Rating: 
Summary: For Writers, Researchers, And The Intellectually Curious
Review: According to the author, this book operates on two levels. First it addresses the kind of interest in language history and behaviour that we encounter daily (for instance: a young child's attempts to talk), and secondly, it attempts to make sense out of what we observe. To address these concerns, the book consists of 11 main categories having topics such as "Popular Ideas About Language," "The Medium of Language: Writing and Reading," and ""The Languages Of The World."These 11 categories are further broken down into 65 subsections on such subjects as "Language and Thought," "Investigating Children's Language," and "Language And The Brain." One of the beauties of this book is that it practices what it preaches. In the section on Plain English, it emphasizes simplicity as the key to readability and it is written in just such a simple, readable manner. In this regard, Crystal quotes the recommendations of the "Plain English Advocates" as follows: "Prefer the shorter word to the longer one. Use simple . . . . rather than fancy ones." "Write short sentences with an average of no more than 20 words." "Write short paragraphs with an average of about 75 words." And very importantly, I think, "Write with your ear. . . . . Do not write anything you could not comfortably say." There is much more like this. Along these same lines he quotes George Orwell's six rules of what to do when instinct fails. A couple of these rules also merit mention. "Never use a long word when a short word will do." and "If it is possible to cut a word out, cut it out." And, again, more along these lines. I think that these few rules and others like them are important to one of the main themes of the book which is effective communication. There are segments of the book that, in my opinion, ought to be invaluable to the professional researcher as well as the casual reader. For instance, there are sections that relate language to childhood development, contain discussions of language and other systems of communication, and discussions of language and social identity to name but a few. Many are accompanied by charts, tables, illustrations, maps, etc. where they add breadth to the discussion. To summarize, THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE has something to offer to a wide range of readers, from the would-be writer, to the experienced writer who wishes to be more effective, to the researcher, to the intellectually curious.
Rating:
Summary: For Writers, Researchers, And The Intellectually Curious
Review: According to the author, this book operates on two levels. First it addresses the kind of interest in language history and behaviour that we encounter daily (for instance: a young child's attempts to talk), and secondly, it attempts to make sense out of what we observe. To address these concerns, the book consists of 11 main categories having topics such as "Popular Ideas About Language," "The Medium of Language: Writing and Reading," and ""The Languages Of The World." These 11 categories are further broken down into 65 subsections on such subjects as "Language and Thought," "Investigating Children's Language," and "Language And The Brain." One of the beauties of this book is that it practices what it preaches. In the section on Plain English, it emphasizes simplicity as the key to readability and it is written in just such a simple, readable manner. In this regard, Crystal quotes the recommendations of the "Plain English Advocates" as follows: "Prefer the shorter word to the longer one. Use simple . . . . rather than fancy ones." "Write short sentences with an average of no more than 20 words." "Write short paragraphs with an average of about 75 words." And very importantly, I think, "Write with your ear. . . . . Do not write anything you could not comfortably say." There is much more like this. Along these same lines he quotes George Orwell's six rules of what to do when instinct fails. A couple of these rules also merit mention. "Never use a long word when a short word will do." and "If it is possible to cut a word out, cut it out." And, again, more along these lines. I think that these few rules and others like them are important to one of the main themes of the book which is effective communication. There are segments of the book that, in my opinion, ought to be invaluable to the professional researcher as well as the casual reader. For instance, there are sections that relate language to childhood development, contain discussions of language and other systems of communication, and discussions of language and social identity to name but a few. Many are accompanied by charts, tables, illustrations, maps, etc. where they add breadth to the discussion. To summarize, THE CAMBRIDGE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LANGUAGE has something to offer to a wide range of readers, from the would-be writer, to the experienced writer who wishes to be more effective, to the researcher, to the intellectually curious.
Rating:
Summary: The best reference book about language
Review: After reading (and after buying) almoust a dozen reference books about language I have to say that this one is just the best I found. Almoust perfect.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Beginner's Book on Linguistics & Languages
Review: Great examples, photos, illustrations not to mention a wealth of information on various aspects of language study. Worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: Ooooops!
Review: I blew it... I don't know how my earlier review of this book wound up with only two stars - I intended to give it FIVE stars, as I hope will be obvious to anyone who reads the review - mea culpa!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic reference of linguistics and languages
Review: I have always found linguistics to be a fascinating subject, but my encounters with the majority of textbooks on this subject have made for rather dry reading. Bearing this is mind, I initially approached this book with low expectations. However, once I opened the cover I could not put it down again. David Crystal has a quite a talent for presenting various topics surrounding language in a way that is both extremely interesting and easy to understand. The eleven chapters address in general terms language structure, geographic and social factors relating to language, physiological and neurological aspects of speech and language acquisition, languages of the world, written language, and a great deal of more information covering a variety of language-related topics, to include sign language, body language, and animal communication. No one is going to become an expert on linguistics by merely reading this book, but it is a superb general reference and introduction to language and linguistics.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining AND illuminating!
Review: If I were to describe this volume as a coffee table book on linguistics, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it would be hard to imagine something less inviting. Maybe a history of grout? But that's what it is, and it's absolutely fascinating. It's a large format, profusely illustrated book on the history, structure, analysis and use of the English language, from the earliest arrival of the Angles in the British Isles, to the latest computerized analyses of language, and everything in between. There are features on Old English, dialect, regional differences, drift, humor, grammer, writing systems, alphabets...and it's all presented in the most engaging and entertaining manner. Now I am perhaps more enamored of this sort of thing than the typical reader, having come from a psycholinguistics background, but I think there's much in here to entertain (and inform) anyone with even a passing interest in language, and English in particular. There are long articles that delve into areas in detail, but there are also enough brief sidebars to make this an excellent book for simply opening at random to pick out an entertaining bit here and there. And of course it's all authoritative enough to serve as an excellent resource for the beginning linguistics student as well. Quite an accomplishment.
Rating:
Summary: A serious introduction to linguistics and languages
Review: If you are interested in language you should have this book. It's very informative, it's divided into different chapters with approaching to language from several points of view. It has a lot of pictures which illustrates the text and make the reading more easy. In two words: buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A good Encyclopedia of language
Review: Indeed ,David Crystal is a great and famous linguist of this century .His books about language are very important for students and common readers .His book "What is linguistics "is a good book for students ,but this book is important and informative for all people with scholars .There are several useful mapes and tables which guide a reader to understand the different family of languages. I am siraiki speaking person .It was natural for me to read about my language,but Crystal is not aware about Siraiki language .He wrote its very old name Lahnda .I hope he will correct it in next edition
Rating:
Summary: A good Encyclopedia of language
Review: Indeed ,David Crystal is a great and famous linguist of this century .His books about language are very important for students and common readers .His book "What is linguistics "is a good book for students ,but this book is important and informative for all people with scholars .There are several useful mapes and tables which guide a reader to understand the different family of languages. I am siraiki speaking person .It was natural for me to read about my language,but Crystal is not aware about Siraiki language .He wrote its very old name Lahnda .I hope he will correct it in next edition
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