Language in use - Patrick Griffiths

Designed for introductory students, this collection of key readings in language and linguistics will take readers beyond their introductory textbook and introduce them to the thoughts and writings of many esteemed authorities. The reader includes seminal papers, new or controversial pieces to stimulate discussion and reports on applied work.

Language in Use:

• is split into four parts - 'Language and Interaction', 'Language Systems', 'Language and Society' and 'Language and Mind'
• covers all the topics of language study including conversation analysis, pragmatics, power and politeness, semantics, grammar, phonetics, multilingualism, child language acquisition and psycholinguistics
• has readings from authorities including Pinker, Fairclough, Crystal, Le Page and Tabouret-Keller, Hughes, Trudgill and Watt, Halliday, Sacks, Mills, Obler and Gjerlow
• provides comprehensive editorial support for each reading with introductions, activities or discussion points to follow and further reading
• Is supported by a companion website, offering extra resources for students including additional activities, useful weblinks and advice from the authors

Designed for use as a companion to Introducing Language in Use (Routledge, 2005), but also highly usable as a stand-alone text, thisReader will introduce readers to the wide world of linguistics and applied linguistics.

Patrick Griffiths has taught linguistics, applied linguistics and English language courses at the University of York (UK), at York St John, at the multi-country University of the South Pacific and, over the past four years, as a professor of English at Beppu University, in Japan.

Andrew Merrison has taught at the Universities of Durham, Edinburgh, York and at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh. He is currently a senior lecturer in linguistics at York St John University.

Aileen Bloomer is a principal lecturer at York St John University, having previously worked in Warwick, Sweden, Germany , Vietnam and China.

'From pragmatics and politeness, through Singlish and swearing to sign languages, and from ethnographic through systemic to experimental approaches, this appealing selection of readings provokes and promotes a critical approach to the study of language in use in a wide range of social contexts. With stimulating suggestions for follow-up activities and further reading, this is an ideal text for those embarking on the adventure of learning how to study language.' Janet Holmes, Head of School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

'Anybody who enjoyed reading "Introducing Language in Use" will find this reader an invaluable addition to be used in combination with it or indeed as an independent resource for students in self-study.' Miriam Locher, Professor of English Linguistics, Universitt Basel, Switzerland

'I can safely anticipate that students will pick this up and end up reading more than they intended to. Language in Use: A Reader looks to be useful for all three undergraduate levels in English Language. Not so much a resource book, more the horse's mouth.' Tim Parke, Principal Lecturer in Linguistics, University of Hertfordshire, UK

'This exciting new textbook covers a wide range of key reading material brought together in a single volume. It will enhance many study programmes in the fields of English Language and Linguistics, allowing students to 'stand on the shoulders of giants' and explore the backgrounds to their studies at a number of levels. A wonderful resource indeed!' Catherine Watts, Principal Lecturer, School of Language, Linguistics and Communication, University of Brighton, UK

'...brilliantly geared towards students.' - LINGUIST List