Language Society

Language, Society and Power is an accessible introduction to studying language in a variety of social contexts. This book examines the ways language functions, how it influences the way we view society and how it varies according to age, ethnicity, class and gender. It considers whether...

Bloomsbury presents The Future of Language by Philip Seargeant, read by Esh Alladi. Will language as we know it cease to exist? What could this mean for the way we live our lives? Shining a light on the technology currently being developed to revolutionise communication, The Future of Language...

You may think you speak only one language. In fact, your mind is interpreting multiple codes of communication. Some people speak Spanish, some Mandarin. Some speak poetry, some are fluent in maths. Humans are built for multilingualism. Drawing on cutting-edge research and theory, delivered with wit and lucid insight, psycholinguist Viorica Marian explores the ways in which the mind uses multiple languages and how, in doing so, we can open the doors to unique forms of creativity, brain health and cognitive control.

Brought to you by Penguin. ‘We were so happy and didn’t know it…’ A thirty-three-year-old writer lives in a quiet European suburb with his wife and his dog. His parents have bought an apartment nearby. On weekends they go out for brunch, cook and see friends. Life is good; it is normal...

Matthew Syed traces the origins and evolution of the word 'woke’ Once a watchword for African Americans in the early 1900s, 'woke' is now used as an insult across the political spectrum, and it has become synonymous with our era of angry debate. As the word has spread, what people mean by it...

'Enchanting' Simon Russell Beale --- 'Remarkable' James Shapiro 'Wonderful . . . compulsively readable' Nicholas Hytner Why do the collected works of an Elizabethan writer continue to speak to us as if they were written yesterday? When Robert McCrum began his recovery from a life-changing stroke...

A timely and moving collection from the renowned inaugural poet on issues facing our country and people—immigration, gun violence, racism, LGBTQ issues, and more. Through an oracular yet intimate and accessible voice, Richard Blanco addresses the complexities and contradictions of our...