The Social Art: Language and Its Uses

By Ronald Macaulay

Book Overview

The Social Art is an engagingly written, highly accessible tour through the world of languages. Macaulay uses jokes, anecdotes, quotations, and examples to introduce readers to the full range of current linguistic knowledge, covering in 35 chapters, topics like language acquisition, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, dialects, conversation, narrative, swearing, and many others.

In this revised and expanded second edition, Macaulay brings the book up to date with the last decade of progress in linguistics, adding more American examples, and updating bibliographies. Two new chapters have been added, on theories of language development and on the evolution of language. The Social Art is perfect for general readers and students who want to learn about what it is that linguists do.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195187962
• ISBN13: 9780195187960
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Good information. Most useful text in my Anthro 104 class

I loved this book because it was easier to read than my other two Anthropology 104 textbooks, Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation and The workings of language.The best feature of this book is the glossary, which gives you meanings to some of the most used terms in the book. It has 33 chapters and it reads quickly like an elementary school english textbook.

highly approachable above all else

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in language or linguistics at any level of discipline. Macaulay's style is informative and approachable--how refreshing it is to read a book on the topic of language that utilizes an easily approachable one! The chapters are quite short but make their points and present their theories clearly and succinctly, never drudging out boring pedantry just to fill pages. His is a very down-to-earth style and approach to this often lofty topic.