Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies is an indispensable guide to the richness and variety of the English language for both students and the general reader.
Filled with real examples of the way people use English in different contexts, The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies is an indispensable guide to the richness and variety of the English language for both students and the general reader. From abbreviation to zero-article, via fricative and slang, the Dictionary contains over 600 wide ranging and informative entries covering: the core areas of language description and analysis: phonetics and phonology, grammar, lexis, semantics, pragmatics and discourse sociolinguistics, including entries on social and regional variation, stylistic variation, and language and gender the history of the English language from Old English to the present-day the main varieties of English spoken around the world, covering the British isles, the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australasia stylistics, literary language and English usage.
An accessible guide to the major topics, debates and issues in English Language Studies. Established knowledge and more recent developments in the field are clearly examined and explained by well-known language specialists from a range of backgrounds.
Now in its second edition, The Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French reveals the hidden cultural dimension of contemporary French, as used in the press, going beyond the limited and purely lexical approach of traditional bilingual dictionaries. Even foreign learners of French who possess a good level of French often have difficulty in fully understanding French articles, not because of any linguistic shortcomings on their part but because of their inadequate knowledge of the cultural references. This cultural dictionary of French provides the reader with clear and concise explanations of the crucial cultural dimension behind the most frequently used words and phrases found in the contemporary French press. This vital background information, gathered here in this innovative and entertaining dictionary, will allow readers to go beyond a superficial understanding of the French press and the French language in general to see the hidden yet implied cultural significance that is so transparent to the native speaker. This fully revised second edition includes: a broad range of cultural references from the historical and literary to the popular and classical; an enhanced analysis of punning mechanisms used in the press; over 3,000 cultural references explained with updated examples; a three-level indicator of frequency; new and expanded chapters on the French of Quebec, institutional and academic references, and English borrowings in the areas of IT and medical science; over 600 online questions to test knowledge before and after reading. The Routledge Dictionary of Cultural References in Modern French is the ideal reference for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of French seeking to enhance their understanding of the French language. It will also be of interest to teachers, translators and Francophiles alike. French students in khâgne, Sciences-Po and schools of journalism will also find this book valuable and relevant for their studies. Test questions and solutions are available at www.routledge.com/9780367376758, in addition to three online chapters. These bonus chapters explore figurative expressions involving the names of animals, the language of the law and slang terms.
This volume, in honor of Allan James, collects a range of articles from different domains of English studies as a token of Allan James's academic interests and his integrative approach to the field. The contributions in linguistics encompass a spectrum of topics including world Englishes, professional discourse, language acquisition, collocation, translation, and multilingualism. Cultural aspects in language teaching and in literary analysis enrich the reading and hint at Allan James' Welsh and Celtic roots while also going beyond that.
For the last 400 years, since the birth of the Stuart Dynasty in England with James VI in the early 17th century, when the contraction of negative forms of the English sentence began in earnest, (canonical) tag questions have been a great fascination to many users of English. Within the last sixty years, beginning with the birth of the generative paradigm, tag questions have equally been of particular interest to many scholars of linguistics from a variety of perspectives, especially those concerned with the syntax-semantics and socio-pragmatics of the English sentence. With the spread of English to other countries and the emergence of new Englishes in the post-colonial context of the non-native varieties spoken in former British colonies, it is particularly interesting to see how and why tag questions have evolved over time in daily usage in both form and function in different English speech communities around the world. The essays gathered here focus on this evolutionary trend of English tag questions, with special attention on the exoticisms that characterize current usage.
In this pioneering exploration of African American slang - a highly informal vocabulary and a significant aspect of African American English - Maciej Widawski explores patterns of form, meaning, theme and function, showing it to be a rule-governed, innovative and culturally revealing vernacular. Widawski's comprehensive description is based on a large database of contextual citations from thousands of contemporary sources, including literature and the press, music, film and television. It also includes an alphabetical glossary of 1,500 representative slang expressions, defined and illustrated by 4,500 usage examples. Due to its vast size, the glossary can stand alone as a dictionary providing readers with a reliable reference of terms. Combining scholarship with user-friendliness, this book is an insightful and practical resource for students and researchers in linguistics, as well as general readers interested in exploring lexical variation in contemporary English.
What do 'bimbo,' 'glitch,' 'savvy,' and 'shtick' all have in common? They are all expressions used in informal American English that have been taken from other languages. This pioneering book provides a comprehensive description of borrowings in informal American English, based on a large database of citations from thousands of contemporary sources, including the press, film, and TV. It presents the United States as a linguistic 'melting pot,' with words from a diverse range of languages now frequently appearing in the lexicon. It examines these borrowings from various perspectives, including discussions of terms, donors, types, changes, functions, and themes. It also features an alphabetical glossary of 1,200 representative expressions, defined and illustrated by 5,500 usage examples, providing an insightful and practical resource for readers. Combining scholarship with readability, this book is a fascinating storehouse of information for students and researchers in linguistics as well as anyone interested in lexical variation in contemporary English.
The Routledge Book of World Proverbs invites the reader to travel the globe in search of the origins of such words of wisdom, experiencing the rich cultural traditions reflected in each nation’s proverbs. This collection contains over 16,000 gems of humour and pathos that draw upon themes from our shared experiences of life. And we are not just invited to learn about other cultures; proverbs are ‘bits of ancient wisdom’ and thus teach us about our own history. Drawing together proverbs that transcend culture, time and space to provide a collection that is both useful and enjoyable, The Routledge Book of World Proverbs is, unquestionably, a book of enduring interest.