The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language
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- Create Date：2021-04-22 14:55:38
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：David Crystal
- ISBN：0521736501
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Summary
This new， thoroughly revised edition of the acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language incorporates the major developments in language study which have taken place since the mid 1990s。 Two main new areas have been added: the rise of electronic communication in all its current forms from email to texting， and the crisis affecting the world's languages， of which half are thought to be so seriously endangered that they will die out this century。 - All language statistics have been updated， and additional information provided about their linguistic affiliation - All topics involving technology have been revised to take account of recent developments， notably in phonetics， language disability， and computing - Maps have been revised to include new countries or country names - Special attention has been paid to fast-moving areas such as language teaching and learning - The text design has been completely updated with many new illustrations throughout
Reviews
Sananab
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When I was started college， I desperately wanted to be a linguist， and I read this and a few other books dozens of times。 Reading it again eighteen years later， I found that I'd memorized certain paragraphs without realizing it。 This book has probably influenced my thinking in ways I couldn't even begin to imagine or understand。 But， then again， the same could probably be said of Power Rangers。So what did I think of it， rereading it after half a lifetime？ I hated it。 There are some great parts， When I was started college， I desperately wanted to be a linguist， and I read this and a few other books dozens of times。 Reading it again eighteen years later， I found that I'd memorized certain paragraphs without realizing it。 This book has probably influenced my thinking in ways I couldn't even begin to imagine or understand。 But， then again， the same could probably be said of Power Rangers。So what did I think of it， rereading it after half a lifetime？ I hated it。 There are some great parts， but the author is extremely verbose （in particular， he has a habit of using several paragraphs to say 'more research needed'）。 He lingers on some of the most boring topics and rushes through some of the most interesting。 Linguistics itself is a bit of a backwater， and I wish I had never wasted any time on it。 。。。more
Lloyd Downey
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I've made a bit of an exception with my review of this book。 Normally， I read the book cover to cover before writing my review。 But， in this case， we have a 472 large pages packed with information。 It is really a reference book and one can dip into it at any point and learn something fascinating。 I must say that I was fascinated as I skimmed my way through。 The scope of language is vast。。。though the author freely admits his field is linguistics and there are whole fields of language such as the I've made a bit of an exception with my review of this book。 Normally， I read the book cover to cover before writing my review。 But， in this case， we have a 472 large pages packed with information。 It is really a reference book and one can dip into it at any point and learn something fascinating。 I must say that I was fascinated as I skimmed my way through。 The scope of language is vast。。。though the author freely admits his field is linguistics and there are whole fields of language such as the philosophy of language where he is not expert。 He covers a vast range of topics under 11 main headings which are:1。 Popular ideas about language2。 Language and identity。。such as geographic or social identity。3。 The structure of language 。。。including statistical analysis of language and grammar。4。The medium of language: speaking and listening5。 The medium of language: writing and reading6。 The medium of language: signing and seeing7。 Child language acquisition8。 Language， brain and handicap （such as deafness）。9。 Languages of the world10。 Language in the world （eg translation， world languages such as Esperanto）。11。 Language and communication （including chimpanzee communication）。There is a wealth of detail here， Tables， charts， maps and little information boxes。 It really is a fascinating book。 I certainly intend to come back to it and delve into it more systematically than I have to date。 Oh， the version that I have is somewhat dated 。。and is really a version from 1987。。。though reprinted in 1992。 I'm sure that the field of linguistics has moved on a long way from there 。。。though I also suspect that the substance of the book will still be sound。 I did notice the technology （computers etc） were， of course， very dated。nevertheless I give it 5 stars。 。。。more
Dave
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A fascinating study of language， covering the subject pretty comprehensively from all angles。 It suffers only in that having been published over 30 years ago the coverage of important aspects， such as machine translation， foreign language learning and the field of linguistics， will have obviously moved on significantly in that time。
Martin Ridgway
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Far too much of a slog
Helga
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This book weighs a ton。 It is a marvelous paperweight。 It also has lots of interesting information in bite sized morsels。 It's just the sort of thing you'd love to carry with you on a trip， but don't because it will double the weight of your luggage。 This book weighs a ton。 It is a marvelous paperweight。 It also has lots of interesting information in bite sized morsels。 It's just the sort of thing you'd love to carry with you on a trip， but don't because it will double the weight of your luggage。 。。。more
Pauline Macaisa-Concepcion
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This is really an interesting read！
Brian Block
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An excellent introduction to general linguistics。 It was the original core of my knowledge of the field， which became my academic and professional focus。
Ci
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This dense reference book contains lively photos and graphics with scholarly writings。 It will serve a good reference book as I am learning through the basics of linguistics。 （Sept 2016）
Stephen Simpson
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Comprehensive in breadth， it doesn't have the depth I would have liked in many subject areas。 On the other hand， this is an encyclopedia， and a certain degree of shallowness should be expected （lest it be an impossibly large， unwieldy book）。 Comprehensive in breadth， it doesn't have the depth I would have liked in many subject areas。 On the other hand， this is an encyclopedia， and a certain degree of shallowness should be expected （lest it be an impossibly large， unwieldy book）。 。。。more
Ikechiumekweyahoo。com
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cool
Maud
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While this book was really interesting at times， it was also extremely boring at other times。 David Crystal clearly knows a lot and he tries to pour all his knowledge in this book （it has every right to be called an encyclopedia） but because of this there were parts which I think didn't have to be in this book。 While this book was really interesting at times， it was also extremely boring at other times。 David Crystal clearly knows a lot and he tries to pour all his knowledge in this book （it has every right to be called an encyclopedia） but because of this there were parts which I think didn't have to be in this book。 。。。more
Mckinley
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I didn't really read this whole thing， consulted from time to time。 I didn't really read this whole thing， consulted from time to time。 。。。more
Hangci Du
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I had a peak on the part introducing different language systems and found it a litter bit in mess。Well， not bad。
Jitterbugscent
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If 6 stars were available， I'd be wanting 7 for this this grand exploration of one of the most important （in my opinion） things we all try to share。 To the point that even attempting to not share is， in itself， a form of language。 If 6 stars were available， I'd be wanting 7 for this this grand exploration of one of the most important （in my opinion） things we all try to share。 To the point that even attempting to not share is， in itself， a form of language。 。。。more
Confucius
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I bought another edition published in China。 It is great。
Fizza Rauf
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 David Crystal
Fiona
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Like his English encyclopaedia - a really excellent resource。
Katrinka
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Fascinating and comprehensive。 Contents include Popular ideas about language; Language and identity; Structure of Language including grammar and semantics; Child language acquistion; Language， brain， and handicap; Languages of the world; and great appendices such as an exhaustive glossary。
Amy
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A very comprehensive guide to world languages。 Very accessible and informative。
Paul
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Why I felt compelled to start reading an encyclopedia cover-to-cover I can't say， but I'm glad I did with this one。 Remarkably lucid and catholic in its consideration of the broad universe of topics relating to language broadly construed （which is to say， pretty much everything from philosophy & theology to archaeology & attempts to enable computers to truly comprehend speech）。 I keep it next to my bed and read a chapter every night。 The chapters are appropriately sized for their topics， and stu Why I felt compelled to start reading an encyclopedia cover-to-cover I can't say， but I'm glad I did with this one。 Remarkably lucid and catholic in its consideration of the broad universe of topics relating to language broadly construed （which is to say， pretty much everything from philosophy & theology to archaeology & attempts to enable computers to truly comprehend speech）。 I keep it next to my bed and read a chapter every night。 The chapters are appropriately sized for their topics， and studded with illustrated sidebars， definitions of technical terms， and illustrative anecdotes & examples。 Highly recommended both as a reference and as book to read for pleasure & general enlightenment。 。。。more
max
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This book is a huge， monstrous beast -- the good kind。 I keep it on the bottom shelf next to my compact OED， OCD （Oxford Classical Dictionary， not Obsessive Compulsive Disorder）， Greek English Lexicon （the big Liddell）。 Where do I even begin to describe the contents of this gigantic resource？ It contains 65 chapters organized into 11 sections， including popular ideas about language， the structure of language， the medium of language （speaking and listening）， signing and seeing， child language acq This book is a huge， monstrous beast -- the good kind。 I keep it on the bottom shelf next to my compact OED， OCD （Oxford Classical Dictionary， not Obsessive Compulsive Disorder）， Greek English Lexicon （the big Liddell）。 Where do I even begin to describe the contents of this gigantic resource？ It contains 65 chapters organized into 11 sections， including popular ideas about language， the structure of language， the medium of language （speaking and listening）， signing and seeing， child language acquisition， "language， brain and disability， languages of the world， language in the world， and language and communication。every conceivable issue connected with language is covered in this book。 。。。more
Paul Perry
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An indispensable resource for anyone studying， or interested in， language
Steffi
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Dynamite introductory book about language。 Doesn’t go too in-depth about any particular topic。 Lots of images， maps， statistics， and fun facts。
Rowland Pasaribu
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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language is a broad survey of language and linguistics， aimed at a popular audience。 It is organised thematically， with sixty five chapters divided into eleven parts。 Part one highlights popular ideas （and especially misconceptions） about language， covering such topics as description versus prescription and the equality of languages。 Part two considers the ways in which language is tied up with notions of identity — personal， social， and national。 And part three int The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language is a broad survey of language and linguistics， aimed at a popular audience。 It is organised thematically， with sixty five chapters divided into eleven parts。 Part one highlights popular ideas （and especially misconceptions） about language， covering such topics as description versus prescription and the equality of languages。 Part two considers the ways in which language is tied up with notions of identity — personal， social， and national。 And part three introduces the traditional material of linguistics: the structure of language， typologies， universals， grammar， syntax， semantics， pragmatics， and so forth。 Parts four to six explore the different media of language: reading and writing， speaking and listening， and signing and seeing。 Part seven explores child language acquisition and part eight the relationship of the brain to language and language handicaps。 Part nine surveys the variety of languages around the world， their distribution and their historical relationships， and part ten the varied roles language plays in different areas of human life。 And part eleven touches briefly on the history of modern linguistics and the relationship between language and non-linguistic communication systems。The Encyclopedia of Language is not meant to be read in large portions。 Nor， though provided with good indices and glossary， is it primarily a reference。 It is， rather， a volume designed for dipping into and browsing， for casual perusal。 Individual articles are written so they can stand by themselves and the longest are of only a few pages。 Most are shorter， with many columns， boxes， and side-bars of just a few paragraphs， and there are usually several places to start reading on any page。It is hard to convey a feel for a volume organised like this， but opening it at random three times will give the general idea。 Pages 82-83 explore the issue of linguistic levels: How many levels does language have？ Which one should come first in linguistics？ This is illustrated with diagrams for some of the different models of spoken language structure that have been suggested。 The main text on pages 264-5 covers "neurophysiological models of language" and "slips of the tongue - or brain？"。 In smaller print we have boxes on the Genie case （language development of a neglected child）， the classification of tongue slips， and the debate over "critical periods" in language development。 In the margin we have a small reproduction of a painting of Spooner and an account of the origin of the term "spoonerism"。 Pages 328-9 survey language isolates: brief descriptions of some sixteen are arranged around a world map showing their locations （and illustrated with small colour photographs）。Real depth of treatment is of course impossible with such a format， making the more theoretical topics hard to deal with: one can hardly get far into phrase structure grammar in a page， for example。 It is not surprising， therefore， that the work is strongest in the more "applied" areas。 Many curious and intriguing pieces of information are presented。Charles V of Germany is said to have spoken French to men， Italian to women， Spanish to God， and German to horses！"In response to the question 'Will you marry me？'， silence in English would be interpreted as uncertainty; in Japanese it would be acceptance。 In Igbo， it would be considered a denial if the woman were to continue to stand there， and an acceptance if she ran away。"Such facts are usually used to illustrate more general principles， however。 Crystal has produced some accessible general introductions to topics which are rarely treated at this level， and he provides further reading suggestions for those who want to find out more。I have one minor gripe with The Encyclopedia of Language。 The right-hand margins on each page are used for short side-bars。 This is a great idea， but the paperback edition doesn't open out flat， making those on the left-hand page very difficult to read。 A similar problem occurs with photographs and maps that span two pages。 Otherwise the volume is visually not just appealing but positively enticing。 Maps and tables are used effectively and the illustrations are useful and informative as well as attractive， only occasionally purely decorative。 The Encyclopedia of Language should be widely appreciated， and should do much to improve popular understanding of language and linguistics。 。。。more
David Jackson
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I have to admit that I have not read every single word on every single page， cover to cover， but this is more of a sit and browse book。 All I can say is that if you have a love for languages like I do this is a wonderful， wonderful book！
pixie13
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I know。 It's an encyclopedia。 About language。 But it's really a great book。 All sorts of interesting facts。 Every reader should read it。 I know。 It's an encyclopedia。 About language。 But it's really a great book。 All sorts of interesting facts。 Every reader should read it。 。。。more
Nazila
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I translated this book to Persian。 I love it。 Even I tried to substitute some examples from Persian。 the translation took 5 years。
Helen
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Sounds VERY VERY VERY interesting， unfortunately I only have it in German。
Tom
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