Kidnapping, attempted assassination, espionage âe¦ not the answers youâe(tm)d expect to the question âe~what happens when you become a linguist?âe(tm) But now, reflecting on a long and hugely successful career at the forefront of the field of English Language and Linguistics, David Crystal answers this question and offers us a special look behind the scenes at the adventures, rewards, challenges and pitfalls of his life in language. Both an autobiography and a highly accessible introduction to the field of linguistics, Just a Phrase Iâe(tm)m Going Through illuminates and entertains us with its many insights into the ever-fascinating subject of language. David Crystal is synonymous with language, both as a great populariser and linguistic pioneer, and his contribution to the field is unparalleled. This is a book not just for students and teachers but for all lovers of language. For more about David Crystal at Routledge, visit: www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415485746.

"Lexicography is not just an exercise in linguistic accounting," writes preeminent English language scholar David Crystal in this exceptionally lively and erudite little book. "It is a voyage of lexical exploration and discovery." In Words, Words, Words, Crystal takes readers on a fascinating linguistic adventure, exploring the English language in all its oddity, complexity, and ever-changing beauty. Traveling from word origins and word evolution to wordgangs, wordrisks, wordplay, wordgames and beyond, Crystal shares his immense knowledge of, and equally immense delight in, language. He celebrates new words, old words, words that "snarl" and words that "purr," elegant words and taboo words, plain English words and convoluted gobbledegook, eponyms and antonyms, spoonerisms and malapropisms, and a host of other written and spoken forms and variations. Words, Words, Words offers invaluable insight on such subjects as BLhow to estimate the size of your vocabulary BLthe functions of jargon BLwhen clichés are necessary BLthe value of slang words ("the chief use of slang/is to show you're one of the gang") BLhow to create your own "semantic field" BLdialect humor BLhow to become a word detective BLhow to keep a record of your child's words BLand much more! With illuminating sidebars featuring everything from common word origins and sample definitions from the dictionaries of Samuel Johnson and Ambrose Bierce to a passage from Finnegan's Wake and the winning entries of The Guardian Text Message Poetry Competition, Words, Words, Words will both satisfy and spark the curiosity of anyone who has ever been intrigued, befuddled, or awed by words and myriad ways we use them.