Steven Pinker meets Bill Bryson in this landmark exploration of language.

In the author's own words, "How Language Works is not about music, cookery, or sex. But it is about how we talk about music, cookery, and sex-or, indeed, anything at all." Language is so fundamental to everyday life that we take it for granted. But as David Crystal makes clear in this work of unprecedented scope, language is an extremely powerful tool that defines the human species.

Crystal offers general readers a personal tour of the intricate workings of language. He moves effortlessly from big subjects like the origins of languages, how children learn to speak, and how conversation works to subtle but revealing points such as how email differs from both speech and writing in important ways, how language reveals a person's social status, and how we decide whether a word is rude or polite.

Broad and deep, but with a light and witty touch, How Language Works is the ultimate layman's guide to how we communicate with one another.

• We started tracking this book on March 10, 2013.
• This book was $16.99 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 156 times in the past 4,267 days.
• The current price of this book is $4.99 last checked one day ago.
• The lowest price to date was $4.99 last reached on November 12, 2024.
• This book has been $4.99 4 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was $16.99 last reached on March 10, 2013.
• This book has been $16.99 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Reference

• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• File Size: 2,087 KB