The variety of English described in this work is informal educated spoken Southern British. The work is based on a study of recorded texts together with an examination of my own usage as a native speaker. In articulatory features the speakers represented in the recorded texts varied within narrow limits, from "received pronunciation" in the strict sense, with no observable regional characteristics, to a form recognizably southern but still clearly acceptable as "standard British": roughly the range specified in the principal works of Daniel Jones and used as the basis for the teaching of English as a foreign language in areas where British English is taken as the model.

One of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, John Steinbeck continues to be read and studied at all levels. This encyclopedia extensively overviews his life and writings. Included are roughly 1200 alphabetically arranged entries by more than 40 expert contributors.