The description of minority or threatened languages with a view to documenting the linguistic consequences of language contact and restriction has now emerged as a distinct area of investigation within sociolinguistics. In this book, Raymond Mougeon and Edouard Beniak present a series of analyses of the impact that contact with English on the one hand, and language-use restriction on the other, have had on the evolution of the French dialect spoken in the predominantly English-speaking province of Ontario, Canada. As a background to the analyses, the authors provide sociohistorical and sociolinguistic information on the Franco-Ontarian community, and make comparisons with other varieties of French both within and outside North America. They address fundamental theoretical issues such as the interplay between linguistic and extralinguistic causes of structural change and the mechanisms of linguistic change in bilingual as opposed to unilingual speech communities.

The Handbook of Dialectology provides an authoritative, up-to-date and unusually broad account of the study of dialect, in one volume. Each chapter reviews essential research, and offers a critical discussion of the past, present and future development of the area. * The volume is based on state-of-the-art research in dialectology around the world, providing the most current work available with an unusually broad scope of topics * Provides a practical guide to the many methodological and statistical issues surrounding the collection and analysis of dialect data * Offers summaries of dialect variation in the world s most widely spoken and commonly studied languages, including several non-European languages that have traditionally received less attention in general discussions of dialectology * Reviews the intellectual development of the field, including its main theoretical schools of thought and research traditions, both academic and applied * The editors are well known and highly respected, with a deep knowledge of this vast field of inquiry

'When it comes to distaff dirtiness, mainstream males such as Dickens and Dekker make easy pickings, but Green finds the greatest treasures when he mudlarks on the margins. In Sounds & Furies, he has dredged up some gems.' Emma Byrne, Spectator 'From fishwives to flappers and from music hall performers to Mumsnetters, women have indeed made contributions to the slang vocabulary of English; by bringing together so much fascinating material about their words and their worlds, this book makes its own contribution to the history of both women and language.' Professor Deborah Cameron, Professor of Language and Communication, Worcester College, University of Oxford 'Green comprehensively disproves that slang is inherently masculine. Mumsnetters and bulldaggers, flappers and slappers, shicksters and hash-slingers all put in their claims as slang-users in their own right in this entertaining and thought-provoking book. Any writer venturing into the contentious area of women as users, creators or objects of slang from now on will look to Green for guidance or for arguments.' Julie Coleman, author of The Life of Slang Slang. The ultimate in man-made languages. The male gaze made verbal. A world where words for intercourse mean 'man hits woman', the penis is a gun, a knife or club and the vagina a terrifying tunnel. Possibly with teeth. Two thousand words for woman and every one a put-down. Even 'mother' is simply short for the grossest of obscenities. Thus the story, now and for several hundred years. But stories are just that and perhaps there's an alternative. In this book Jonathon Green, the leading collector of English-language slang and drawing on forty years of research in the field, asks whether women have another role to play. As slang's active, positive, rebellious subject, rather than its endlessly derided, submissive object. Sounds & Furies represents a quest to overturn a long-established, but far from invulnerable belief system. To show that throughout a recorded history that starts with Chaucer's bawdy, mouthy and magnificently self-willed Wife of Bath and carries on through a cast of working girls and villainesses, playwrights and bestselling authors, shop-girls and fish-wives and through to the modern, on-line worlds of Mumsnet and Tinder, women have always made slang their own. If slang has always been the language of the margins, then women, for all their numbers, have also been consigned to the margins. Those days, it is ever more clear, are over. If slang has a role then it is to represent us at our most human. That may not mean 'admirable' but it surely means 'true'. And humanity is on offer to everyone, whatever gender they may claim. That goes for language, whatever its variety, too. From the foreword by sex historian Kate Lister: 'Patriarchal cultures have understood women, controlled women, and marginalised women. But, this book also reveals that it is the rebellious women who used slang: the fishwives, the scolds, the whores, and the harridans. Long may they continue to do so.'

Extensively revised and updated, this second edition provides, in an A-Z format, an analysis of the most important generalizations that have been made on the unidirectional change of grammatical forms and constructions. Based on the analysis of more than 1,000 languages, it reconstructs over 500 processes of grammatical change in the languages of the world, including East Asian languages such as Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Readers are provided with the tools to discover how lexical and grammatical meanings can be related to one another in a principled way, how such issues as polysemy, heterosemy, and transcategoriality are dealt with, and why certain linguistic forms have simultaneous lexical and grammatical functions. Definitions of lexical concepts are provided with examples from a broad variety of languages, and references to key relevant research literature. Linguists and other scholars will gain a better understanding of languages on a worldwide scale.

Every page in this new volume of the "Dictionary of American Regional English" makes it wonderfully clear that regional expressions still flourish throughout the United States.

Depending on where you live, your conversation may include such beguiling terms as "paddybass" (North Carolina), "pinkwink" (Cape Cod), or "scallyhoot" (West); if you're invited to a potluck dinner, in Indiana you're likely to call it a "pitch-in," while in northern Illinois it's a "scramble"; if your youngsters play hopscotch, they may call it "potsy" in Manhattan, but "sky blue" in Chicago.

Like the popular first three volumes of "DARE," the fourth is a treasure-trove of linguistic gems, a book that invites exclamation, delight, and wonder. More than six hundred maps pinpoint where you might live if your favorite card games are sheepshead and skat; if you eat "pan dulce" rather than "pain perdu"; if you drive down a "red dog road" or make a purchase at a "racket store"; or if you look out your window and see a "parka squirrel" or a "quill pig."

The language of our everyday lives is captured in "DARE," along with expressions our grandparents used but our children will never know. Based on thousands of interviews across the country, the "Dictionary of American Regional English" presents our language in its infinite variety. Word lovers will delight in the wit and wisdom found in the quotations that illustrate each entry, and will prize the richness and diversity of our spoken and written culture.

Pull up a bollard and get to know the colourful language of the Royal Canadian Navy. Do you ever get channel fever so bad only a great homeward bounders will cure you? Have you ever met Tug Wilson the brass-pounder, Dusty Miller the blanket stacker, or Nobby Clark the stoker? From aback to zizEX, the second edition of Jackspeak of the Royal Canadian Navy gives readers a chance to fill their boots with the colourful language of Canada's senior service. Learn the difference between duff and no duff, box kickers and gut robbers, and Nelson's blood and Neptune's dandruff. Newly revised and expanded, with over 2,500 terms included!

One of the best ways to learn a language is by studying the media that native speakers themselves listen to and read, and popular songs can also reveal much about the culture and traditions of an area where the language is spoken. Following on the success of his Kilma Hilwa: Egyptian Arabic through Popular Songs (AUC Press, 2015), Cairo-based Arabic teacher Bahaa Ed-Din Ossama now brings together twenty songs in Modern Standard Arabic performed by popular singers of the Arab world from Abd al-Halim Hafez to Fairouz and builds a variety of language lessons around them, with notes on vocabulary, grammar, and usage, and communicative exercises in listening, writing, and speaking. The songs are graded from easiest to most difficult, and each lesson includes a link to a performance of the song on YouTube, the lyrics of the song, and notes on the songwriter, the composer, and the singer. Students using this unique book will not only improve their Arabic skills but will also gain an insight into the cultural landscape of the Arab world. The book can be used in the classroom or for self-study.Includes songs by: Abd al-Halim Hafez, Fairouz, Fuad Abd al-Magid, Karem Mahmoud, Kazem al-Saher, Muhammad Abd al-Wahab, Nagat al-Saghira, Rima Khashish, and Umm Kulthum.

'A persuasive and beautifully written take on how languages are constantly evolving... an enthralling read about human psychology and anthropology as well as linguistics.' ALEX BELLOS ___________________________________ 'Language is mankind's greatest invention - except of course, that it was never invented'. So begins Guy Deutscher's fascinating investigation into the evolution of language. No one believes that the Roman Senate sat down one day to design the complex system that is Latin grammar, and few believe, these days, in the literal truth of the story of the Tower of Babel. But then how did there come to be so many languages, and of such elaborate design? If we started off with rudimentary utterances on the level of 'man throw spear', how did we end up with sophisticated grammars, enormous vocabularies, and intricately nuanced shades of meaning? Drawing on recent, groundbreaking discoveries in modern linguistics, Deutscher exposes the elusive forces of creation at work in human communication. Along the way, we learn why German maidens are neuter while German turnips are female, why we have feet not foots, and how great changes in pronunciation may result from simple laziness... _____________________ 'Powerful and thrilling' SPECTATOR 'Really ought to be read by anyone who persists in complaining that the English language is going to the dogs' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'I was enthralled' A.S. Byatt, for GUARDIAN 'Books of the Year' 'Highly original... clever and convincing... this book will stretch your mind' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Fascinating' BOSTON GLOBE

For the 411 on American slang, this guidebook is the top banana. .

From "head trip" to "foot in mouth," "American Slang Dictionary" gives you the complete definitions of thousands of uniquely American words and phrases, ranging from golden oldies such as "catch some rays" and "take the fifth" to more up-to-the-minute coinages like Wall Street's "jonx," the Internet's "ping," and the gangsta's favorite, "shizzle.," .

Inside you'll find more than 12,000 words and expressions from a wide variety of sources, including gangsta rap, the blogosphere, and the U.S. prison system. In a New York minute, you'll be down with the colloquialisms, vulgarities, and substandard English that make everyday interactions in contemporary American life so colorful.. .

BSOD or blue screen of death the blue computer screen that appears after a programming or operational error
. crunk wild; crazy; out of control
. kvetch to complain
. left-handed monkey wrench a nonexistent tool
. word of mouse a message spread by e-mail
. . .

Unique subject guide to over 20,000 Scots words. * Subject-by-subject access to Scots words with definitions in English * Wide-ranging coverage of different subjects including animal and plant life, farming and fishing, food and drink, emotions and character * Introduction commenting on the distinctive aspects and qualities of the Scots language * English index to guide users to the appropriate Scots words

The Pocket Scots Dictionary, based on the Concise Scots Dictionary, provides information on Scots language for the general public and for schools in a compact and user-friendly form. * Scots words old and new, general and local * Clear, simple definitions * Pronunciation guide for difficult words * Literary uses as in Burns and Scott * Brief history of Scots

Slang is often seen as a lesser form of language, one that is simply not as meaningful or important as its 'regular' counterpart. Connie Eble refutes this notion as she reveals the sources, poetry, symbolism, and subtlety of informal slang expressions. In Slang and Sociability , Eble explores the words and phrases that American college students use casually among themselves. Based on more than 10,000 examples submitted by Eble's students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over the last twenty years, the book shows that slang is dynamic vocabulary that cannot be dismissed as deviant or marginal. Like more formal words and phrases, slang is created, modified, and transmitted by its users to serve their own purposes. In the case of college students, these purposes include cementing group identity and opposing authority. The book includes a glossary of the more than 1,000 slang words and phrases discussed in the text, as well as a list of the 40 most enduring terms since 1972. Examples from the glossary: group gropes -- encounter groups squirrel kisser -- environmentalist Goth -- student who dresses in black and listens to avant-garde music bad bongos -- situation in which things do not go well triangle -- person who is stupid or not up on the latest za -- pizza smoke -- to perform well dead soldier -- empty beer container toast -- in big trouble, the victim of misfortune parental units -- parents |In this updated edition of his balanced and concise look at the still-controversial decision to use atomic bombs against Japan, Walker takes into account more recent scholarship on the topic, including new findings on the Japanese decision to surrender.

Once upon a time, the worst words you could utter were short, simple and tended to be four letters in length. Now things are more complicated. To be insulted as a 'snowflake' or an 'expert' is arguably worse than being called a **** or a **** or even a ****. So what are today's 'bad words' and how are they different from yesterday's taboo expressions? This entertaining guide to the shifting sands of bad language is indispensable in an increasingly divided world in which abuse becomes ever more widespread and vituperative. Philip Gooden shows how and why taboo words and contentious expressions, including those four-letter ones, were first used in English. He discusses the ways such words have changed over the years and explores how a single syllable or two may possess an almost magical power to offend, distress or infuriate. Bad Words investigates the most controversial and provocative words in the English language in a way that is both anecdotal and analytical. Combining intrigue and scandal, the book delves into expressions connected to religion, ethnicity, nationality, politics, swearing and oaths, and includes contemporary issues like political correctness and elitism.

This is the first volume in a complete history of the documentation of English cant and slang from 1567 to the present. It gives unparalleled insights into the early history of slang, the people who used it, and how and why it was recorded.
Well over a hundred glossaries of cant and slang were published between 1567 and 1784. The cant lists reveal the secret language allegedly used by thieves and beggars to conceal their illicit conspiracies: Dr Coleman investigates where and how they were produced and the relationship between such lists and canting literature. She considers why this period was so fascinated by crime and by criminals, and apparently so obsessed with the need to record their language. How far, she asks, are the lists genuine records of contemporary cant, and how far the products of literary invention? Who produced them, and how were they researched? Who bought them, and what did they hope to gain from them? This absorbing and astute book will be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in English slang and its history. It also provides unusual and unexpected insights into the underworlds of early modern England.

Extensively revised and updated, this second edition provides, in an A-Z format, an analysis of the most important generalizations that have been made on the unidirectional change of grammatical forms and constructions. Based on the analysis of more than 1,000 languages, it reconstructs over 500 processes of grammatical change in the languages of the world, including East Asian languages such as Chinese, Korean and Japanese. Readers are provided with the tools to discover how lexical and grammatical meanings can be related to one another in a principled way, how such issues as polysemy, heterosemy, and transcategoriality are dealt with, and why certain linguistic forms have simultaneous lexical and grammatical functions. Definitions of lexical concepts are provided with examples from a broad variety of languages, and references to key relevant research literature. Linguists and other scholars will gain a better understanding of languages on a worldwide scale.

The Bavarian Dictionary uses the principles of modern lexicography and draws on a vastly larger body of source material to continue the tradition of Johann Andreas Schmeller s Bavarian Dictionary, a work still available in De Gruyter s catalog. The Bavarian Dictionary will contain some 25,000 entries upon completion, covering all dialects currently spoken in the German state of Bavaria."

What is involved in acquiring a new dialect - for example, when Canadian English speakers move to Australia or African American English-speaking children go to school? How is such learning different from second language acquisition (SLA), and why is it in some ways more difficult? These are some of the questions Jeff Siegel examines in this book, which focuses specifically on second dialect acquisition (SDA). Siegel surveys a wide range of studies that throw light on SDA. These concern dialects of English as well as those of other languages, including Dutch, German, Greek, Norwegian, Portuguese and Spanish. He also describes the individual and linguistic factors that affect SDA, such as age, social identity and language complexity. The book discusses problems faced by students who have to acquire the standard dialect without any special teaching, and presents some educational approaches that have been successful in promoting SDA in the classroom.

What is the explanation for the nature, character and evolution of the many different varieties of English in the world today? Which changes in the English language are the legacy of its origins and which are the product of novel influences in the places to which it was transported? Roots of English is a groundbreaking investigation into four dialects from parts of northern Britain out of which came the founding populations of many regions in other parts of the world. Sali Tagliamonte comprehensively describes and analyses the key features of the dialects and their implications for subsequent developments of English. Her examination of dialect features contributes substantive evidence for assessing and understanding bigger issues in sociolinguistic theory. Based on exciting new findings, the book will appeal to those interested in dialects, from the Anglophile to the syntactician.

This book analyses data from a variety of sources, including soap operas, movies, plays, talk shows and other audiovisual material, to examine attitude datives in Levantine Arabic. It looks at four types of interpersonal pragmatic marker: topic/affectee-oriented, speaker-oriented, hearer-oriented and subject-oriented to explore the meaning contribution of attitude datives as they are used in particular interactions. It examines the contextual factors that inform and are informed by their use and deepens our understanding of the interaction between social dimensions and pragmatic markers.

Singaporean English is an indigenized variety of the language which has developed chiefly through English-medium education. The authors of this book investigate the various factors influencing the indigenization of the language and its use in the family and the wider community. They present the results of quantitative research based on recordings of spontaneous speech of ethnically Chinese Singaporeans who have received an English-medium education. They also trace the influence on Singaporean English of Chinese, Malay, and Indian language characteristics, and examine certain linguistic features in detail, such as the formation of plurals, the use of the past tense, and the verb to be. This study will be invaluable for linguistic researchers; it also has important pedagogical implications for curriculum planners and language teachers.

Heller and McElhinny reinterpret sociolinguistics for the twenty-first century with an original approach to the study of language that is situated in the political and economic contexts of colonialism and capitalism. In the process, they map out a critical history of how language serves, and has served, as a terrain for producing and reproducing social inequalities. The authors ask how, and by whom, ideas about language get unevenly shaped, offering new perspectives that will excite readers and incite further research for years to come.

Lays out key corpus-building strategies for working with regional data at different levels of linguistic analysis: syntax, lexicon, morphology, and phonetics/phonology. Shows how traditional methods of Historical Dialectology can benefit from new methods of data-collection to test out theoretical and empirical claims. Highlights opportunities and pitfalls for analysing the relation between sound systems and spellingsDrawing on the resources created by the Institute of Historical Dialectology at the University of Edinburgh (now the Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics), such as eLALME (the electronic version A Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English), LAEME (A Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English) and LAOS (A Linguistic Atlas of Older Scots), this volume illustrates how traditional methods of historical dialectology can benefit from new methods of data-collection to test out theoretical and empirical claims. In showcasing the results that these resources can yield in the digital age, the book highlights novel methods for presenting, mapping and analysing the quantitative data of historical dialects, and sets the research agenda for future work in this field.

Examines the social functions of attitude dative pronouns in four Arabic dialects Analysing data from a variety of sources, including soap operas, movies, plays, talk shows and other audiovisual material, this book examines attitude datives - pragmatic markers that deal with interpersonal attitudes and relations - in Levantine Arabic. It examines four types of attitude dative in context to deepen our understanding of the interaction between social dimensions and pragmatic markers. Using data from Syrian, Lebanese, Jordanian and Palestinian dialects it provides a valuable non-European perspective on language use.Documents the phenomenon of attitude datives in four Levantine Arabic dialectsUtilises data from a variety of sources including soap operas, movies, plays, talk showsExamines four types of attitude datives: topic/affectee-oriented, speaker-oriented, hearer-oriented, and subject-orientedAnalyses the evaluative and relational functions of attitude datives as interpersonal pragmatic markers in their social contexts