A Little Book of Language

"Demotic, lively, rigorous but unabashedly unpedantic David Crystal remind[s] us that living languages know no boundaries, that they adapt themselves joyously to new conditions. Here he indulges himself with great good humour in his little book of love for the pleasures of language and words worldwide."—Iain Finlayson, The Times

"David Crystal . . . is a charming tour guide. . . . He is excited, not cranky, about how language is changing in the Internet age."—Jan Gardner, The Boston Globe

"A Little Book of Language may be for children (of all ages, as the saying goes), yet it's by no means childish or juvenile. In other words, buy it for your son or daughter, but read it yourself."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"Crystal here writes for the true beginner, but does so with his usual clarity and authority, as he ranges from ancient etymologies to modern text-messaging. The chapters—again 40 of them—are made doubly engaging by Jean-Manuel Duvivier's frolicsome, highly stylized black-and-white illustrations."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"In his light and amusing A Little Book of Language, David Crystal treats the world's 6,000 tongues—which are disappearing at an alarming rate—as a natural resource no less precious than our oceans and forests."—The Daily Beast

"David Crystal, a well-known linguist, knows about 100,000 words, which is certainly impressive, but he then reminds us that’s only about a 10th of the words in the English language. There’s a good chapter on spelling, a skill that seems to bear surprisingly little relation to intelligence, as well as on the inadequacies of the computer spellchecker, a blind guide indeed. To sample his own feelings for words, see his bit on the word aftermath."—The Sunday Telegraph