In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts & bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes whistling languages how parents teach their children to speak how politeness travels across languages & how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we're from & even who we want to be ...

A new & exciting introduction to linguistics this textbook presents language in all its amazing complexity while guiding students gently through the basics Students emerge with an appreciation of the diversity of the world's languages as well as a deeper understanding of the structure of human language the ways it is used & its broader social & cultural context Chapters introducing the nuts & bolts of language study (phonology syntax meaning) are combined with those on the 'functions' of language (discourse prosody pragmatics & language contact) helping students gain a better grasp of how language works in the real world A rich set of language 'profiles' help students explore the world's linguistic diversity identify similarities & differences between languages & encourages them to apply concepts from earlier chapter material A range of carefully designed pedagogical features encourage student engagement adopting a step-by-step approach & using study questions & case studies ...

Sammy's had a bad week
- his wallet's gone along with his new shoes he's been arrested then beaten up by the police & thrown out
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In a deep dark forest Little Coyote grows up with a tough gang of big strong coyotes They are cruel call him names & order him about all day long Little Coyote is too small to run away or to stand up for himself so he learns to do what he's told & makes his body small so nobody notices him Then one day he goes on an adventure & ends up discovering new hidden strengths that he never knew he had This therapeutic picture book is written to help children aged 4-10 & adults to talk about difficult experiences growing up (including things they may still be going through) & explores how they can affect how your body feels & reacts to things It is followed by easy to read advice for adults on how to help your child ...

A Sunday Times bestseller How long is 'now'? The short answer is 'somewhere between 2 & 3 seconds' The long answer involves an incredible journey through neuroscience our subconscious & the time-bending power of meditation Living in the present may never feel the same Ready for some more? Okay Why isn't Pluto a planet? Why are dogs' noses wet? Why do hens cluck more loudly after laying an egg? What happens when one black hole swallows another? Do our fingerprints change as we get older? How young can you die of old age? & what is at the very edge of the Universe? Life is full of mind-bending questions & as books like What If? & Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? have shown the route to find each answer can take us on the weirdest & most wonderful journeys How Long is Now? is a fascinating new collection of questions you never thought to ask along with answers that will change the way you see everything ...

From the award winning creators of Oi Frog! comes an hilarious counting picture book about our four-legged
- & two-legged & eight-legged
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& How many quacks till Christmas?&the ducklings want to know & How many quacks till Christmas?&and & Quack will there be snow?& Puppy is pouncing round the farmyard one evening when he is assailed by various animals wanting to know how many quacks moos baas or neighs there are until Christmas Luckily the answer is
- only one! With lashings of Christmas joy & much fun to be had with animal noises this is the perfect funny Christmas gift By a super-commercial author & illustrator pairing with combined sales of over 230000 copies in the UK alone
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'A WITTY BOOK THAT PROVOKES THE IMAGINATION' The Times How many socks make a pair? The answer is not always two & behind this question lies a world of maths that can be surprising amusing & even beautiful Using playing cards a newspaper the back of an envelope a Sudoku some pennies & of course a pair of socks Rob Eastaway shows how maths can demonstrate its secret beauties in even the most mundane of everyday objects If you already like maths you'll discover plenty of new surprises & if you've never picked up a maths book in your life this one will change your view of the subject forever ...

How did we get to where we are? John Cassidy shows that the roots of our most recent financial failure lie not with individuals but with an idea
- the idea that markets are inherently rational He gives us the big picture behind the financial headlines tracing the rise & fall of free market ideology from Adam Smith to Milton Friedman & Alan Greenspan Full of wit sense & above all a deeper understanding How Markets Fail argues for the end of 'utopian' economics & the beginning of a pragmatic reality-based way of thinking
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In the space of a few years Bitcoin has gone from an idea ignored or maligned by almost everyone to an asset with a market cap of more than 12 billion Venture capital firms Goldman Sachs the New York Stock Exchange & billionaires such as Richard Branson & Peter Thiel have invested more than 1 billion in companies built on this groundbreaking technology Bill Gates has even declared it better than currency' The pioneers of Bitcoin were twenty-first-century outlaws
- cryptographers hackers Free Staters ex-cons & drug dealers teenage futurists & self-taught entrepreneurs
- armed with a renegade ideology & a grudge against big government & big banks Now those same institutions are threatening to co-opt or curtail the impact of digital currency But the pioneers some of whom have become millionaires themselves aren't going down without a fight Sweeping & provocative How Money Got Free reveals how this disruptive technology is shaping the debate around competing ideas of money & liberty & what that means for our future

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