Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. 1. Baby-talk 1
4. 2. From Cries to Words 6
5. 3. Learning How to Understand 14
6. 4. Making Vibrations 21
7. 5. Pronouncing Sounds 28
8. 6. Discovering Grammar 34
9. 7. Having a Conversation 40
10. 8. Learning to Read and Write 45
11. 9. Getting to Grips with Spelling 52
12. 10. Spelling Rules and Variations 58
13. 11. Grammar Rules and Variations 65
14. 12. Accents and Dialects 71
15. 13. Being Bilingual 78
16. 14. The Languages of the World 84
17. 15. The Origins of Speech 92
18. 16. The Origins of Writing 98
19. 17. Modern Writing 104
20. 18. Sign Language 112
21. 19. Comparing Languages 118
22. 20. Dying Languages 125
23. 21. Language Change 131
24. 22. Language Variation 138
25. 23. Language at Work 145
26. 24. Slang 151
27. 25. Dictionaries 157
28. 26. Etymology 163
29. 27. Place Names 169
30. 28. Personal Names 176
31. 29. The Electronic Revolution 183
32. 30. Texting 189
33. 31. Language at Play 195
34. 32. Why Use Language? 201
35. 33. Language for Feelings 209
36. 34. Political Correctness 215
37. 35. Language in Literature 221
38. 36. Developing a Style 227
39. 37. The Complexity of Language 233
40. 38. Linguistics 239
41. 39. Applied Linguistics 244
42. 40. Your Language World 250
43. Index 255