This book offers an accessible survey of key concepts such as social context and cultural authenticity, using insights from fields which include linguistics, sociology and anthropology.

    This indispensable handbook covers both British and American English, and makes use of authentic spoken and written examples.Packed with tables, diagrams, and numerous example sentences, and assuming no prior knowledge of grammatical concepts on the part of the reader, this volume offers an unmatched guide to the structure of contemporary English. Arranged in three clear parts for ease of use, the Grammar's comprehensivecoverage ranges from the very basic--such as word structure, simple and complex phrases, and clause types--to the more sophisticated topics that lie at the intersection of grammar and meaning, including tense and aspect, mood and modality, and information structuring. How do words formed bycompounding differ from words formed by conversion? How many verbs in English can take a declarative clause functioning as direct object (ie, decide that... or believe that...)? What is the relationship between a matrix clause and a subordinate clause? What is the present futurate? The pastfuturate? The present perfect? How does the grammar of English encode such semantic notions as possibility, probability, necessity, obligation, permission, intention, or ability? Aarts answers all these questions, clearly and engagingly, deeply enriching the reader's understanding ofthe English language.Oxford Modern English Grammar will be invaluable for those with an interest in the English language, undergraduate students of all disciplines, and for anyone who would like a clear guide to English grammar and how to use it.

    This fascinating dictionary explores the development of meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of over 25,000 English words. Over 30,000 detailed entries trace words back to their Proto-Germanic or Indo-European roots, and include words borrowed from other languages, as well as the sources and dates of their first recorded use. For many years academics, wordsmiths, crossword lovers, and language enthusiasts of all stripes have turned to this celebrated volume as their reference of choice in lexical matters. First published as the Barnhart Etymological Dictionary, the Chambers Dictionary of Etymology offers a unique combination of approachability and authoritativeness in an accessible single-volume format, making it an essential etymological resource for the expert, and a fascinating reference for the general reader. Sample entry from the Chambers Etymological Dictionary: blarney n. flattering, coaxing talk. 1766, Lady Blarny (for Blarney), a smooth-talking flatterer in Goldsmith's the Vicar of Wakefield, her name being a literary contrivance in allusion to Blarney Stone, a stone in a castle near Cork, Ireland. Anyone kissing the stone is supposed to become skillful in flattering and coaxing. The word is used in its general sense in a letter of Sir Walter Scott (1796).

    It wasn't until chess became a popular pastime for European royals during the Middle Ages that the queen was born and was gradually empowered to become the king's fierce warrior and protector.Birth of the Chess Queen examines the five centuries between the chess queen's timid emergence in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire to her elevation during the reign of Isabel of Castile. Marilyn Yalom, inspired by a handful of surviving medieval chess queens, traces their origin and spread from Spain, Italy, and Germany to France, England, Scandinavia, and Russia. In a lively and engaging historical investigation, Yalom draws parallels between the rise of the chess queen and the ascent of female sovereigns in Europe, presenting a layered, fascinating history of medieval courts and internal struggles for power.

    More than 13,000 words are traced to their origins in Proto-Indo-European, the prehistoric ancestor of English that was spoken before the advent of writing. In Calvert Watkins’s skilled hands, Proto-Indo-European language and society are rendered as alive and compelling as they must have been six thousand years ago. His introductory essay shows how words in an unrecorded ancient language can be reconstructed and offers a wealth of fascinating information about Proto-Indo-European culture. The dictionary that follows contains nearly 1,350 reconstructed roots, plus two dozen new “Language and Culture” notes that explore interesting sidelights to the etymologies presented in many entries.

    It quickly established itself as a classic anthology, equal to Palgrave's Golden Treasury in popularity and public recognition. Having sold half a million copies in 21 impressions, a second edition appeared in 1939, extending the book by a hundred pages and increasing the representation of the early part of the twentieth century. Concentrating for the most part on lyrical poetry, Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch sought to range over the whole field of English verse from the thirteenth century to the close of the First World War. He established an arrangement of the poets by date of birth, using modernized spelling after the very earliest poems. He held firmly to the belief that old favourites deserved their place as much as new discoveries, and held himself at odds with those who sneer 'at things long by catholic consent accounted beautiful'. In declaring the enduring nature of the English verse tradition, 'Q' ensured that The Oxford Book of English Verse would itself endure and prosper.

    He compares the customs, manners, and practical details of daily life in the United Kingdom and the United States, and American readers will enjoy his account of American culture as seen through an Englishman’s eyes. Davies tops it off with an amusing list of expressions that sound innocent enough in one country but make quite the opposite impression in the other. Two comprehensive glossaries help travelers translate from one variety of English to the other, and additional lists explain the distinctive words of Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Divided by a Common Language is the ideal travel companion for British visitors to the United States and American visitors to the United Kingdom. It is also the perfect book for Britons interested in American culture and Americans enjoying British novels, movies, and television at home.

    They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

    Look up over 2,000 topics from A to Z, including people, events, places, and objects, and find out their actual meanings. Did you know that dreaming of ice cream means you'll soon enjoy major success, and that dreaming of eating dates predicts a marriage? Taking off your pants is a sign of an offbeat imagination. But if you throw them in the wash, then you'll be on your way to the start of a profitable project. Enjoy the entrancing illustrated borders and gorgeous, full-color interpretations of common themes like "The Bride and Groom," "The Castle of Dreams," "Prince and Princess," and other fascinating subjects. Uncover the mysteries of the mind with the help of the most entertaining, colorful, and comprehensive Dream Dictionary ever. 144 pages (72 in color), 70 b/w illus., 7 1/2 x 9 1/4.

    With subjects ranging from history to baseball to crime novels, A Jacques Barzun Reader is a feast for any reader.

    In this book, award-winning author Richard Fletcher illuminates English society and politics in the years around the Norman Conquest, threading together scanty documentary evidence to produce a rich narrative.

    Updated to reflect current research and rewritten to further enhance the clarity of presentation, the fifth edition of this best-seller continues to take a linguistic-analysis approach as well and focus on the facts of language rather than theoretical approaches.

    A well–received feature is the grouping by codex to emphasize the great importance of manuscript context in interpreting the poems. The full contents of the Exeter Book are represented, summarized where not translated, to facilitate appreciation of a complete Anglo-Saxon book. The introduction discusses the nature of the legacy, the poet's role, chronology, and especially of translations attempt a style acceptable to the modern ear yet close enough to aid parallel study of the old English text. A check–list of extant Anglo-Saxon poetry enhances the practical usefulness of the volume. The whole thus adds up to a substantial and now widely–cited survey of the Anglo–Saxon poetic achievement.

    In fact, many of the Founders and their children learned to read from the Primer. This pocket-size edition is an historical reprint of the 1777 version used in many schools during the Founding Era.

    The essential canon of Old English poetry, with parallel verse translation, in this now classic edition. A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse contains the Old English texts of all the major short poems, such as The Battle of Maldon', The Dream of the Rood, The Wanderer and The Seafarer, as well as a generous representation of the many important fragments, riddles and gnomic verses that survive from the seventh to the twelfth centuries, with facing-page verse translations.