive presentation, each of these chapters examines the writing system(s), phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of that language, and places the language within its proper linguistic and historical context. The Encyclopedia brings together an international array of scholars, each a leading specialist in ancient language study. While designed primarily for linguistic professionals and students, this work is invaluable to all whose studies take them into the realm of ancient language. Roger D. Woodard is the Andrew V.V. Raymond Professor of Classics at the State University of New York, Buffalo. He previously served on the faculties of Classics and/or Linguistics at the University of Southern California, Johns Hopkins University and Swarthmore College. Among his other books are Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer: A Linguistic Interpretation of the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (Oxford, 1997) and co-author of Ovid's Fasti ( Penguin, 2000). He is a member of the Linguistic Society of America and the American Philological Association.

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars great reference for an experienced linguist.......2007-08-09

As a reference book for an experienced linguist, this book might be excellent. However, I have no formal training in linguistics analysis, so this book did not support me as much as a beginner would need. In particular, some terms were not explained, but I found these within a dictionary and then continued. The histories of each language and the overviews of current understandings about the language's translations were thorough and quite interesting. You rarely see dozens of pages explaining the translations of the more common Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was organized well and the only other improvement I would suggest would be to insert more writing examples with their translations. Marvelous.

4 out of 5 stars Absolutely magnificent. A bit heavy on the Semitic though.......2005-08-08

This book is probably the most comprehensive work on the languages of the ancient world, including even the only recently-deciphered Epi-Olmec script of Mesoamerica.

However, there is no good definition provided of what is 'ancient' and what is not: should Old Japanese and Old Korean have been included? What about Old Nubian?

Surely more could've been written about some of the as-yet undeciphered ancient languages, such as Rongorongo, Meroitic, Linear A, Zapotec, and the Indus script?

It's also a bit heavy on Semitic languages: while some languages are grouped with other languages into a single chapter for all of them, each of the ancient Semitic languages has a separate chapter.

Some of the ancient languages of Asia, Africa, and the Americas are omitted completely.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • excellent overview of language
  • A brief comment
  • A good Encyclopedia of language
  • EVERYTHING!
  • A Linguaphile's Delight
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
David Crystal
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521559677

Amazon.com

In the late 1980s David Crystal wrote his testament to human language, celebrating the world's diversity and reveling in the beauty and complexity of expression. But even great references need the occasional overhaul. Crystal's new edition takes into account the linguistic changes wrought in the decade since the original's inception. With the introduction of new topics (conversational misunderstandings, for example), a more pleasing typeface, and full-color pictures, the tour de force that was his first edition has been upgraded to a new level of quality.

Book Description

This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language presents a mass of new information and introduces the subject of language to a fresh generation of students and general readers. Probably the most successful general study of language ever published, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language covers all the major themes of language study, including popular ideas about language, language and identity, the structure of language, speaking and listening, writing, reading, and signing, language acquisition, the neurological basis of language, and languages of the world. Exposing this work to a new generation of readers, the Second Edition extends the range of coverage to include advances in areas such as machine translation, speech interaction with machines, and language teaching. There is new material on acoustics, physiological concepts of language, and World English, and a complete update of the language distribution maps, language-speaking statistics, table of the world's languages, and further reading. All geopolitical material has been revised to take account of boundary changes. The book has been redesigned and is presented for the first time in full color, with new pictures and maps added.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars excellent overview of language.......2006-08-27

David Crystal's Encylcopedia of Language is an excellent and readable book for lay-people like myself. I often come to it for information on a particular language-related question, or else I'll just open it up at random and see where I land.

There are plenty of diagrams and coloured pictures throughout, as well and quite a few interesting stories placed in vignettes.

As other reveiwers have pointed out, a huge range of topics are included here. I'm yet to find an aspect of language that hasn't been covered in some way.

5 out of 5 stars A brief comment.......2004-11-22

This book is a linguaphile and language lover's delight, to read or just to browse like a coffee table book. It covers just about every major topic in the study of language you can think of, from traditional classical and comparative philology and linguistics to modern developmental and neurological studies of language.

The book is comprised of 11 major sections and 65 smaller sections, with 8 appendices devoted to various topics, and there is an extensive glossary of linguistic terms as well as a table giving essential information about almost 1000 of the world's languages. Although a scholarly book, it's well written and Crystal never gets overly pedantic or dry. This is no doubt one of the most comprehensive and detailed compendia of information for the general reader about the subject of language ever written.

After reading this, you'll be more than ready to tackle a formal or more technical introductory text in linguistics, if you want to continue your studies. If you do, I highly recommend David Lyons's classic, Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, now out of print but worth getting if you can find a used copy. If you can't find that there are several other recent texts that are quite good. But if you decide to stick with this book, you'll still have learned a lot. Whichever way you decide, good luck and happy reading.

4 out of 5 stars A good Encyclopedia of language.......2004-05-01

Indeed ,David Crystal is a great and famous linguist of this century .His books about language are very important for students and common readers .His book "What is linguistics "is a good book for students ,but this book is important and informative for all people with scholars .There are several useful mapes and tables which guide a reader to understand the different family of languages.

I am siraiki speaking person .It was natural for me to read about my language,but Crystal is not aware about Siraiki language .He wrote its very old name Lahnda .I hope he will correct it in next edition

5 out of 5 stars EVERYTHING!.......2003-12-17

This book contains everything a linguist would ever want. David Crystal has brought together everything he knows about child language aquisition, journalese and a plethora of other topics which are too vast to mention. Definately worth every penny. There is hours of reading and learning to be done with this book, and each page brings new and interesting facts, even though the original book is over a decade old! the perfect gift for a loved linguist, a fact-finder of a friend and even has a use in the hands of the illiterate!

5 out of 5 stars A Linguaphile's Delight.......2002-12-05

_The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language_, Second Edition, by David Crystal is a linguaphile's delight. It provides a wealth of information to engage the mind indefinitely.

Instead of being organized alphabetically, as most encyclopedias are, _The Encyclopedia of Language_ is divided into eleven parts that comprise sixty-five thematic sections. Each section includes a comprehensive discussion of the theme, enhanced by sidebars and colorful visuals. Sections range in length from two to twenty pages, making the chunks of information small enough to be palatable yet large enough to be satisfying.

Topics addressed include language and thought, the structure of language, the anatomy and physiology of speech, written language, language acquisition, languages of the world, language disabilities, and language change. Obviously, this is only a sample. In addition, the book has eight appendices, including an extensive glossary and a table giving information about nearly 1,000 of the world's languages.

While many of Crystal's topics have their technical aspects, the author keeps his tone conversational and his information accessible to the lay reader. In this way he celebrates the existence of human language and deepens our appreciation of it.
The Making of Johnson's Dictionary 17461773 (Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History)
Average customer rating: Not rated
    The Making of Johnson's Dictionary 17461773 (Cambridge Studies in Publishing and Printing History)
    Allen Reddick
    Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    18th Century18th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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    Movements & PeriodsMovements & Periods | History & Criticism | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books | Arthurian Romance | Beat Generation | General | Gothic Revival | Medieval | Modernism | Postmodernism | Renaissance | Romanticism | Surrealism | Victorian
    English (All)English (All) | Dictionaries & Thesauruses | Reference | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0521568382

    Book Description

    Following the discovery of manuscript materials, including hundreds of unpublished additions and changes, for Samuel Johnson's Dictionary of the English Language, Allen Reddick describes the conception, composition, writing, and subsequent revision of the first great English dictionary, and the only dictionary created by a great writer. In this second edition of his acclaimed study, Reddick incorporates new commentary and scholarship, and situates The Making of Johnson's Dictionary in current critical and scholarly debate.
    The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Escential for Language Buffs
    The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.
    David Crystal
    Manufacturer: Klett
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 3125396611

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Escential for Language Buffs.......2006-12-23

    An invaluable encyclopedia, lavishly illustrated, on anything one might want to know about language and languages. This selection has been at arm's length from my desk for 10 years now.
    THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE
      David Crystal
      Manufacturer: New York: Cambridge University Press, 1941
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback
      ASIN: B000QA4F32
      The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
      Average customer rating: Not rated
        The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
        David Crystal
        Manufacturer: Cambridge Univ Pr
        ProductGroup: Book
        Binding: Paperback
        ASIN: B000NXS8QC
        THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE.
        Average customer rating: Not rated
          THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE.

          Manufacturer: Guild
          ProductGroup: Book
          Binding: Hardcover
          ASIN: B000HHMT14
          The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.
          Average customer rating: Not rated
            The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.
            David CRYSTAL
            Manufacturer: See notes
            ProductGroup: Book
            Binding: Hardcover
            ASIN: B000S29222
            The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
            Average customer rating: Not rated
              The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
              David Crystal
              Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Hardcover
              ASIN: B000NSHZGQ

              The Perfect Distance - Ovett and Coe: The Record-Breaking Rivalry
              Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
              • The Best Rivalry (ever?)
              • Deep Biography of Coe and Ovett at the Height of Britain's Middle D
              • Owett and Coe
              • The Race of Their Lives
              • On the mark ... get set, go
              The Perfect Distance - Ovett and Coe: The Record-Breaking Rivalry
              Pat Butcher
              Manufacturer: Orion Publishing
              ProductGroup: Book
              Binding: Paperback

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              ASIN: 0753819007

              Book Description

              Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe presided over the golden era of British athletics. Between them they won three Olympic gold medals, two silvers, one bronze, and broke a total of twelve middle-distance records. As far apart as possible in terms of class and upbringing, their rivalry burned as intense on the track as away from it. The pendulum swung between the pair of them—each breaking the other's records, and, memorably, triumphing in each other's events in Moscow in 1980. The Perfect Distance is both a detailed re-creation and a fitting celebration of the greatest era of British athletics.

              Customer Reviews:

              4 out of 5 stars The Best Rivalry (ever?).......2007-05-17

              Excellent book for anyone who followed track in the 70s and 80s.

              Lots of light shed on what may have been the most significant and consistent rivalry on the oval. The backgrounds of both runners are very revealing; Coe's training routines, while widely discussed, were revolutionary. Meanwhile, Ovett is shown as an agressive and confident runner, and nothing like the arrogant antagonist that the media portrayed. Additionally, he was immersed in the science of footwear and helping develop better products for runners. Why he never got the acclaim he deserved is a mystery.

              A great read for those who have been there.

              5 out of 5 stars Deep Biography of Coe and Ovett at the Height of Britain's Middle D.......2006-09-16

              This is a very detailed and rich biography not only of Ovett and Coe but of history of the mile particularly from the British view point. As the author notes, the emergency of Ovett and Coe strides right into British middle distance runners dominating the world scene in the late 70s and early 80s with Cram, Elliott and Moorcroft. The Ovett and Coe duo are so different in racing styles, personalities and family life as Ovett emerges from blue collar roots with a very strong guarded mother and wonderful grand parents while Coe comes from a more upper class conservative family coached by an efficient and strong willed father. Butcher captures both athlete's abilities in detail with Ovett's amazing ability to run the sprints and high jump at early age to running events aside from 800 and 1500 to the 5K ,cross country and even jumping into a half marathon. Coe develops slightly slower but run as if a greyhound taking the pace to avoid contact with his 119 pounds particularly dominating the 800 while he and Ovett trade the 1500 and mile back and forth. The differences in mental and emotional make up between the two men is captured well in an excellent photograph of the two after a surprise loss to a relative unknown in a championship 800 where Coe literally looks crushed while Ovett has dangled his arm around Coe while looking off with chin up as in "well another day". The comparison between the Hagg and Anderson (includes interviews) and Ovett and Coe are well done as Ovett and Coe dominates the English sports news. Americans may require a little more patience as the author does discuss the world's best milers that include Walker, Bayi, Wessingham along with the US's Scott and Maree but the focus is on the English with running clubs and their depth of great runners at that time. Also, unlike Coorder Nelson's great book on Jim Ryan, this book has more depth into the history of middle distance running and the athletes' personal lives. Amusing that the author identifies Kenny Moore as an excellent writer but identifies him as a fourth place marathoner at the Montreal games when it was actually at Munich and he confuses the details of the New York and Boston Marathon's of Rosy Ruiz into one race. The book also contains some interesting British humor and phrases. I wish there was a more detail on the races in Moscow particularly the 1500 as Coe steals one from Ovett to avenge his 800 upset. It is quite tragic that Ovett became so ill at the LA Olympics that he became hospitalized but continued to compete and make he finals in both the 800 and 1500. He literally looks like death going into the last lap of the 1500. And Coe comes back from devastating illness to get in world class shape after being written off to be the only man to win successive Olympic 1500 titles. This was a glorious time for Track & Field when these two men from the same country seesawed world records back and forth almost weekly.

              As the author notes, these two were such amazing competitors even the Falkland Islands were bumped in Britian foir the news of what Coe and Ovett did the night before.

              4 out of 5 stars Owett and Coe.......2006-07-13

              Very good book, well written, not boring at all, interesting information not only about the lifes of the two runners subject of the book but also of the sport of running in general those days in Europe. I am a "serious" runner a serious reader and also a writer myself. As such, I collect all sorts of books about running. Many are forgetable, this is not the top of the line but very good and worth reading

              5 out of 5 stars The Race of Their Lives.......2006-06-05

              Mr. Butcher has produced an outstanding book. All great books start with a great story and this a great story. This rivalry began in the mid '70's and carried through to the '84 LA Olympics. Mr. Butcher has a runner's knowledge of the sport and a writer's command of the language. This book was meticulously researched , many of the principles have participated in the telling of this tale. The "British" slang is sometimes is difficult to follow but does not detract from the telling of the story. I like the fact that Mr. Butcher does not hesitate to share his opinions. This is a GREAT READ for any track fan.

              5 out of 5 stars On the mark ... get set, go.......2004-08-07



              The Perfect Distance is an extremely fascinating look at one of the most intriguing athletic rivalries of the last generation. In the early 1980s, the drama represented by the races -- both real and virtual -- between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett were on par with the more or less contemporary rivalries between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier, between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

              As author Pat Butcher -- a fair middle distance runner in his own right -- points out, as with all great rivalries, the battles between Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett attracted attention as much because of the athletes' personalities as because of their prodigious talents. Mr. Coe -- now Lord Coe -- was the refined and cultured middle class boy, compared to Mr. Ovett, the muscular and brash son of market trader.

              Based on his world record for 800 meters that lasted for an amazing 16 years and his successful defense of his 1500-meter title at the Los Angeles Olympics, Mr. Coe was probably the most successful of the two. But such comparisons are really not relevant with a rivalry like this one. These two men traded world records -- some of which stood for mere hours before the other crushed them half a continent away -- in a way that entranced any sports fan in the early 1980s. Each won the other's specialty at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and Mr. Ovett once won 45 races in a row over nearly three years, a record unlikely to ever be duplicated at the highest level.

              As a high school and university-level middle distance runner at that time, the battles between these two great athletes had no small influence on me, which is why I decided to buy this book the moment I saw it. But the thing that pushes this volume over the top is the way Mr. Butcher interprets the men's dominance.

              Why has the drama of the middle distance never approached the pitch it had during Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett's best years? Mr. Butcher points the finger at the two champions themselves.

              As someone who closely followed the sport 20 or more years ago, I was amazed to find that Messrs. Coe and Ovett raced each other only seven times in the 15-year span during which they were both active, and four of those were in Olympic finals. In addition to avoiding serious competition outside the biggest of races, they pioneered the use of professional pacemakers in world record attempts, a still-used strategy that harvested them a combined 17 world records but also turned the middle distances into a mechanical and predictable exercise that has virtually eliminated serious competition outside of the world championships and the Olympics.

              In the end, The Perfect Distance forced me to reconsider my romanticized view of the careers of these two great champions, which is in itself significant. It is an original effort, compellingly written, with an insider's understanding of the sport. And yet it remains accessible to the casual sports fan looking for some insights into what might be the most thrilling era in track and field since Roger Bannister and John Landy chased the magical four-minute-mile a generation earlier. Very nice.

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