This accessible book examines issues such as test design, the rating process, validity, measurement, and the social dimension of language testing. It looks at both traditional and newer forms of language assessment, and the challenges posed by new views.

This book provides an accessible introduction to anyone interested in the history of the English language. It outlines the major issues and terminology used in the field of Historical Linguistics, a required part of most university-level language and linguistics courses, and creates an opening into the field for the new reader.

This is an introduction to linguistics, the study of human language. The author provides a succinct but lucid outline of the ways in which language has been defined, described, and explored, and guides readers towards further exploration of their own.

This is an introduction to pragmatics, the study of how people make sense of each other linguistically. The author explains, and illustrates, basic concepts such as the co-operative principle, deixis, and speech acts, providing a clear, concise foundation for further study.

This book deals with the study of style in language, how styles can be recognized, and their features. It examines how style is used in literary and non-literary texts, and how familiarity with style is a matter of socialization.

This book leads the reader through the main areas of phonetics, including how speech sounds are made and how phoneticians classify them in certain ways, the International Phonetic Alphabet, and how sounds are transmitted from speaker to hearer.

Sociolinguistics is the study of the different ways in which different groups of people use language. This book provides a brief but comprehensive introduction to the field, making links with related disciplines such as history, politics, and gender studies.

Psycholinguists have shown that the comprehension and production of even the simplest language is a highly complex, almost miraculous, process. This brief introduction shows how psycholinguistic research can act as a window to the workings of the human mind.

Translation is one of the most important cross-linguistic and cross-cultural practices. This short introduction focuses on what you need to know about it: the different perspectives on translation and key issues such as equivalence in translation, translation evaluation, and the role of translation in language teaching, globalization, and intercultural communication.

Applied Linguistics investigates real-world problems involving language. As such it has the difficult task of mediating between academic expertise and lived experience, attempting to reconcile opposed interests and perspectives.

Recent social and political changes have focused attention on the debate about the relationship between language and culture. This book offers an accessible survey of key concepts such as social context and cultural authenticity, using insights from fields which include linguistics, sociology and anthropology.

An account of how meaning is expressed and interpreted in spoken and written texts.

English for Language and Linguistics is a skills-based course designed specifically for students of language and linguistics who are about to enter English-medium tertiary level studies. It provides carefully graded practice and progressions in the key academic skills that all students need, such as listening to lectures and speaking in seminars.

In the age of the global village and the world wide web, understanding the way in which people learn languages is of ever increasing importance. This book makes the essentials of this rapidly expanding area of study accessible to readers encountering it for the first time.

An introduction by leading grammar expert Michael Swan on the theoretical and pedagogical approaches to grammatical description, the notion of 'universal grammar', the role of grammar in establishing social and educational norms, and the possible future grammar of International English.

A short, accessible introduction to this key area of language study by a respected expert in the field. Describes some of the creative processes by which new senses develop for words and phrases. Informs the reader about current thinking and acts as a guide for further enquiry.

This revised edition incorporates the final results of Daniel Jones' lifelong study of English pronunciation usage. It is the standard work on English phonetics. The Pronunciation of English was written originally as a detailed description of the phonetics of English, presented from the point of view of the native English-speaking student.