A Little Book of Language

With the ease of a researcher and the delight of a child, David Crystal takes readers on a journey through the past, present, and future of languages. You'll learn why rappers need to know their spelling, how an accent helps them survive, why Yoda speaks in such an unusual manner, and why dialects are more than just a "worse" version of the literary language.

The author combines scientific accuracy and a lively style, explaining with stories, diagrams, and easily explained facts. Many examples are specially adapted for the Ukrainian language. All this helps to look at language not as a dry theory, but as an incomprehensible living organism.