The English Language: Description, Variation and Context

This title offers a wide-ranging introduction to English language and linguistics, designed for undergraduates but infused with the latest research. It is written by a team of experts, in diverse fields with vast teaching experience, from the prestigious Lancaster University linguistics department. It features research-led approach, making with the latest developments in the field highly accessible for an undergraduate audience. It covers both traditional topics, such as phonology, grammar and semantics, and topics that have more recently come to prominence, such as language and power, politeness and language and politics. What is the English language like, why is it like that and what do we need to know in order to study it? This wide-ranging and research-led introductory textbook, written by experts in the field, provides students with the grounding in linguistics necessary to investigate these questions for themselves.