This is a unique collection of original essays by 21 of the world's leading linguists. The topics discussed focus on some of the most popular myths about language: the media are ruining English; children can't speak or write properly anymore; and, America is ruining the English language. The tone is lively and entertaining throughout and there are cartoons from Doonesbury and The Wizard of Id to illustrate some of the points. The book should have a wide readership not only amongst students who want to read leading linguists writing about popular misconceptions but also amongst the large number of people who enjoy reading about language in general.

English Accents and Dialects is an essential guide to contemporary social and regional varieties of English spoken in the British Isles today. Together with invaluable overviews of numerous regional accents and dialects, this fifth edition provides you with a detailed description of key features of Received Pronounciation (RP) as well as several major non-standard varieties of English. Key features: -main regional differences are followed by a survey of speech in over 20 areas of the UK and Ireland, audio samples of which are available for you to download at www.hodderplus.com/linguistics -includes recent findings on London English, Aberdeen English and Liverpool English -contains new entries on Hull, Manchester, Carlisle, Middlesbrough, Southampton, London West Indian, Lancashire and