Social Linguistics

After 40 years of making a living using words in every medium, print or electronic, Roy Blount Jr. still can't get over his ABCs. In Alphabet Juice, he celebrates the juju, the sonic and kinetic energies of letters and their combinations. Blount does not prescribe proper English. The franchise he claims is "over the counter" and concentrates more on questions such as these: Did you know that both mammal and matter derive from baby talk? Have you noticed how wince makes you wince?

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.

David Korten argues that global corporate consolidation of power is but one manifestation of what he calls "Empire", the organization of society by hierarchies of dominance that have held sway for the past 5,000 years. Empire has always resulted in misery for the many and fortune for the few. Now it threatens the very future of humanity. The Great Turning traces the ancient roots of Empire and charts its long evolution from monarchies to the transnational institutions of the global economy.

The master of adventure, Edgar Rice Burroughs, tackles the Frankenstein myth. A demented scientist discovers how to create human life - not perfect but improving steadily with each attempt. He is forced to flee to remote Borneo to continue his gruesome experiments; each experiment becomes one of the Monster Men. Add a beautiful young daughter, a scheming criminal as assistant, head hunters, and wild jungle terrain, and you have The Monster Men!

Mr. Royston is driving his hansom through the night-time streets of Melbourne when he is hailed by a man supporting a slumped, intoxicated figure and requesting that the cabman take the unfortunate fellow home - before proceeding to drop his burden and make a rapid exit.

At one point in his moody, erotic, and barbarous romance of She, H. Rider Haggard puts into the mouth of his narrator, Horace L. Holly, the observation that her story sounded like some extraordinary invention of a speculative brain. That, precisely, is what She is: a really marvelously inventive story, combining an amazing variety of what should be utterly implausible ideas into a fabric that constantly feels like truth.

¿Sabías que constantemente estás siendo manipulado y ni siquiera te enteras? ¿Y que cuando tomas una decisión no consideras la información relevante, sino sólo la información que confirma tus creencias? ¿Te gustaría aumentar tu inteligencia? Este es un audiolibro práctico enfocado en la acción para el desarrollo de tu inteligencia y tu habilidad de pensamiento crítico para tomar decisiones. Eres lo que crees. Todo lo que haces, cómo te sientes o lo que quieres, está determinado por tus creencias.

Why do we love to swear so much? Why do we get so offended when others do it? In this lively and amusing exploration of the various puzzles that surround swearing, philosopher Rebecca Roache argues that what makes swearing offensive is not really the words at all: the offensiveness lies in what we don't say. The unspoken—and usually unconscious—inferences that speakers and listeners make about each other are key to explaining swearwords' capacity to shock.

In Framley Parsonage, the fourth novel of Trollope's Chronicles of Barsetshire, the author leaves the confines of Barchester and looks to the countryside, where he relates the moral difficulties of Mark Robarts, the young clergyman who has recently been appointed Vicar of Framley. Desperate to keep up with the local aristocracy, the country parson is persuaded to underwrite the debts of Sowerby, a well-respected peer.

The legendary Tarzan claims his birthright title as Lord Greystoke and starts a small family with Jane, now his wife. But just when things are going right, the evil Rokoff kidnaps Tarzan's infant son, Jack, luring Tarzan into a trap. After Rokoff exiles him on an island near the African coast, Tarzan uses his skills learned from the jungle to win the favor of various wild animals. Tarzan must enlist these creatures to help him track down Rokoff in order to save his family from certain demise.

The phrase 'this book will change your life' has become one of the clichés of the publishing world, but Martin Eden is certainly a novel that merits that observation. Set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, Jack London's semiautobiographical narrative tells of working class sailor Eden's struggle to elevate himself to a level of society wherein, he believes, reside the intellect and culture he craves. One of the reasons for this endeavour is Ruth Morse, with whom he has fallen in love.

While outright mimicry is obviously out of the question, you can certainly seek to mirror the communication styles of the people you're engaging with, in order to help you establish rapport and common ground. Suppose someone looks at you for just a couple of seconds before looking down, or goes past you and then looks back at you. This nonverbal style tells you something important about the person you're engaging - sustained eye contact is undesirable.

New York socialite Kit McNair decides to host an impromptu dinner party at the home of her friend, Jimmy Wilson, to cheer him up following his divorce. What could possibly go wrong?

Have you ever bunged it on? Behaved like a drongo? Added mayo to a story? Lost your Reg Grundies? Join bestselling storyteller William McInnes as he offers his own take on our colourful and colloquial way with words. From the simpler times of childhood to today's testing (and unprecedented!) times, or when we're wasting time, enjoying sporting times or hitting the big time, Australians have a turn of phrase for every situation. Our love of plain speaking communicates the essence of the thing to our mates, to those in the know - and to those who should know better.

This is the first volume of The Travels and Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Rudolf Erich Raspe. The Baron relates his fantastical experiences and exploits, telling of the many singular incidents such as climbing to the moon on a beanstalk, riding on a cannon ball, being swallowed by a fish and being rescued from its insides, flying on an eagle from Margate to America, and many other incredible adventures, and challenges anyone who doubts him, asserting he is "a traveler of veracity!"

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.

This 1880 book is about the Pepper family of five children and their widowed mother, Mamsie, a seamstress in a small New England town. Mamsie faces poverty with a brave heart, a smiling face, and the help of her children Ben, the eldest at the age of 11; Polly, always eager to cook for the family; the two little ones, Joel and Davie, and the baby Phronsie. The book has been a favorite of children, parents, and teachers for generations, and has inspired countless imaginations with its tender tales of the ways in which courage and good cheer overcome adversity.

What makes us human? Why are we the only animals who wear clothes, drive cars, trawl the internet, and fly helicopters on Mars? It’s all because we’ve learnt to talk, yet remarkably, we still don’t know how we did it. Speech! suggests an answer that’s been hiding in plain sight - the simple yet radical shift that turned our analog grunts and shrieks into words. But, its consequences are far from simple: being able to share ideas through language was an evolutionary tipping point - it allowed us to link up our minds.

"Phaedo", also known to ancient readers as "On the Soul", is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the "Republic" and the "Symposium". The "Phaedo", which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's fourth and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final day. In the dialogue, Socrates discusses the nature of the afterlife on his last day before being executed by drinking hemlock.

MERAKI: (Greek. n) The love, creativity, and passion you put into something; the act of leaving a piece of yourself in your work. Have you ever felt an emotion so profound, so unique, that you couldn't find the words to describe it? Meraki explores the breathtaking beauty of language, offering a captivating collection of over 100 words from around the globe – words that capture feelings you've experienced but never knew how to name. This exquisite book is a linguistic journey for the soul.