Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English is a landmark volume in the development of vocabulary frequency studies. Whereas previous books have in general given frequency information about the written language only, this book provides information on both speech and writing. It not only gives information about the language as a whole, but also about the differences between spoken and written English, and between different spoken and written varieties of the language. The frequencies are derived from a wide ranging and up-to-date corpus of English: the British National Corpus, which was compiled from over 4,000 written texts and spoken transcriptions representing the present day language in the UK. The book is based on a new version of the corpus (available from 2001) providing more accurate grammatical information, which is essential (for example) for distinguishing words like leaves (noun) and leaves (verb) with different meanings. The book begins with a general introduction, explaining why such information is important and highlighting interesting linguistic findings that emerge from the statistical analysis of the British National Corpus vocabulary. It also contains twenty four 'interest boxes' which highlight and comment on different aspects of frequency - for example, the most common colour words in English in order of frequency, and a comparison of male words (e.g. man) and female words (e.g. woman) in terms of their frequency.

A Communicative Grammar of English has long been established as a grammar innovative in approach, reliable in coverage, and clear in its explanations. This fully revised and redesigned third edition provides up-to-date and accessible help to teachers, advanced learners and undergraduate students of English. Part One looks at the way English grammar varies in different types of English, such as 'formal' and 'informal', 'spoken' and 'written'; Part Two focuses on the uses of grammar rather than on grammatical structure and Part Three provides a handy alphabetically arranged guide to English grammar. A new workbook, The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook also accompanies this edition.

Word Frequencies in Written and Spoken English is a landmark volume in the development of vocabulary frequency studies. Whereas previous books have in general given frequency information about the written language only, this book provides information on both speech and writing. It not only gives information about the language as a whole, but also about the differences between spoken and written English, and between different spoken and written varieties of the language. The frequencies are derived from a wide ranging and up-to-date corpus of English: the British National Corpus, which was compiled from over 4,000 written texts and spoken transcriptions representing the present day language in the UK. The book is based on a new version of the corpus (available from 2001) providing more accurate grammatical information, which is essential (for example) for distinguishing words like leaves (noun) and leaves (verb) with different meanings. The book begins with a general introduction, explaining why such information is important and highlighting interesting linguistic findings that emerge from the statistical analysis of the British National Corpus vocabulary. It also contains twenty four 'interest boxes' which highlight and comment on different aspects of frequency - for example, the most common colour words in English in order of frequency, and a comparison of male words (e.g. man) and female words (e.g. woman) in terms of their frequency.
Geoffrey Leech is Research Professor in English Linguistics at Lancaster University. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of more than 20 books (most of them published by Longman) on Linguistics and the English Language.
Paul Rayson is aResearch Fellow in the Department of Computing, Lancaster University and has extensive experience of statistical corpus analysis and corpus annotation. Andrew Wilson is a Lecturer in Computer Corpus Linguistics at Lancaster University. He has been involved in corpus research since 1990 and has written several books, including Corpus Linguistics (1996, co-authored with Tony McEnery).

Corpus Annotation gives an up-to-date picture of this fascinating new area of research, and will provide essential reading for newcomers to the field as well as those already involved in corpus annotation. Early chapters introduce the different levels and techniques of corpus annotation. Later chapters deal with software developments, applications, and the development of standards for the evaluation of corpus annotation. While the book takes detailed account of research world-wide, its focus is particularly on the work of the UCREL (University Centre for Computer Corpus Research on Language) team at Lancaster University, which has been at the forefront of developments in the field of corpus annotation since its beginnings in the 1970s.

This book has evolved from a Workshop on Computerized Speech Corpora, held at Lancaster University in 1993. It brings together the findings presented in a clear and coherent manner, focussing on the advantages and disadvantages of particular transcription or mark-up practice.

This book has evolved from a Workshop on Computerized Speech Corpora, held at Lancaster University in 1993. It brings together the findings presented in a clear and coherent manner, focussing on the advantages and disadvantages of particular transcription or mark-up practice.

Corpus Annotation gives an up-to-date picture of this fascinating new area of research, and will provide essential reading for newcomers to the field as well as those already involved in corpus annotation. Early chapters introduce the different levels and techniques of corpus annotation. Later chapters deal with software developments, applications, and the development of standards for the evaluation of corpus annotation. While the book takes detailed account of research world-wide, its focus is particularly on the work of the UCREL (University Centre for Computer Corpus Research on Language) team at Lancaster University, which has been at the forefront of developments in the field of corpus annotation since its beginnings in the 1970s.

Over a period of over forty years, Geoffrey Leech has made notable contributions to the field of literary stylistics, using the interplay between linguistic form and literary function as a key to the mystery of how a text comes to be invested with artistic potential. In this book, seven earlier papers and articles, read previously only by a restricted audience, have been brought together with four new chapters, the whole volume showing a continuity of approach across a period when all too often literary and linguistic studies have appeared to drift further apart. Leech sets the concept of foregrounding (also known as defamiliarization) at the heart of the interplay between form and interpretation. Through practical and insightful examination of how poems, plays and prose works produce special meaning, he counteracts the flight from the text that has characterized thinking about language and literature in the last thirty years, when the response of the reader, rather than the characteristics and meaning potential of the text itself, have been given undue prominence. The book provides an enlightening analysis of well-known (as well as less well-known) texts of great writers of the past, including Keats, Shelley, Samuel Johnson, Shaw, Dylan Thomas, and Virginia Woolf.

Over a period of over forty years, Geoffrey Leech has made notable contributions to the field of literary stylistics, using the interplay between linguistic form and literary function as a key to the 'mystery' of how a text comes to be invested with artistic potential. In this book, seven earlier papers and articles, read previously only by a restricted audience, have been brought together with four new chapters, the whole volume showing a continuity of approach across a period when all too often literary and linguistic studies have appeared to drift further apart. Leech sets the concept of 'foregrounding' (also known as defamiliarization) at the heart of the interplay between form and interpretation. Through practical and insightful examination of how poems, plays and prose works produce special meaning, he counteracts the 'flight from the text' that has characterized thinking about language and literature in the last thirty years, when the response of the reader, rather than the characteristics and meaning potential of the text itself, have been given undue prominence. The book provides an enlightening analysis of well-known (as well as less well-known) texts of great writers of the past, including Keats, Shelley, Samuel Johnson, Shaw, Dylan Thomas, and Virginia Woolf.

A Communicative Grammar of English by Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik, first published in 1975, has established itself as a grammar innovative in approach, reliable in coverage, and clear in its explanations. Now this fully revised and redesigned third edition provides an up-to-date and accessible resource for teachers, advanced learners and undergraduate students of English. Accompanying this third edition, there is a completely new Workbook co-authored by ELT specialists Edward Woods and Rudy Coppieters, which will help students to 'internalise' the contents of the grammar. A Communicative Grammar of English employs a communicative rather than a structural approach to the learning of English grammar. This edition is divided into three parts. Part One: A guide to the use of this book - looks at the way English grammar varies in different types of English, for example 'formal' and 'informal', 'spoken' and 'written'. Part Two: Grammar in use - the central and largest part of the book, presents grammar through the eyes of the communicator and focuses on the uses of grammar rather than on grammatical structure. Part Three: A-Z in English grammar - provides a useful and alphabetically arranged guide to English grammar. This new edition includes more real examples taken from corpus data. Increased emphasis is given to grammar in spoken language, providing a better balance between written and spoken English. Explanations and examples have been made simpler in order to make the grammar more accessible to students. GEOFFREY LEECH is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language at Lancaster University, UK, and JAN SVARTVIK is Emeritus Professor of English atLund University, Sweden.

The chapters in this volume feature new and groundbreaking research carried out by leading scholars and promising young researchers from around the world on recent changes in the English verb phrase. Drawing on authentic corpus data, the papers consider both spoken and written English in several genres. Each contribution pays particular attention to the methodologies used for investigating short-term patterns of change in English, with detailed discussions of controversies in this area. This cutting-edge collection is essential reading for historians of the English language, syntacticians and corpus linguists.

This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.

Based on the systematic analysis of large amounts of computer-readable text, this book shows how the English language has been changing in the recent past, often in unexpected and previously undocumented ways. The study is based on a group of matching corpora, known as the 'Brown family' of corpora, supplemented by a range of other corpus materials, both written and spoken, drawn mainly from the later twentieth century. Among the matters receiving particular attention are the influence of American English on British English, the role of the press, the 'colloquialization' of written English, and a wide range of grammatical topics, including the modal auxiliaries, progressive, subjunctive, passive, genitive and relative clauses. These subjects build an overall picture of how English grammar is changing, and the linguistic and social factors that are contributing to this process.

Based on the systematic analysis of large amounts of computer-readable text, this 2009 book shows how the English language has been changing in the recent past, often in unexpected and previously undocumented ways. The study is based on a group of matching corpora, known as the 'Brown family' of corpora, supplemented by a range of other corpus materials, both written and spoken, drawn mainly from the later twentieth century. Among the matters receiving particular attention are the influence of American English on British English, the role of the press, the 'colloquialization' of written English, and a wide range of grammatical topics, including the modal auxiliaries, progressive, subjunctive, passive, genitive and relative clauses. These subjects build an overall picture of how English grammar is changing, and the linguistic and social factors that are contributing to this process.

This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.

This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.

The chapters in this volume feature new and groundbreaking research carried out by leading scholars and promising young researchers from around the world on recent changes in the English verb phrase. Drawing on authentic corpus data, the papers consider both spoken and written English in several genres. Each contribution pays particular attention to the methodologies used for investigating short-term patterns of change in English, with detailed discussions of controversies in this area. This cutting-edge collection is essential reading for historians of the English language, syntacticians and corpus linguists.

This is the fully revised and expanded second edition of English - One Tongue, Many Voices, a book by three internationally distinguished English language scholars who tell the fascinating, improbable saga of English in time and space. Chapters trace the history of the language from its obscure beginnings over 1500 years ago as a collection of dialects spoken by marauding, illiterate tribes. They show how the geographical spread of the language in its increasing diversity has made English into an international language of unprecedented range and variety. The authors examine the present state of English as a global language and the problems, pressures and uncertainties of its future, online and offline. They argue that, in spite of the amazing variety and plurality of English, it remains a single language.

A Glossary of English Grammar presents a wide range of terms used to describe the way the English language is structured. Grammatical terms can be a problem for students, especially when there are alternative names for the same thing (for example, 'past tense' and 'preterite'). This book therefore provides a basic and accessible guide, focusing on the English language. Definitions of grammatical terms are given in simple language, with clear examples, many from authentic texts and spoken sources, showing how they are used. The terms used in the Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language are widely seen as standard, and form the basis of grammatical terminology in this book. At the same time, this glossary does not neglect other variants of English grammar, such as that of Huddleston and Pullum's influential Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, whose most important terms are also covered here. This book is indispensable for anyone wishing to understand present-day terminology of English grammar more fully. Key features * A handy and easily understandable pocket guide for anyone studying the structure of the English language * Supplies numerous cross-references to related terms * Includes an annotated bibliography with suggestions for further reading.

Examines patterns of use in the news, fiction and academic English Takes grammar and vocabulary together and looks at how they interact Is based on the analysis of 40-million words of British and American, written and spoken corpus text Uses over 3000 examples of real, corpus English to illustrate the points Uses frequency tables and graphs to make the new findings of this grammar clear

invaluable for students on university and teacher-training courses checks your knowledge of how English is actually used in speech and writing shows how grammar differs in different contexts of registers provides practice with relationships between grammar and vocabulary all examples taken from naturally occurring English texts and conversations comparisons between British English and American English spoken and written extracts throughout full answer key

This readable book presents a new general theoretical understanding of politeness. It offers an account of a wide range of politeness phenomena in English, illustrated by hundreds of examples of actual language use taken largely from authentic British and American sources. Building on his earlier pioneering work on politeness, Geoffrey Leech takes a pragmatic approach that is based on the controversial notion that politeness is communicative altruism. Leech's 1983 book, Principles of Pragmatics, introduced the now widely-accepted distinction between pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic aspects of politeness; this book returns to the pragmalinguistic side, somewhat neglected in recent work. Drawing on neo-Gricean thinking, Leech rejects the prevalent view that it is impossible to apply the terms 'polite' or 'impolite' to linguistic phenomena. Leech covers all major speech acts that are either positively or negatively associated with politeness, such as requests, apologies, compliments, offers, criticisms, good wishes, condolences, congratulations, agreement, and disagreement. Additional chapters deal with impoliteness and the related phenomena of irony ("mock politeness") and banter ("mock impoliteness"), and with the role of politeness in the learning of English as a second language. A final chapter takes a fascinating look at more than a thousand years of history of politeness in the English language.