A Little Book of Language

I absolutely loved this book, and read it over the course of just two evenings. I wasn't planning on doing that -- my original plan was to read the book over the course of a week or two -- but, once I started reading it, I simply couldn't put it down. I dropped everything else I was planning to do, and devoured this wonderful little book as quickly as I could. It really was that good. Clear; concise; easy to read; engaging; educational; fun -- it's everything you could ask for in a book. Written for young readers, but suitable for readers of just about any age and educational level, this introduction to language and linguistics is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn the basics of how humans communicate through speech, writing, and signing.We all grow up speaking our native language (or signing it, in the case of deaf children); and most of us learn to read and write as schoolchildren. We also learn the rules of grammar in school. And some of us even go on to study the basics of one or more foreign languages. But learning a language is not the same thing as learning ABOUT language. Few of us ever really learn about language itself: what language is; how it works; why we have language at all; how children learn to use language; why there are so many different languages in the world; how many languages there are; how they are distributed; how they are related to each other; how languages change over time; why it can be so difficult to translate something from one language into another; why different speakers of the same language don't all sound exactly alike; why people are often judged by the way they speak; what dialects are; how languages and dialects serve to give people a sense of group identity; the politics of language; how language affects culture; why people speak with different accents; how the sounds of spoken language are made; what grammar is; what function it plays in language; why different styles of language are used in different situations; why the style of written language is different from the style of spoken language; why we have written language; how different languages are written; why many words aren't spelled the way they sound; why some people never learn to read and write; etc. These fascinating topics, among many others, are the focus of the field of "linguistics" -- the study of language. Even though just about everyone learns the mechanics of how to use their own language, and many learn the mechanics of how to use one or more foreign languages, few people ever bother to learn about the nature of language itself: In other words, few people ever study linguistics. That's a shame; because language affects everything we do. In fact, some might even argue that our use of language is the main thing that separates humans from all other animals. The more we know about language, the more we know about the world we live in and about what it means to be human. Everyone needs to know certain basic things about language; and every student needs to study at least the rudiments of linguistics. The earlier they begin their study of language, the better: high school is better than college, and middle school is better than high school.This is one of the few books on language that I've come across that is suitable for readers of just about any age. It's clear enough to be understood by middle schoolers, and yet informative enough to be useful to college graduates. Even I learned a few new things from reading this book; and I've actually taken linguistics courses and read lots of books on the subject. The author, David Crystal, is a noted linguist who has written several excellent books on language -- including some very useful reference books that I'm really glad I have in my home library. In this book, Crystal manages to present the essentials of linguistics in a clear, concise, easy-to-read manner, suitable for young readers, without in any way "dumbing down" the material. No, this is not an in-depth text aimed at linguistics graduate students. (If you're looking for that, look elsewhere.) But it is an excellent introduction to linguistics for beginners, suitable for adult readers as well as children. In fact, if I had to recommend just one book to introduce the basics of language to people who have never studied linguistics, this would be that book.One of the reasons I like this book so much is that it fits in very well with my own philosophy of teaching: Always start by providing students with a basic, simplified overview of the fundamentals of the subject, trying your best not to get bogged down in unnecessary details, but covering everything that a non-specialist might realistically need to know about the subject, while laying a solid foundation that the students can build upon if they wish to learn more. This book does that; and it does it brilliantly. Perhaps even more importantly, I'm convinced that any student who reads this book will feel motivated to try to learn even more about language and linguistics. If you want to inspire students to learn, this is the sort of book that can do it. It would make a wonderful gift to a young reader, or to a high school graduate about to go off to college. Or, just do what I did and get a copy for yourself, and enjoy it for its clarity, simplicity, and beauty of style. If you don't know much about language, this is the perfect place to start your education. But, even if you have studied linguistics, you'll probably find some new insights here, just as I did. (Besides, even an expert in a given subject can often benefit by a refresher in the fundamentals of that subject every now and then.) I really can't recommend this book highly enough: It is wonderful. I wish I had a book like this when I was a kid.

This book is a great introduction to language and its formation. The book is written in a fashion that any novice to the language field can easily understand. David Crystal is one of the foremost experts on English and language development on the planet. This is a wonderful introduction to the field of English, language development and linguistics.

Good for children and adults alike

As with other readers, I was at first a bit disappointed in the book, but having realized that the audience for which it is meant is young people, I continued to read through to the end. I did learn some new things, but truly enjoy David Crystal's other tomes on language far more.

I had to order this for a class, but I actually really enjoy reading this book. It's very smartly divided into small digestible chapters.

I like the state of being of this book

This is a must read for anyone who is curious about how our ability to speak happens! We seem to take our ability to communicate with others by speaking for granted until we either lose this ability through disease, stroke or accident or meet others who have. These two books are extremely informative in this area!

Written on a children's , maybe Junior high, level. I expected a more scholarly treatment

This was by far the most underwhelming of the Little History books I’ve read, chiefly because it didn’t seem to have the same ambition or range of the others. The Gombrich book, which started them all, is wonderful because it presents complex and important information in an accessible and clear way but without talking down to its audience or ever being patronising.One reviewer describes this book as “demotic” but to me that’s just bollocks. It seems deeply ironic that, of all people, Crystal should get the tone - and the register - of his book so wrong; there are far too many exclamation marks and “down with the kids” moments. I fully accept that I am perhaps not the target audience for this book, or indeed the others, but surely any young person who starts reading a book like this in the first place is going to want to be stretched a bit and given some fibre rather than have things squished into honey-nut clusters...But the two things that really annoyed me about this book were, firstly, its total failure to engage with the beauty and grandeur of reading, to celebrate what reading can do. There are, it’s true, sections on Literature but their lack of scope is well demonstrated by the number of references to Terry Pratchett, a writer who never really lets you forget what a smart-arse he is - the same sort of smug satisfaction exhibited by those who moved into Milton Keynes early. Secondly, but not unconnected, Crystal has nothing to say about the negative effects of social media on levels of literacy. Singing the praises of texting as effective communication is fine - but what about the fact that, increasingly, students can’t write at any length or with anything like the level of accuracy that they did ten years ago? I have a great deal of experience in this area and it does not seem a coincidence that the students who write well and with sophistication are often those who are not obsessed with social media. Nor do they waste their time reading Terry Bloody Pratchett.

Excellent book, covering a huge range of topics within the wonderful world of language. Crystal's style is accessible, informative and entertaining, and the book is very readable. It is aimed, I would say, at an early teen audience, so at times the tone seems a little patronising, but that can be ignored for what is a brilliant resource for anyone interested in language.

Was a gift for my girlfriend. She really enjoyed the read and said it was overall a good book.

Great book for daughter studying a level English

An interesting read which provided some thoughtful insight into Language and how it evolves.