In this highly readable and thought-provoking book, Delia Chiaro explores the pragmatics of word play, using frameworks normally adopted in descriptive linguistics. Using examples from personally recorded conversations, she examines the structure of jokes, quips, riddles and asides. Chiaro explores degrees of conformity to and deviation from established conventions; the tellability' of jokes, and the interpretative role of the listener; the creative use of puns, word play and discourse. The emphasis in her analysis is on sociocultural contexts for the production and reception of jokes, and she examines the extent to which jokes are both universal in their appeal, and specific to a particular culture.

This collection consists of 15 articles by an international group of linguists and 7 essays by the editors, tackling a broad range of issues and representing some of the most authoritative work in English dialect grammar.Individual chapters cover the full international range of English dialects, from the centre of Sydney to the shores of Newfoundland, and from the Scottish borders to the Appalachian Mountains. Soundly based on empirical research, they are rich in data of great interest in itself, but no article is merely descriptive. The editors have selected papers for their value in contributing to the reader's broader understanding of the theoretical issues concerning dialectology as a whole. As a result, dialectology is presented as a major scholarly discipline drawing creatively on such areas as linguistics, sociology, psychology, history, geography and even philosophy. These and other themes are explored in a wide-ranging Introduction by the editors, which sets the individual pieces and the subject in context for the reader.

Covers the dialects of East and West Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Alsace and Luxembourg. There is a description of the dialect structure of each region, illustrated with phonological, grammatical and lexical examples.

First published in 1933, this book explores both contemporary and historical slang, focusing on the characteristics and quirks of the English and American languages. As well as looking at commonly used slang, there are sections that give the reader insight into more unusual areas such as Cockney slang, slang in journalism and slang in commerce, as well as slang used by sailors, the law and the church. The book will be of interest to scholars and the general readers who take an interest in language.

First published in 1949 (this edition in 1968), this book is a dictionary of the past, exploring the language of the criminal and near-criminal worlds. It includes entries from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, as well as from Britain and America and offers a fascinating and unique study of language. The book provides an invaluable insight into social history, with the British vocabulary dating back to the 16th century and the American to the late 18th century. Each entry comes complete with the approximate date of origin, the etymology for each word, and a note of the milieu in which the expression arose.

The maps presented in this volume, first published in 1987, are based on the material of the Survey of English Dialects which was collected from over 300 localities between 1948 and 1961. The 200 word and sound maps included in this title will lead the reader into the fascinating world of the dialects of the different regions of England. This book will be of interest to students of English language and linguistics.

The editors and fourteen other research linguists discuss -- in English and in Spanish -- the African influence on Caribbean phonology, dominant sociolinguistic attitudes in Puerto Rico, and historico-legal aspects of bilingualism in colonial Hispanic America.

First published in 1988. Arabic linguistics is developing into an increasingly interesting and important subject within the broad field of modern linguistic studies. The scope of this discipline is wide and varied, covering diverse areas such as Arabic phonetics, phonology and grammar, Arabic psycholinguistics, Arabic dialectology, Arabic lexicography and lexicology, Arabic sociolinguistics, the teaching and learning of Arabic as a first, second, or foreign language. The present work by Prochazka is the first general survey of the dialects of Saudi Arabia covering a wide range from north to south recording of linguistic variation in that vast region. It is particularly strong in covering a number of localities in the southwest and it is the first linguistic study of the dialect of the Ruwala bedouin of the northern desert. The work reveals a major division into two areal blocks: (i) the southern Hijaz and Tihamah and (ii) the Najdi and Eastern Arabian dialects.

First published in 1987, this atlas identifies structural patterns which exist in the sound systems of the dialects of England. It regards variation, not as something to be ignored or avoided, but as a central and essential feature of dialect, which must be accounted for in a systematic way. The study identifies some of the more prominent structural boundaries between dialect areas and argues that discrete boundaries do not exist: rather there are a number of areas separated by bands of dialects in which conflicting partial systems exist.

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1949 (this edition in 1968), this book is a dictionary of the past, exploring the language of the criminal and near-criminal worlds. It includes entries from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, as well as from Britain and America and offers a fascinating and unique study of language. The book provides an invaluable insight into social history, with the British vocabulary dating back to the 16th century and the American to the late 18th century. Each entry comes complete with the approximate date of origin, the etymology for each word, and a note of the milieu in which the expression arose.

First published in 1942, this dictionary was designed to help civilians and members of H.M. forces to make their way amid the jungle of wartime abbreviations. The preface notes that newspaper readers, sailors, soldiers and airmen had to thrust themselves, like explorers, into these abbreviations in search of truth, or the execution of their martial duty and hence, a dictionary was necessary. This book will be of interest to scholars of history and language, as well as the more general, interested reader.

This re-issue of Julian Franklyn's classic dictionary not only defines these expressions but also explains their origin and history. An introductory essay examines the roots and development of rhyming slang. Although many people assume that rhyming slang is exclusively Cockney, Franklyn illustrates how it is common to Australian and Americn dialects.
From the unlikely to the bizarre, the 1,500 entries both entertain and enlighten. Cartoons enliven a reference section which combines linguistic detail and cultural analysis. Whether reading the dictionary from cover to cover, or dipping into it as a reference tool, linguists and students of popular culture will find it the definitive source of information on rhyming slang.

This book discusses the methodology of systematic Chinese Dialect classification, with particular attention to the conservative Miin and Hakka groups spoken in southern China. The primary linguistic methodology employed is the historical-comparative method, and the dialects chosen as examples of classification are those spoken in and around the township of Wann'an in western Fukien's Longyan country. The book features extensive comparative tables of dialect forms, and a two-hundred page appendix outlining the diasystem of the four principal Wann'an dialects.

Over the past few decades, the book series Linguistische Arbeiten [Linguistic Studies], comprising over 500 volumes, has made a significant contribution to the development of linguistic theory both in Germany and internationally. The series will continue to deliver new impulses for research and maintain the central insight of linguistics that progress can only be made in acquiring new knowledge about human languages both synchronically and diachronically by closely combining empirical and theoretical analyses. To this end, we invite submission of high-quality linguistic studies from all the central areas of general linguistics and the linguistics of individual languages which address topical questions, discuss new data and advance the development of linguistic theory.

Contains revised papers from a September 1996 symposium which provided a forum for synchronically and diachronically oriented scholars to exchange ideas and for American and European cognitive linguists to confront representatives of different directions in European structural semantics. Papers are in sections on theories and models, descriptive categories, and case studies, and examine areas such as cognitive and structural semantics, diachronic prototype semantics, synecdoche as a cognitive and communicative strategy, and intensifiers as targets and sources of semantic change.

Booklist Top of the List Reference Source

The heir and successor to Eric Partridge's brilliant magnum opus, The Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, this two-volume New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is the definitive record of post WWII slang.

Containing over 60,000 entries, this new edition of the authoritative work on slang details the slang and unconventional English of the English-speaking world since 1945, and through the first decade of the new millennium, with the same thorough, intense, and lively scholarship that characterized Partridge's own work.

Unique, exciting and, at times, hilariously shocking, key features include:

• unprecedented coverage of World English, with equal prominence given to American and British English slang, and entries included from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, South Africa, Ireland, and the Caribbean
• emphasis on post-World War II slang and unconventional English
• published sources given for each entry, often including an early or significant example of the term s use in print.
• hundreds of thousands of citations from popular literature, newspapers, magazines, movies, and songs illustrating usage of the headwords
• dating information for each headword
• in the tradition of Partridge, commentary on the term s origins and meaning

New to this edition:

• A new preface noting slang trends of the last five years
• Over 1,000 new entries from the US, UK and Australia
• New terms from the language of social networking
• Many entries now revised to include new dating, new citations from written sources and new glosses

The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English is a spectacular resource infused with humour and learning it s rude, it s delightful, and it s a prize for anyone with a love of language.

In addition to this hard back two volume set, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English will also be the first slang dictionary available on-line, giving readers unprecedented access to the rich world of slang. For details, including hardback plus on-line bundle offers, please visit www.partridgeslangonline.com "

Western Words has 5,000 words of cowboy language as vibrant now as it was in the old American frontier. "Within the cowman's figures of speech lie the rich field of his subtle humor and strength-unique, original, full-flavored. With his usually limited education he squeezes the juice from language, molds it to suit his needs, and is a genius at making a verb out of anything. He 'don't have to fish 'round for no decorated language to make his meanin' clear, ' and has little patience with the man who 'spouts words that run eight to the pound.' Perhaps the strength and originality in his speech are due to the solitude, the nearness of the stars, the bigness of the country, and the far horizons-all of which give him a chance to think clearly and go into the depths of his own mind. Wide spaces 'don't breed chatterboxes.' On his long and lonely rides, he is not forced to listen to the scandal and idle gossip that dwarf a man's mind. Quite frequently he has no one to talk to but a horse..." -from the author's Introduction

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that provide new insights by approaching language from an interdisciplinary perspective. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

Social scientists have used the term "Creolization" to evoke cultural fusion and the emergence of new cultures across the globe. However, the term has been under-theorized and tends to be used as a simple synonym for "mixture" or "hybridity." In this volume, by contrast, renowned scholars give the term historical and theoretical specificity by examining the very different domains and circumstances in which the process takes place. Elucidating the concept in this way not only uncovers a remarkable history, it also re-opens the term for new theoretical use. It illuminates an ill-understood idea, explores how the term has operated and signified in different disciplines, times, and places, and indicates new areas of study for a dynamic and fascinating process.

This volume brings together a multiplicity of voices--both theoretical and practical--on the complex politics, challenges, and strategies of educating students--in North America and worldwide--who are speakers of diverse or nonstandard varieties of English, creoles, and hybrid varieties of English, such as African American Vernacular English, Caribbean Creole English, Tex Mex, West African Pidgin English, and Indian English, among others. The number of such students is increasing as a result of the spread of English, internal and global migration, and increased educational access. Dialects, Englishes, Creoles, and Education offers: *a sociohistorical perspective on language spread and variation; *analysis of related issues such as language attitudes, identities, and prescribed versus actual language use; and *practical suggestions for pedagogy. Pedagogical features: Key points at the beginning of each chapter help focus the reader and provide a framework for reading, writing, reflection, and discussion; chapter-end questions for discussion and reflective writing engage and challenge the ideas presented and encourage a range of approaches in dealing with language diversity. Collectively, the chapters in this volume invite educators, researchers, and students, across the fields of TESOL, applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, English, literacy, and language education, to begin to consider and adopt context-specific policies and practices that will improve the language development and academic performance of linguistically diverse students.