Social Linguistics

This Very Short Introduction to psycholinguistics is an accessible and engaging description of how people use language. Talking and understanding language probably seem like simple and straightforward skills, but research in psycholinguistics has shown that complex computations take place behind the scenes when you communicate with others. Recent debates concerning how AI tools such as ChatGPT work highlight some of these core questions about the language faculty and how it is that humans comprehend, produce, and learn language.

In The Aspern Papers, a cold and ruthless literary biographer travels to Venice on the trail of personal letters belonging to the deceased American poet Jeffrey Aspern. His journey takes him to a dilapidated, rambling house belonging to an elderly woman named Juliana Bordereau and her lonely niece, Miss Tina. Just how far will he go to get what he wants? Will morality confront his personal ambition and literary curiosity?

The action is set during World War I. While John Clayton, Lord Greystoke (Tarzan), is away from his plantation home in British East Africa, it is destroyed by invading German troops from Tanganyika. On his return, he discovers among many burned bodies one that appears to be the corpse of his wife, Jane Porter Clayton. Another fatality is the Waziri warrior Wasimbu, left crucified by the Germans. Maddened, the ape-man seeks revenge not only on the perpetrators of the tragedy, but all Germans, and he sets out for the battlefront of the war in East Africa.

In this wildly entertaining A to Z of verbal acrobatics, Gyles takes you on a whirlwind tour of our mother tongue – from the origins of words and correct grammar and punctuation, to similes, euphemisms and record breaking tongue twisters (try getting your mouth around floccinaucinihilipification!). An idiosyncratic blend of history, word play, anecdote, and hyperbole, all in 60-second instalments, this is Gyles Brandreth at his word-perfect, Just-a-Minute best. You’ll never mix your metaphors again...

Billy Byrne is a low class American born in Chicago's ghetto. He grows up a thief and a mugger. "Billy was a mucker, a hoodlum, a gangster, a thug, a tough." He is not chivalrous nor kind, and has only meager ethics - never giving evidence against a friend or leaving someone behind. When falsely accused of murder, he flees to San Francisco and is shanghaied aboard a ship. The ship's secret mission is soon enacted - the hijacking of a specific yacht to take a millionaire's daughter, Barbara Harding, for ransom.

Scots: The Mither Tongue is a classic of contemporary Scottish culture and essential listening for those who care about their country's identity in the 21st century. It is a passionately written history of how the Scots have come to speak the way they do and has acted as a catalyst for radical changes in attitude towards the language. In this revised edition, Kay vigorously renews the social, cultural, and political debate on Scotland's linguistic future, and argues convincingly for the necessity to retain and extend Scots if the nation is to hold on to its intrinsic values.

An eye-opening guide on how we talk and write to one another, Word Wise explores 400+ of the most common cases of word trash (filler words, hyperbole, and abstractions) and word power (verbs of action, ear candy, onomatopoeia). Examining social media, the language of Donald Trump, AI language research, and heard-on-the-street lingo, communication expert Will Jelbert offers simple and concrete recommendations for improving your own vernacular. With wit, practical applications, and a small dose of grammar, Word Wise will help you communicate more effectively at home, at work, and online.

Billy Byrne is a tough, a hoodlum, and a mucker. His adventures take him from the streets of Chicago to the wilds of the South Pacific to the hobo rails of America to the flatlands of Pancho Villa's Mexico. And even a mucker can be redeemed by the love of a beautiful girl. This is quintessential Americana from the pen of one of the 20th century's most popular authors.

For word nerds and grammar geeks, a witty guide to the most commonly mispronounced words, along with their correct pronunciations and pithy forays into their fascinating etymologies and histories of use and misuse.

An American editor arrives in Venice on a quest to acquire some unpublished letters written by his favorite Romantic poet, Jeffrey Aspern. He tracks down the mistress to whom the letters were addressed, a now elderly Miss Bordereau, and presents himself as a prospective lodger. In hopes of gaining access to the secret papers, he begins courting Miss Bordereau's plain spinster niece, Miss Tina.

Thomas De Quincey's highly charged and hauntingly accurate account of laudanum addiction is considered the root of all drug novels. From Baudelaire to Burroughs, Confessions of an English Opium Eater paved the way for later generations of writers. Initially prescribed as pain relief for a chronic condition, De Quincey soon found himself compelled by the opium experience.

Most people traditionally train only the conventional aspects of their abilities, they focus on the technical skills of a task. However there is another layer, an emotional and behavioral set of factors which can really make the biggest impact on the results you can achieve. That is where neuro-linguistic programming comes in. NLP techniques are designed to help you tap into those top level mindsets when required. But most people aren't equipped with the right strategies or outlook on NLP to really make it work.

¿Quieres ser más agradable? ¿O defenderte con estilo de los ataques verbales de otros? ¿O sencillamente enfrentar de mejor manera las conversaciones difíciles con tu pareja o en tu trabajo? Este es un audiolibro para aprender a ganar amigos y ser excelente en situaciones sociales. Se centra en tácticas y técnicas para ser más carismático, encantador y más ingenioso, lo que sin duda te permitirá hacer frente a cualquier reunión social sin esfuerzo. Aprenderás a tener una conversación sin desperdiciar tu tiempo, sin aburrirte y sin ofender a nadie.

Waves—Not Spoons is an exciting look at energy management that goes far beyond Spoon Theory and other previous energy management models. Waves-Not Spoons is bidirectional, accommodating the flow of energy both in and out (positive and negative). Waves-Not Spoons helps us manage multiple energy systems—physical, emotional, and social. No doubt many of you are familiar with "The Spoon Theory" as was coined by Christine Miserandino in her 2003 essay entitled "The Spoon Theory". The basic premise of her analogy was that for each day we all have a limited amount of energy available to us ...

“So many people have written and claimed that their families were the original of the Forsytes,” wrote Galsworthy, “that one has almost been encouraged to believe in the typicality of an imagine species.” It is the Spring of 1920, 34 years on from the beginning of the Saga. “Young Jolyon” is married to Irene after her divorce from Soames, and they now have a son, Jon. Soames has re-married and has a daughter, Fleur. A new generation of Forsytes comes of age and the Saga continues.

En este Manual del español incorrecto, Adrián Chávez examina desde el humor los mitos que existen sobre la hipercorrección lingüística, el poder, la discriminación y todos los males que la normativitis ha permeado en la evolución de la lengua y que todos, (in)directa e indistintamente, hemos padecido alguna vez.

In 1381, Wat, the Tyler, and the peasants he represented urged of the king of England that serfdom should be abolished, the right of all to market their goods publicly should be allowed, the price of good land should not be over four pennies an acre, and that all past offenses should be pardoned. Instead of presenting their requests in a respectful manner, they took to the streets of East Anglia, Kent, and London. Although their demands were certainly reasonable, their methods were not.

Was that dear little lady Emily Benton guilty of murder, or was the written confession discovered by her tenant actually trumped up? This one will keep you guessing!

Hailed as the father of the naturalist novel, French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac left a legacy of treasured literary works that include Père Goriot and Cousin Bette. The daughter of a wealthy but miserly man, Eugénie Grandet falls in love with her penniless cousin, Charles. The two plan to marry, but at the behest of her father, Charles must first go overseas to make his fortune. Returning years later, Charles calls off the engagement, leaving Eugénie heartbroken and vengeful.

Renowned linguistic anthropologist Don Kulick first went to study the tiny jungle village of Gapun in New Guinea over 30 years ago to document how it was that their native language, Tayap, was dying. But you can't study a language without settling in among the people, understanding how they speak every day, and even more, how they live. This book takes us inside the village as Kulick came to know it, revealing what it is like to live in a difficult-to-get-to village of 200 people, carved out like a cleft in the middle of a swamp, in the middle of a tropical rainforest.