- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: OUP Oxford (12 Jan 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0198614446
- ISBN-13: 978-0198614449
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 13.8 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 517,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
Words Words Words
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More About the Author
Product Description
Times Higher Education Supplement, 6 October 2006
This is a hugely enjoyable book
Product Description
Words, Words, Words is all about the wonder of words. Drawing on a lifetime's experience, David Crystal explores language in all its rich varieties through words: the very building blocks of our communication. Language has no life of its own: it only exists in the mouths and ears, hands, eyes and brains of its users. As we are guided expertly and passionately through the mysteries and delights of word origins, histories, spellings, regional and social variations, taboo words, jargon, and wordplay, the contribution we all play in shaping the linguistic world around us becomes evident. Words, Words, Words is a celebration of what we say and how we say it. It invites us to engage linguistically with who we are: to understand what words tell us about where we come from and what we do. And as they continually shape our lives, it suggests ways that we can look at words anew and get involved with collecting and coining words ourselves.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Really interesting with exactly the right amount of detail in all the right places. Words Words Words covers a really broad selection topics within the subject of English Language. It's got loads of interesting, quirky facts and discussion points about English whilst being a good read. David Crystal's passion for the subject shines thorough but it is clearly written, for anyone who speaks English so it's not just for people with a vested interest in this topic. If you speak English, you'll find this really interesting.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Great, great, great!
As ever with anything written by David Crystal, this book explains concepts of English in a very clear, simplified and entertaining manner Highly recommended.
As ever with anything written by David Crystal, this book explains concepts of English in a very clear, simplified and entertaining manner Highly recommended.
Format:Paperback
As a primer and brief introduction to the sublime world of words, of lexicographers and word hounds, this is a nice little book that sits well in the hand. Crystal distils his encyclopaedic knowledge of epistemology into 6 fascinating sections
1. the universe of words, their number and how we learn them
2. the origin of words, their beginnings and construction
3. the diversity of words, worldwide diversity, specialist language, group speak
4. the evolution of words, births, deaths, changes and futures
5. the enjoyment of words, wordplay, word sound and games
6. becoming a word detective, how to take your interest further, further reading and how to estimate your personal wordhoard (vocabulary), both what you use everyday and what you understand but don's use regularly.
A good starting point which left me wanting more.
1. the universe of words, their number and how we learn them
2. the origin of words, their beginnings and construction
3. the diversity of words, worldwide diversity, specialist language, group speak
4. the evolution of words, births, deaths, changes and futures
5. the enjoyment of words, wordplay, word sound and games
6. becoming a word detective, how to take your interest further, further reading and how to estimate your personal wordhoard (vocabulary), both what you use everyday and what you understand but don's use regularly.
A good starting point which left me wanting more.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
David Crystal
An excellent book, well written (in my opinion)and recommended by my Daughter, an English teacher, along with other titles by the same authur. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Daithi
WORDerful!
Mr Crystal deals with such a wide topic with extreme simplicity and he manages to keep the reader interested all the time. Unputdownable!
Published on 6 Dec 2009 by Rosalba Arena
Highly recommended
David Crystal enthralls us with fascinating details about the English Language in his trademark crystal clear prose style. Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by J. Shaw
A nice intro, but not quite meaty enough for me
To write a book about words which is a page-turner would I suppose be a difficult task. So we can forgive David Crystal the fact this is no page-turner. Read more
Published on 24 July 2006 by W. Pearce
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