Questions About Language: What Everyone Should Know About Language in the 21st Century

Questions About Language sets out to answer, in a readable yet insightful format, a series of vital questions about language, some of which language specialists are regularly asked, and some of which are so surprising that only the specialists think about them.

In this handy guide, sixteen language experts answer challenging questions about language, like:

• What makes a language a language?
• Do people swear because they don’t know enough words?
• Is written grammar better than spoken grammar?

Illustrating the complexity of human language, and the way in which we use it, the twelve chapters each end with a section on further reading for anyone interested in following up on the topic.

Covering core questions about language, this is essential reading for both students new to language and linguistics and the interested general reader.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations

About the contributors

Introduction

1. Do animals communicate using a language? - Stephen R. Anderson
2. Is talking work doing work? - Jo Angouri and Ifigenia Machili
3. What makes a language a language? - Laurie Bauer
4. Do people swear because they don’t know enough words? - Kate Burridge
5. Is written grammar better than spoken grammar? - Andreea S. Calude
6. Is language change good or bad? - Lyle Campbell and Russell Barlow
7. Are the sounds of languages influenced by climate, environment and biology? - Dan Dediu and Scott R. Moisik
8. Can you tell someone’s sexuality from the way they speak? - Evan Hazenberg
9. Is learning a signed language easier than learning a spoken language? - Sara Pivac Alexander and George Major
10. Can you forget your native language? - Monika S. Schmid
11. Can people really disguise themselves when writing or speaking? - Corinne A. Seals and Natalie Schilling
12. What is universal about intonation? - Paul Warren

Index

"Suitable for expert and non-expert readers alike, this book offers accessible, thought-provoking and up-to-date discussions of a range of language-related topics. Engaging with a variety of questions from across the field of linguistics, the expert authors challenge commonly-held assumptions, prompting the reader to reflect on their own language attitudes and practices."
- Kate Scott, Kingston University, UK