Books like Think On My Words by David Crystal

David Crystal explores the powerful, everyday tool of language, from its origins and child acquisition to social status and politeness, with engaging clarity and wit.

David Crystal has been described by The Times Higher Education Supplement as a "latter-day Samuel Johnson." Now in a delightfully decisive journey through the groves and thickets of the English language, he combines personal reflections, historical allusions, and traveler' s observations to create a mesmerizing and entertaining narrative account of his encounters with the language and its speakers. Starting in his British home and moving all the way to Poland and off to San Francisco, Crystal encounters numerous linguistic side roads that he cannot resist exploring. All is subject to Crystal's inquisitive exploration -- from pubs to trains to Tolkien -- and each digression casts new light on the development of English as it is spoken today. By Hook or by Crook is a linguistic travelogue like no other, an attempt to capture the seductive, quirky, teasing, tantalizing nature of language itself -- a jaunty, Bill Bryson-esque exploration of language by our foremost expert on the subject. - Jacket flap.

This new edition of his classic book includes material on the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation of New Englishes, footnotes and full bibliography.

The Cambridge Guide to English Usage is an A-Z reference book, giving an up-to-date account of the debatable issues of English usage and written style. Its advice draws on a wealth of recent research and data from very large corpora of American and British English - illuminating their many divergences and also points of convergence on which international English can be based. The book comprises more than 4000 points of word meaning, spelling, grammar and punctuation, and larger issues of inclusive language, and effective writing and argument. It also provides guidance on grammatical terminology, and covers topics in electronic communication and the internet. The discussion notes the major dictionaries, grammars and usage books in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia, allowing readers to calibrate their own practices as required. CGEU is descriptive rather than prescriptive, but offers a principled basis for implementing progressive or more conservative decisions on usage.

"This new, thoroughly revised edition of the acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language incorporates the major developments in language study which have taken place since the mid-1990s. Two main new areas have been added: the rise of electronic communication in all its current forms, from email to tweeting, and the crisis affecting the world's languages, of which half are thought to be so seriously endangered that they will the out this century." "Praise for the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language" "̀...magnificently demonstrates Professor Crystal's outstanding breadth of knowledge, incisiveness of judgment and superb skills at getting to the heart of highly complex issues in a clear and straightforward manner'.---Randolph Quirk, FBA" "̀... David Crystal has a great facility for explaining language issues with plain good sense, wit and admirable brevity'.---The Times Educational Supplement" "Ìnvestigates every conceivable corner of the world of language'.---The Christian Science Monitor'...remarkably accessible ... the writing is plain and non-technical ...' Toronto Globe and Mail"--BOOK JACKET.