Social Linguistics

There are so many Latin phrases in everyday use that often we use them without understanding the background and context within which they were actually used. 'Carpe diem'; 'Stet'; 'Memento mori'; 'Et tu Brute' – examples would fill a book. And often these phrases are also used in English translation: 'The die is cast'; 'crossing the Rubicon'; 'Rome was not built in a day'.

Bitch is a bitch of a word. It used to be a straightforward insult, but today—after so many variations and efforts to reject or reclaim the word—it's not always entirely clear what it means. Bitch is a chameleon. There are good bitches and bad bitches; sexy bitches and psycho bitches; boss bitches and even perfect bitches. This eye-opening deep-dive account takes us on a journey spanning a millennium, from its humble beginnings as a word for a female dog through to its myriad meanings today, proving that sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks.

A dialogue between Socrates and Meno probes the subject of ethics. Can goodness be taught? If it can, then we should be able to find teachers capable of instructing others about what is good and bad, right and wrong, or just and unjust.

"The Lamplighter" is ironic and iconic Dickens. A story within a story about dreams of wealth, with Dickensian wit throughout. A treat for Dickens fans who have not heard this lovely story before. (American accent narration.)

Everyone likes to think they know a bit about language: There are some words that you simply can't translate into English. The origin of a word tells you how it should be used. A dialect is inferior to a language. The problem is, none of these statements are true. In Don't Believe a Word, linguist David Shariatmadari explodes nine common myths about language and introduces us to some of the fundamental insights of modern linguistics.

Thomas De Quincey's highly charged and hauntingly accurate account of laudanum addiction is considered the root of all drug novels. From Baudelaire to Burroughs, Confessions of an English Opium Eater paved the way for later generations of writers. Initially prescribed as pain relief for a chronic condition, De Quincey soon found himself compelled by the opium experience.

Thirteen chapters evoke the joy and discovery of reading a menu dotted with the sharp-eyed annotations of a linguist. Jurafsky points out the subtle meanings hidden in filler words like "rich" and "crispy," zeroes in on the metaphors and storytelling tropes we rely on in restaurant reviews, and charts a micro-universe of marketing language on the back of a bag of potato chips.

On August 24, 1572, more than 2,000 French Huguenots - men, women, and children - were massacred for their faith. In St. Bartholomew's Eve, Henty vividly depicts Admiral Coligny's unflinching bravery, Queen Elizabeth's vacillating foreign policy, Catherine de Medici's vindictive scheming, and the queen of Navarre's inner strength as he recounts the adventures of Phillip Fletcher.

Twelve billionaires rule the United States, while those called freemen are forced to serve the rich. But that was 60 years ago, before the Scarlet Plague. In this post-apocalyptic novella, a ragged and tattered old man tells his progeny of what life was like before The Scarlet Plague appeared - and wiped out civilization as they knew it.

Zane Grey, an author synonymous with the daring tales of the Wild West, delivers an exciting tale in this phenomenal best-seller, The U.P. Trail. As the country changes around them, a group of Wyoming residents ban together to fight the coming of the Union Pacific Railroad. But railroad engineer Warren Neale, struggling against the terrain, the climate, the populace and even his girlfriend’s abduction, is determined to see his project to completion.

Bring history back to life through Jim Hodges' historically accurate, exciting, and edifying audio recordings. The conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernando Cortez and a mere handful of Spaniards is one of the greatest romances of history. A writer of fiction would scarcely have dared to invent so improbable a story, but it is true. Fortunately Cortez was able to ally himself with many peoples conquered by the Aztecs who were all too happy to assist in their downfall.

يبحث هذا الكتاب تاريخَ اللغة منذ ما قبل اللغة البشريَّة حتى الانفجار الهائل لوسائل التواصل والإعلام في وقتنا الراهن. ويستهلُّ المؤلِّف حديثَـهُ بوصف طرائق تواصل الحيتان والطُّيور والحشرات والرئيسيَّات من غير البشر، مشيراً إلى أنَّ هذه السياقات الأولى صالحةٌ لتطبيق مفهوم اللغة، ثم ينتقلُ إلى الحديث عن القدرات المبكِّرة للإنسان المنتصب، وانتشار اللغات في جميع أنحاء العالم، محلِّلاً تطوُّرَ الكتابة، ومبرزاً أثـرَ ظهور علم اللغويات في القرن التَّاسع عشر في دراسة اللغات البشريَّة وفهمها. ويتابع المؤلِّف تطوُّرَ رؤية اللغويين لعلاقة اللغة بالتغيُّرات الاجتماعيَّة في منتصف القرن العشرين. وأخيراً يتطرَّق إلى تأثيرات المذياع والتلفاز والدعاية والإعلام وشبكة الإنترنت في اللغة، ويتساءل كيف تعيدُ الوسائط الإلكترونيَّـة تشكيلَ لغات العالم يومياً، وترسمُ مستقبلَها؟ مقترحاً إعادة تفسيرٍ جذريَّـةٍ للغة.

Are you struggling to understand people’s intentions and would like to know how to interpret unconscious and non-verbal signals? Would you like to spot what others think of you by the way you make use of your body? Have you ever wanted to be more persuasive, or to learn how to influence others? Then this audiobook will open your eyes to the world of human behaviour and the ground-breaking techniques of dark psychology, teaching you how to interpret and even use at your advantage body posture, gestures, facial expressions, use of space and physical behaviour.

From the history of the English language's arrival in the United States to the spread of Arabic across North Africa and the enduring legacy of the Latin language, Immigrant Tongues explores the journeys of tongues across continents. With a style that balances entertainment and depth, this linguistics book also highlights the cultural exchanges that enriched language along the way.

At its heart, De Profundis is a love letter and is better known as the De Profundis papers. Written in 1897, while Oscar Wilde was imprisoned in Reading Gaol, De Profundis would become one of his best-known works. The papers include Wilde's account of living a lavish lifestyle and his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, both of which he credited for his eventual downfall and imprisonment. The second half of the papers is Wilde's account of prison life and his spiritual awakening.

What If I told you I could make you a master persuader and help you get whatever you want almost effortlessly and most importantly...unknowingly? In Psychology: How to Effortlessly Attract, Manipulate, and Read Anyone Unknowingly, that's exactly what you'll get. You’ll learn secret psychological techniques that will turn your life upside-down, and there won’t be any obstacles preventing you from gaining the respect and freedom that you want and deserve.

Françoise Nore mène une enquête minutieuse et éclairante sur les étymologies les plus surprenantes de la langue française ! Une recherche aussi amusante qu'instructive. Vous n'êtes pas au bout de vos surprises… Bénin, ambigu, sommeil, farfouiller, chômage, galoper, chance, gracieux, virgule, kaléidoscope… vous racontent la longue histoire qui les a conduits jusqu'à nous. Origine, évolutions, disparition, réapparition… La langue française n'a pas fini de vous étonner !

Richard Burton reads Shakespeare's narrative poem about the legendary Lucretia (or 'Lucrece'). The poem tells the story of the Roman leader Tarquin's rape of Lucrece and her subsequent suicide.

Machen's novella The Great God Pan is often cited as one of Lovecraft's most notable influences. In it, Dr. Raymond's ultimate goal is to devise a way to open the mind of man so that he may experience all the world has to offer. He calls this "seeing the great god Pan". After much study of the human mind, he devises an experiment that involves minor brain surgery. He performs this experiment on a young woman named Mary, but when she awakens she is terrified and mentally crippled.

Lightfoot the Deer is a story about animals in the Green Forest that are hunted in the fall. The story is mostly about Lightfoot, a male deer hunted by one hunter and describes how he tries to escape being shot. The story tells Lightfoot's encounter with another buck and a battle for territory and the lovely, Miss Daintyfoot. As with most Thornton Burgess books, young listeners learn valuable lessons about nature, wildlife, and positive morals.