Description: This is a clear and lively introduction to the English language and its use, organized into thematic chapters, each of which can be read at one sitting. This expanded second edition has been revised in the light of recent research and now features three new chapters on Chomsky, American English and English around the world.

Contents: Abbreviations
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Preface
Space: The Diversity of English
Time: The History and Pre-History of English
Contact: The Case of Middle English
'She Loves You. Yes! Yes! Yes! - American English Inside Out
English Across the World: History and Varieties
Signs: The Semiotic View of Language
Strange Orchestras: The Underlying Symbolic Structure of Languages
Myth: Language and Reality
Sex: Language and Gender
Tyranny: Some Daring and Ingenious Escapes
Telling Stories: The Structure of Discourse in English
What's in a Norm? The Nature of Standard English
Language with Attitude: Dialect, Accent and Identity
Fixing: Language Planning and Regulation
Slippage: Slips of the Tongue and Other Blunders
Communication Breakdown: Modelling What Happens When We Communicate
Noam Chomsky and the Generative Enterprise: Language as it is if You Don't Have To Bother Talking
The Nature of Language: Linguistic Theory and the Question of Origins
References for Examples
Bibliography
Webography
Index