“jean aitchison”

This alphabetical guide to language and mind gives an up-to-date introduction to the key topics of speech comprehension, speech production and child language. Written by a well-known author in the field, the entries are concise and lucid, and provide an easy-to-read overview of an area of linguistic... More

Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than with the calls of other primates. Jean Aitchison explores the origins of human language and how it has evolved. She likens the search to a vast prehistoric jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fragments of evidence ... More

Language is like a vast spider's web. In this volume Aitchison explores the different facets of this web. This is the text of the 1996 BBC Reith lectures, slightly revised for publication, with illustrations and full references, and an Afterword which looks at the reception of the lectures.Language ... More

Modern journalism is often the subject of criticism and opposition. Written by one of the foremost authorities on language and the media writing today, this engaging book suggests that view is unfair, and that journalists are in fact skilled 'word weavers' whose output is cleverly worked into planne... More

An established bestseller, The Articulate Mammal is a concise and highly readable introduction to the main topics in psycholinguistics. This fifth edition brings the book up to date with recent theories, including new material on: the possibility of a 'language gene'how children become acclimatized ... More

This book gives a lucid and up-to-date overview of language change, discussing where our evidence about language change comes from, how and why changes happen, and how languages begin and end. It considers both changes that occurred long ago, and those currently in progress. This substantially revis... More

Human language is a weird communication system: it has more in common with birdsong than the calls of other primates. In this clear and non-technical overview, Jean Aitchison explores why it evolved and how it developed. She likens the search to a vast prehistoric jigsaw puzzle, in which numerous fr... More

"New Media Language" brings leading media figures and scholars together to debate the shifting relations between today's media and contemporary language. From newspapers and television to email, the internet and text messaging, there are ever increasing media conduits for the news. This book investi... More