David Crystal provides concise, accessible answers to fifty questions about English language usage. In this compact, user-friendly book, David Crystal draws on his extensive knowledge and experience to answer questions from English language teachers and learners from around the world. The book covers topics ranging from general enquiries about the language as a whole to specific points of grammar, pronunciation, orthography, vocabulary, idiom and style. The author's responses are illustrated by personal anecdotes, placed within historical and literary context and supported by research and corpus data to provide unique, authentic insights.
David Crystal Books
David Crystal is a preeminent linguist and author whose work delves deeply into the English language. His research focuses on meticulous analyses of intonation, stylistics, and the practical applications of linguistics across diverse fields, including religion, education, and clinical contexts. Crystal's writings are esteemed for their profound insights and clarity in exploring the nuances and evolution of language. Through his extensive publications and lectures, he significantly contributes to a richer understanding of linguistic processes and their societal impact.






The Penguin english dictionary
- 1664 pages
- 59 hours of reading
Ze srovnání slovníků Collins, Chambers a Penguin vychází The New Penguin English Dictionary jako ta nejlepší volba" Literární příloha The Times Toto druhé vydání nejrozsáhlejšího anglického výkladového slovníku nakladatelského domu Penguin dokonale a do hloubky pokrává všechny aspekty současného anglického jazyka. Jde o aktualizované vydání, které připravili přední angličtí lexikografové. Srozumitelné a detailní definice, se zvláštním důrazem na složitější významy a použití Najdeme zde nejen slova z tzv. "standard English", ale i technické a vědecké výrazy, slang a tvary z historické angličtiny. Stovky nových slov, žargon a módníslova reflektující nejnovější přírůstky do slovní zásoby, např. barista, cyberstalking, foodmiles, proximity talks, SMS aj. Gramatické vazby, příklady správného užití, výslovnost a interpunkce Příklady užití slov také z děl slavných spisovatelů, od Shakespeara po Jane Austenovou a od P. G. Wodehouse až po Salmana Rushdieho Příspěvky od významných britských odborníků, např. Richarda Dawkinse o evoluci, Geofreyho Robertsona o svobodě, Heleny Kennedyové o lidských právech a Vernona Bogdanora o devoluci.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary
The Classic First Edition
The classic original edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, first published in 1911 in a beautifully reproduced facsimile edition with a new introductory essay by David Crystal.
Suitable for scholars, students and actors, this book contains glosses and quotes for over 14,000 words that could be misunderstood by modern audience. It features different panels that look at such areas of Shakespeare's language as greetings, swear-words and terms of address. schovat popis
The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation
- 464 pages
- 17 hours of reading
This dictionary is the first comprehensive description of Shakespearean original pronuniciation (OP), enabling practitioners to deal with any queries about the pronunciation of individual words. It includes all the words in the First Folio, transcribed using IPA, and the accompanying website hosts sound files to further aid pronunciation. It also includes the main sources of evidence in the texts, notably all spelling variants (along with a frequency count for each variant) and all rhymes (including those occurring elsewhere in the canon, such as the Sonnets and long poems). An extensive introduction provides a full account of the aims, evidence, history, and current use of OP in relation to Shakespeare productions, as well as indicating the wider use of OP in relation to other Elizabethan and Jacobean writers, composers from the period, the King James Bible, and those involved in reconstructing heritage centers. It will be an invaluable resource for producers, directors, actors, and others wishing to mount a Shakespeare production or present Shakespeare's poetry in original pronunciation, as well as for students and academics in the fields of literary criticism and Shakespeare studies more generally.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language is one of the publishing phenomena of recent times. Rarely has a book so packed with accurate and well researched factual information been so widely read and popularly acclaimed. It has played a key role in the spread of general interest in language matters, generating further publications and broadcasting events for an avid audience. Its First Edition appeared in hardback in 1995 and a revised paperback in 1997. There have been numerous subsequent updated reprintings; but this Second Edition now presents an overhaul of the subject for a new generation of language-lovers and of teachers, students and professional English-users concerned with their own linguistic legacy. The book offers a unique experience of the English language, exploring its past, present and future. David Crystal systematically explains the history, structure, variety and range of uses of English worldwide, employing a rich apparatus of text, pictures, tables, maps and graphics. The length of the Second Edition has increased by 16 pages and there are 44 new illustrations, a new chapter, extensive new material on world English and Internet English, and a complete updating of statistics, further reading suggestions and other references throughout the book.
This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language presents a mass of new information and introduces the subject of language to a fresh generation of students and general readers. Probably the most successful general study of language ever published, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language covers all the major themes of language study, including popular ideas about language, language and identity, the structure of language, speaking and listening, writing, reading, and signing, language acquisition, the neurological basis of language, and languages of the world. Exposing this work to a new generation of readers, the Second Edition extends the range of coverage to include advances in areas such as machine translation, speech interaction with machines, and language teaching. There is new material on acoustics, physiological concepts of language, and World English, and a complete update of the language distribution maps, language-speaking statistics, table of the world's languages, and further reading. All geopolitical material has been revised to take account of boundary changes. The book has been redesigned and is presented for the first time in full color, with new pictures and maps added.
Proverbs are fascinating in what they tell us about a culture's view of everyday life, and proverbial wisdom is a key factor in understanding different peoples and cultures. David Crystal takes us on a global tour of the world's proverbs.
A comprehensive new reference work that offers the widest range of information available in a single volume. Features more than 30,000 main entries with 75,000 cross references, a unique 128-page Ready Reference section, more than 750 line drawings, illustrations and maps. The perfect desk reference for the '90s. Shrinkwrapped.
Language Death
- 276 pages
- 10 hours of reading
The endangerment and death of minority languages across the world is a matter of widespread concern. A leading commentator on language issues, David Crystal asks the question, 'why is language death so important?', reviews the reasons for the current crisis, and investigates what is being done to reduce its impact.


