From its dim origins among Germanic speakers in the British Isles, the English tongue spread for over a millennium through commerce, cultural exchange, and military conquest to become the de facto language of our modern, globalized world. From the Shanghai stock exchange to the United Nations to Internet message boards, whenever people reach out to one another across culture and geography, they do so overwhelmingly in English. Yet the remarkable story of its rise to global dominance has been curiously neglected by historians.
Imprisoned in English: The Hazards of English as a Default Language
In Imprisoned in English, Anna Wierzbicka argues that in the present English-dominated world, millions of people - including academics, lawyers, diplomats, and writers - can become "prisoners of English", unable to think outside English. In particular, social sciences and the humanities are now increasingly locked in a conceptual framework grounded in English. To most scholars in these fields, treating English as a default language seems a natural thing to do.
This 1981 book is a general introduction to linguistics and the study of language, intended particularly for beginning students and readers with no previous knowledge or training in the subject. There is first a general account of the nature of language and of the aims, methods and basic principles of linguistic theory. John Lyons then introduces in turn each of the main sub-fields of linguistics: the sounds of language, grammar, semantics, language change, psycholinguistics: the sounds of language, grammar, semantics, language change, psycholinguistics, language and culture.
Focussing on the most common errors in English, this book is the easiest way to improve your everyday language skills. Using simple explanations and corpus examples, it uses a thematic approach to steer learners away from the most common pitfalls in English. This invaluable guide is suitable for learners of English wishing to improve their accuracy and avoid the most basic mistakes. The book offers help with Spelling and Punctuation, and covers the major parts of speech in depth. It offers clear guidance on word choice and confusable words. A comprehensive exercise section also reinforces the key points for each thematic section.
Collins Easy Learning English Spelling is suitable for anyone who wants to improve their spelling and write more accurately and impressively. By describing the important features of English spelling and rules to use, this book makes spelling easy. Using simple explanations and corpus examples, Collins Easy Learning English Spelling describes the patterns and rules you need to understand and predict how words are spelt in English. It also provides practical advice on learning words that are difficult to spell, and shows why some words can cause problems for even the most experienced users of English.
