Do you have strong feelings about the word "irregardless"? Have you ever tried to define the word "is"? This account of how dictionaries are made is for you word mavens.
Many of us take dictionaries for granted, and few may realize that the process of writing dictionaries is, in fact, as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography, from the agonizing decisions about what to define and how to do it, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define, how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. And along the way, she reveals little-known surprises--for example, the fact that "OMG" was first used in a letter to Winston Churchill in 1917.
Word by Word brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a startlingly rich world inhabited by quirky and erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate.

在编辑这个文库时，我们在两方面下了功夫。 一方面，在选书时，我们求全，求新，求有代表性和前瞻性。我们不偏爱一家之言，也不只收一家外国出版社之书。语言学与应用语言学的主干学科固然受到了应有的重视，分支学科可也不忽视。语料语言学、语言统计学是新兴学科，我们收入了专著；句法学、语义学久已有人研究，我们也找到了有关的最新著作。 另一方面，我们邀请了国内知名的博士生导师、硕士生导师为各书撰文导读，为读者铺平道路。语言学和应用语言学专著包罗宏富，初学者读起来可能觉得茫无头绪。为了助他们一臂之力，本文库中每一种书我们都请专家写了一万字左右的导读材料。哪怕书中内容比较陌生，谁只要在读书前看一下导读材料，读书后把材料再看一遍，一定能弄清脉络，掌握要点。

特雷弗·考克斯是一位声学工程师，在职业生涯中的大部分时间里，他都在消除杂音——例如音乐厅里的回音和教室中的喧哗声。直到有一天，他听到了某个惊人的声音，并由此产生了顿悟：与其消灭罕见或奇怪的声音，还不如将这些声音宝藏公之于众。
他深入调查了这些可被称为“世界声学奇迹”的地点的奥秘，本书讲述的就是在这过程中发生的故事：在莫哈维沙漠，他找到了能歌唱的沙丘；在法国，他发现了会讲笑话的回声；在美国加利福尼亚，他驾车经过一条会演奏《威廉·退尔序曲》的音乐之路；在世界各地的大教堂，他了解到了声学是怎样改变宗教历史的。
考克斯深入浅出地运用物理学、音乐、建筑学、神经科学、生物学和设计知识，解释了声音是如何生成，又是如何被环境改变的，以及人体会对奇异的声音做出什么反应。书中涉及的声音既包括他在寻声之旅中遇到的充满异域风情的声音奇迹，也包括我们日常环境中的同样独特和惊人的声音。
在由视觉主导的世界里，《声音的奇境》鼓励我们善用听觉，打开耳朵，聆听我们身边那些奇妙的声音。
清晰易懂的阐释和充满热情的探索，造就了这样一本关于聆听的著作……任何曾经在回音壁前拍手、喊叫或歌唱的读者都会喜爱考克斯这本充满风趣的作品
——《纽约时报》
考克斯这种对于声音的热情极具感染力。看完这本书以后，我也要尽量张开我的耳朵了。
——《华盛顿邮报》
从第一页开始直到最后，《声音的奇境》都在邀请读者闭上眼睛，用耳朵感受围绕在我们身边的声音，无论它们是平常还是奇特。
——《科学通讯》

In 1993 the first edition of ELL (Ron Asher, Editor) was hailed as “the field’s standard reference work for a generation”. Now the all-new second edition matches ELL’s comprehensiveness and high quality, expanded for a new generation, while being the first encyclopedia to really exploit the multimedia potential of linguistics.
The most authoritative, up-to-date, comprehensive, and international reference source in its field
An entirely new work, with new editors, new authors, new topics and newly commissioned articles with a handful of classic articles
The first Encyclopedia to exploit the multimedia potential of linguistics through the online edition
Ground-breaking and International in scope and approach
Alphabetically arranged with extensive cross-referencing
Available in print and online. The online version will include updates as subjects develop
ELL2 INCLUDES:
c. 7,500,000 words
c. 11,000 pages
c. 3,000 articles
c. 1,500 figures: 130 halftones and 150 colour
Supplementary audio, video and text files online
c. 3,500 glossary definitions
c. 39,000 references
Extensive list of commonly used abbreviations
List of languages of the world (including information on no. of speakers, language family, etc)
Indexes available: Full Subject Index, Thematic Index, Name Index (print) and Author Index (online)
Extensive list of commonly used abbreviations
List of languages of the world (including information on no. of speakers, language family, etc)
Approximately 700 biographical entries (now includes contemporary linguists)
Over 100 language maps in print, approx 200 online
"This work is vital to all college-level libraries as the most comprehensive language resource of its kind."
"A strong international focus...the definitive scholarly reference work in linguistics and language studies" -- CHOICE
"An awe-inspiring project of breath-taking scope, bringing together a distinguished list of internationally recognized editors and authors." --
Mark Steedman, University of Edinburgh, UK
"An extraordinary resource, encompassing a comprehensive breadth of major topics in all aspects of language and linguistics, the perspectives of leading scholars, and regional viewpoints from around the world! It does look to be an impressive undertaking, allright." -- Alister Cumming, Professor and Head, Modern Language Centre Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada.
"With over 3,000 articles and 39,000 references, this volume is vital to all college-level libraries as the most comprehensive language resource of its kind. -- John Aiello, The Electric Review.

In The Oxford Handbook of Language Evolution, sixty leading scholars present critical accounts of every aspect of the field. The Volume's five parts are devoted to insights from comparative animal behaviour; the biology of language evolution (anatomy, genetics, and neurology); the prehistory of language (when and why did language evolve?); the development of a linguistic species; and language creation, transmission, and change. Research on language evolution has burgeoned over the last three decades. Interdisciplinary activity has produced fundamental advances in the understanding of language evolution and in human and primate evolution more generally. This book presents a wide-ranging summation of work in all the disciplines involved. It highlights the links in different lines of research, shows what has been achieved to date, and considers the most promising directions for future work. The Oxford Handbook of Language Evolution will be valued by everyone interested in one of the most productive and fascinating fields in natural and cognitive science.

儿童语言习得研究对语言学、心理学以及认知科学研究有重要作用，本书分别从语音、词汇及语义、语法结构三个方面考察汉语儿童早期语言的发展特征。由于词汇、语法及语句的项目繁多复杂，在一些重要问题上，如方位范畴、时间范畴、多义词及相关语义范畴、主观化表达手段、主谓结构、被动结构等，本书做了专门的研究。本书各篇既有内在逻辑性又可以独立成篇，力求介绍汉语儿童早期词汇语义、句法习得基本面貌，并主要在认知功能框架内对所发现的习得规律进行解释。