Rakuten Kobo

made in america

An Informal History of the English Language in the United States

by Bill Bryson ...

“A literate exploration of why we use—or mangle—our native tongue.”—USA TodayBill Bryson celebrates America’s magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood…and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle call his befeathered cap “Macaroni.” ... Read more

Was $13.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

“A literate exploration of why we use—or mangle—our native tongue.”—USA TodayBill Bryson celebrates America’s magnificent offspring in the book that reveals once and for all how a dusty western hamlet with neither woods nor holly came to be known as Hollywood…and exactly why Mr. Yankee Doodle call his befeathered cap “Macaroni.”
... Read more
The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate

by Eugene Ehrlich ...

Series series Highly Selective Reference
Even if you already know more words than you need to know, this reference will help jog your memory when you're searching for a truly special word.With an introduction by Noah Adams of "All Things Considered"Anyone looking to improve his or her vocabulary and anyone who loves words will be enthralled by this unique and impressive thesaurus that provides only the most unusual—or is it recondite? ... Read more

$1.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Even if you already know more words than you need to know, this reference will help jog your memory when you're searching for a truly special word.With an introduction by Noah Adams of "All Things Considered"Anyone looking to improve his or her vocabulary and anyone who loves words will be enthralled by this unique and impressive thesaurus that provides only the most unusual—or is it recondite?
... Read more
The Language Game

How Improvisation Created Language and Changed the World

by Morten H. Christiansen, Nick Chater ...

Forget the language instinct—this is the story of how we make up language as we goLanguage is perhaps humanity’s most astonishing capacity—and one that remains poorly understood. In The Language Game, cognitive scientists Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater show us where generations of scientists seeking the rules of language got it wrong. Language isn’t about hardwired grammars but about near ... Read more

Was $18.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

Forget the language instinct—this is the story of how we make up language as we goLanguage is perhaps humanity’s most astonishing capacity—and one that remains poorly understood. In The Language Game, cognitive scientists Morten H. Christiansen and Nick Chater show us where generations of scientists seeking the rules of language got it wrong. Language isn’t about hardwired grammars but about near
... Read more
Because Internet

Understanding the New Rules of Language

by Gretchen McCulloch ...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!!Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Amazon, and The Washington PostA Wired Must-Read Book of Summer“Gretchen McCulloch is the internet’s favorite linguist, and this book is essential reading. Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the matrix.” —Jonny Sun, author of everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too<s... ... Read more

$9.99 USD

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!!Named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Amazon, and The Washington PostA Wired Must-Read Book of Summer“Gretchen McCulloch is the internet’s favorite linguist, and this book is essential reading. Reading her work is like suddenly being able to see the matrix.” —Jonny Sun, author of everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too<s...
... Read more
Proust and the Squid

The Story and Science of the Reading Brain

by Maryanne Wolf ...

"Wolf restores our awe of the human brain—its adaptability, its creativity, and its ability to connect with other minds through a procession of silly squiggles." — San Francisco ChronicleHow do people learn to read and write—and how has the development of these skills transformed the brain and the world itself ? Neuropsychologist and child development expert Maryann Wolf answers these questions in ... Read more

$10.99 USD

"Wolf restores our awe of the human brain—its adaptability, its creativity, and its ability to connect with other minds through a procession of silly squiggles." — San Francisco ChronicleHow do people learn to read and write—and how has the development of these skills transformed the brain and the world itself ? Neuropsychologist and child development expert Maryann Wolf answers these questions in
... Read more
A Brief History of the Spanish Language

by David A. Pharies ...

"As in the first edition, Pharies debunks—in an engaging manner—a number of 'linguistic myths' about Spanish orthography, pronunciation, and grammar." — ChoiceSince its publication in 2007, A Brief History of the Spanish Language has become the leading introduction to the history of one of the world's most widely spoken languages. Moving from the language's Latin roots to its present-day forms, ... Read more

$15.19 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

"As in the first edition, Pharies debunks—in an engaging manner—a number of 'linguistic myths' about Spanish orthography, pronunciation, and grammar." — ChoiceSince its publication in 2007, A Brief History of the Spanish Language has become the leading introduction to the history of one of the world's most widely spoken languages. Moving from the language's Latin roots to its present-day forms,
... Read more
Language Myths

by Laurie Bauer ...

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; America is Ruining the English Language. The tone is lively and entertaining throughout and there are cartoons from Doonesbury andThe Wizard of Id to illustrate some ... Read more

$11.39 USD

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; America is Ruining the English Language. The tone is lively and entertaining throughout and there are cartoons from Doonesbury andThe Wizard of Id to illustrate some
... Read more
Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners

Read for pleasure at your level, expand your vocabulary and learn Spanish the fun way!

by Olly Richards ...

Series series Readers
An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners."I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for NumbersShort Stories in Spanish for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most ... Read more

Was $6.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners."I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for NumbersShort Stories in Spanish for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most
... Read more
Metaphors We Live By

by George Lakoff, Mark Johnson ...

From two renowned scholars, an "enjoyable and intellectually stimulating" look at how metaphors shape our perceptions and actions ( Language).The now-classic Metaphors We Live By changed our understanding of metaphor and its role in language and the mind. Metaphor, the authors explain, is a fundamental mechanism of mind, one that allows us to use what we know about our physical and social ... Read more

$17.29 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

From two renowned scholars, an "enjoyable and intellectually stimulating" look at how metaphors shape our perceptions and actions ( Language).The now-classic Metaphors We Live By changed our understanding of metaphor and its role in language and the mind. Metaphor, the authors explain, is a fundamental mechanism of mind, one that allows us to use what we know about our physical and social
... Read more
You've Got Ketchup on Your Muumuu

An A to Z Guide to English Words from Around the World

by Eugene Ehrlich ...

From one of America's top wordsmiths, a lively survey of words from abroad that make English a truly international language.With dry wit and remarkable erudition, Eugene Ehrlich's You've Got Ketchup on Your Muumuu takes us on an eye-opening tour of our ever-changing language, showing us how English has, throughout its history, seamlessly sewn words from other languages into its original fabric. ... Read more

$2.99 USD

From one of America's top wordsmiths, a lively survey of words from abroad that make English a truly international language.With dry wit and remarkable erudition, Eugene Ehrlich's You've Got Ketchup on Your Muumuu takes us on an eye-opening tour of our ever-changing language, showing us how English has, throughout its history, seamlessly sewn words from other languages into its original fabric.
... Read more
The Lexicographer's Dilemma

The Evolution of 'Proper' English, from Shakespeare to South Park

by Jack Lynch ...

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers--those who have tried to regulate or otherwise organize the way we speak. Proper Words in Proper Places offers the first narrative history of these endeavors and shows clearly that what we now regard as the only "correct" way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As historian ... Read more

$11.59 USD

In its long history, the English language has had many lawmakers--those who have tried to regulate or otherwise organize the way we speak. Proper Words in Proper Places offers the first narrative history of these endeavors and shows clearly that what we now regard as the only "correct" way to speak emerged out of specific historical and social conditions over the course of centuries. As historian
... Read more
The Social Origins of Language

by Robert Seyfarth, Dorothy Cheney ...

Series series Duke Institute for Brain Sciences Series
How human language evolved from the need for social communicationThe origins of human language remain hotly debated. Despite growing appreciation of cognitive and neural continuity between humans and other animals, an evolutionary account of human language—in its modern form—remains as elusive as ever. The Social Origins of Language provides a novel perspective on this question and charts a new ... Read more

$31.69 USD

How human language evolved from the need for social communicationThe origins of human language remain hotly debated. Despite growing appreciation of cognitive and neural continuity between humans and other animals, an evolutionary account of human language—in its modern form—remains as elusive as ever. The Social Origins of Language provides a novel perspective on this question and charts a new
... Read more
The Power of No

A Celebration

by Anna Holmes ...

A powerful, patriarchy-defying manifesto that will transform your relationship to saying “no”—from the award-winning writer, founder of Jezebel, and former New York Times "Work Friend" advice columnistWhen was the last time you said “no”? Not, I don’t think so, or maybe, or let me think about it; but a full-throated “NO”? And how often do you agree to do things you don’t want to do? Most of us ... Read more

$13.99 USD

A powerful, patriarchy-defying manifesto that will transform your relationship to saying “no”—from the award-winning writer, founder of Jezebel, and former New York Times "Work Friend" advice columnistWhen was the last time you said “no”? Not, I don’t think so, or maybe, or let me think about it; but a full-throated “NO”? And how often do you agree to do things you don’t want to do? Most of us
... Read more
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Chiron Academic Press - The Original Authoritative Edition)

by Ludwig Wittgenstein ...

THE TRACTATUS LOGICO-PHILOSOPHICUS is the only book-length philosophical work published by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his lifetime. The project had a broad aim - to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science - and is recognized as a significant philosophical work of the twentieth century. Wittgenstein wrote the notes for the ... Read more

$1.00 USD

THE TRACTATUS LOGICO-PHILOSOPHICUS is the only book-length philosophical work published by the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in his lifetime. The project had a broad aim - to identify the relationship between language and reality and to define the limits of science - and is recognized as a significant philosophical work of the twentieth century. Wittgenstein wrote the notes for the
... Read more
A Myriad of Tongues

How Languages Reveal Differences in How We Think

by Caleb Everett ...

"An assured guide" (New Scientist) to the relationship between the language we speak and our perception of such fundamentals of experience as time, space, color, and smells.We tend to assume that all languages categorize ideas and objects similarly, reflecting our common human experience. But this isn’t the case. When we look closely, we find that many basic concepts are not universal, and that ... Read more

$16.59 USD

"An assured guide" (New Scientist) to the relationship between the language we speak and our perception of such fundamentals of experience as time, space, color, and smells.We tend to assume that all languages categorize ideas and objects similarly, reflecting our common human experience. But this isn’t the case. When we look closely, we find that many basic concepts are not universal, and that
... Read more
Words from Hell

Unearthing the Darkest Secrets of English Etymology

by Jess Zafarris ...

'A fiendishly good read!'Mignon Fogarty, Grammar GirlThe English language is where words go to be tortured and mutilated into unrecognizable shadows of their former selves. It's where Latin, Greek, and Germanic roots are shredded apart and stitched unceremoniously back together with misunderstood snippets of languages snatched from the wreckage of conquest and colonialism. It wreaks merciless ... Read more

$8.99 USD

'A fiendishly good read!'Mignon Fogarty, Grammar GirlThe English language is where words go to be tortured and mutilated into unrecognizable shadows of their former selves. It's where Latin, Greek, and Germanic roots are shredded apart and stitched unceremoniously back together with misunderstood snippets of languages snatched from the wreckage of conquest and colonialism. It wreaks merciless
... Read more
Short Stories in German for Beginners

Read for pleasure at your level, expand your vocabulary and learn German the fun way!

by Olly Richards, Alex Rawlings ...

Series series Readers
An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners."I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for NumbersShort Stories in German for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most ... Read more

$6.99 USD

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners."I love Olly's work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for NumbersShort Stories in German for Beginners has been written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, and most
... Read more
In the Land of Invented Languages

Esperanto Rock Stars, Klingon Poets, Loglan Lovers, and the Mad Dreamers Who Tried to Build A Perfect Language

by Arika Okrent ...

Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not to be confused with ... Read more

$7.99 USD

Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not to be confused with
... Read more
Household Perspectives on Minority Language Maintenance and Loss

Language in the Small Spaces

by Isabel Velázquez ...

Series Book 115 - Bilingual Education & Bilingualism
This book provides an in-depth examination of minority language maintenance and loss within a group of first-generation Spanish-speaking families in the early-21st century, post-industrial, hyper-globalized US Midwest, an area that has a recent history of Latino settlement and has a low ethnolinguistic vitality for Spanish. It looks specifically at language ‘in the small spaces’, that is, everyday ... Read more

$23.79 USD

This book provides an in-depth examination of minority language maintenance and loss within a group of first-generation Spanish-speaking families in the early-21st century, post-industrial, hyper-globalized US Midwest, an area that has a recent history of Latino settlement and has a low ethnolinguistic vitality for Spanish. It looks specifically at language ‘in the small spaces’, that is, everyday
... Read more
Beginner's Chechen with Online Audio

by Kheda Garchakhanova, John Lechner ...

The first Chechen language course available in English!Chechen is spoken by over 1.4 million people worldwide, mostly in the Chechen Republic. It is also spoken in the Chechen diaspora in Russia, Europe, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Middle East, notably in Jordan and Turkey. It is a Northeast Caucasian language that is written in the Cyrillic script.Ideal for those new to Chechen, learning at ... Read more

$11.59 USD

The first Chechen language course available in English!Chechen is spoken by over 1.4 million people worldwide, mostly in the Chechen Republic. It is also spoken in the Chechen diaspora in Russia, Europe, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Middle East, notably in Jordan and Turkey. It is a Northeast Caucasian language that is written in the Cyrillic script.Ideal for those new to Chechen, learning at
... Read more
Linguistic Categorization

by John R. Taylor ...

Series series Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics
This book provides a readable and clearly articulated introduction to the field of Cognitive Linguistics. It explores the far-reaching implications of Eleanor Rosch's seminal work on categorization and prototype theory, extending the application of prototype theory from lexical semantics to morphology, syntax, and phonology. The third edition is fully revised and updated to include the ... Read more

$56.69 USD

This book provides a readable and clearly articulated introduction to the field of Cognitive Linguistics. It explores the far-reaching implications of Eleanor Rosch's seminal work on categorization and prototype theory, extending the application of prototype theory from lexical semantics to morphology, syntax, and phonology. The third edition is fully revised and updated to include the
... Read more
Not Like a Native Speaker

On Languaging as a Postcolonial Experience

by Rey Chow ...

Although the era of European colonialism has long passed, misgivings about the inequality of the encounters between European and non-European languages persist in many parts of the postcolonial world. This unfinished state of affairs, this lingering historical experience of being caught among unequal languages, is the subject of Rey Chow's book. A diverse group of personae, never before assembled ... Read more

$26.59 USD

Although the era of European colonialism has long passed, misgivings about the inequality of the encounters between European and non-European languages persist in many parts of the postcolonial world. This unfinished state of affairs, this lingering historical experience of being caught among unequal languages, is the subject of Rey Chow's book. A diverse group of personae, never before assembled
... Read more
Yiddish

Biography of a Language

by Jeffrey Shandler ...

The most widely spoken Jewish language on the eve of the Holocaust, Yiddish continues to play a significant role in Jewish life today, from Hasidim for whom it is a language of daily life to avant-garde performers, political activists, and LGBTQ writers turning to Yiddish for inspiration. Yiddish: Biography of a Language presents the story of this centuries-old language, the defining vernacular of ... Read more

$22.79 USD

The most widely spoken Jewish language on the eve of the Holocaust, Yiddish continues to play a significant role in Jewish life today, from Hasidim for whom it is a language of daily life to avant-garde performers, political activists, and LGBTQ writers turning to Yiddish for inspiration. Yiddish: Biography of a Language presents the story of this centuries-old language, the defining vernacular of
... Read more
Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

A Practical Guide

by John Whitlam, Agripino S. Silveira ...

Series series Modern Grammars
Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Brazilian Portuguese, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.The Grammar is divided into two parts. Part A covers traditional grammatical categories such as agreement, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Part B is carefully organized around language functions covering all major ... Read more

$79.99 USD

Modern Brazilian Portuguese Grammar: A Practical Guide is an innovative reference guide to Brazilian Portuguese, combining traditional and function-based grammar in a single volume.The Grammar is divided into two parts. Part A covers traditional grammatical categories such as agreement, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Part B is carefully organized around language functions covering all major
... Read more

eReaders

Apps

Accessories

Shopping Cart

You're getting the VIP treatment!

Your Shopping Cart is empty

Available:

1 audiobook monthly

+ FREE 30-day trial

Available:

1 audiobook monthly

+ FREE 30-day trial

Recommended For You

Linguistics eBooks

Show: