Social Linguistics

Deathworld centers on Jason dinAlt, a professional gambler who uses his somewhat erratic psionic abilities to tip the odds in his favor. He is challenged by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who turns out to be the ambassador from the planet Pyrrus) to turn a large amount of money into an immense sum by gambling at a government-run casino. He succeeds and survives the planetary government's desperate efforts to steal back the money.

D. H. Lawrence's controversial classic, The Rainbow, follows the lives and loves of three generations of the Brangwen family between 1840 and 1905. Their tempestuous relationships are played out against a backdrop of change as they witness the arrival of industrialization - the only constant being their unending attempts to grasp a higher form of existence symbolized by the persistent, unifying motif of the "rainbow".

We all know the pleasure felt at someone else's misfortune. The Germans named this delight in another's failure schadenfreude (from schaden damage, and freude, joy), and it has perplexed philosophers and psychologists for centuries. Schadenfreude illuminates this hidden emotion, inviting listeners to reflect on its pleasures and how we use other people's miseries to feel better about ourselves. With its exploratory, evocative form, it weaves examples from literature, philosophy, film, and music together with personal observation and historical and cultural analysis.

A dialogue between Socrates and Meno probes the subject of ethics. Can goodness be taught? If it can, then we should be able to find teachers capable of instructing others about what is good and bad, right and wrong, or just and unjust.

The alpha male is the kind of guy who gets first class treatment in high places even when hasn't really paid for premium treatment. He has an aura of power and exerts authority by the way he looks, the way he carries himself when alone or around other people. Being an alpha male is more than just getting laid whenever and wherever you want, and is more about taking responsibility for your actions. Being an alpha male isn't a one day kind of thing.

First published in 1853 amidst rumors that Thomas Jefferson fathered children with one of his slaves, Clotel is a fictional chronicle of one such child. After Jefferson's death, his mistress and her two daughters are auctioned. One daughter, Clotel, is purchased by a white man from Virginia who impregnates her. Despite the promise of marriage, Clotel is instead sold to another man and separated from her daughter. After escaping from the slave dealer, Clotel returnss to Virginia to reunite with her daughter - now a slave in her father's house.

Follow the journey of Horace Holly and his ward, Leo Vincey, to a lost kingdom in the African interior. There they encounter a primitive race of natives and a mysterious white queen named Ayesha who reigns as the all-powerful "She", or "She-who-must-be-obeyed". In this work, Rider Haggard developed the conventions of the Lost World subgenre, which many later authors emulated.

Sigmund Freud revolutionized the way in which we think about ourselves. From its beginnings as a theory of neurosis Freud developed psychoanalysis into a general psychology, which became widely accepted as the predominant mode of discussing personality and interpersonal relationships. Anthony Storr goes one step further and investigates the status of Freud's legacy today and the disputes that surround it.

From the instance of its first publication, in 1766, Oliver Goldsmith's novel of Christian piety and endurance has stood the test of time. The story is told in the first person by a vicar, Dr. Primrose, who, along with his wife and six children, lives a rural idyllic life in a country parish. It is a very sophisticated work which contrasts the forces that separate religious principal from the actual experiences of life. It is also a delightful, sentimental work whose amusing characters are both wise and foolish, brave and cowardly, rich and poor, as well as honest and knavish.

Avez-vous déjà vu votre confiance brisée par quelqu'un en qui vous aviez une grande estime ? Peu importe qu'il s'agisse d'un parent, d'un ami ou d'un collègue, nous avons toujours besoin de savoir si nous pouvons vraiment compter sur une personne qui nous est très proche, car au moment où nous en avons besoin, elle peut ne pas mériter la confiance que nous lui avons accordée. Peut-on vraiment réussir une telle chose ? La réponse est oui, les méthodes les plus efficaces pour décrypter le langage corporel de notre interlocuteur se trouvent dans ce texte !

Ever wondered why we "let the cat out of the bag" or "kick the bucket"? Dive into the fascinating world of linguistics with "Say What? The Origins of Everyday Idioms and Phrases"–your ultimate guide to understanding the quirky expressions that pepper our language! From ancient proverbs to modern slang, this book takes you on an exhilarating journey through the history of our most beloved idioms and phrases. Discover how our language has evolved, shaped by culture, history, and human imagination.

¡No se aburra! es un compendio de juegos de palabras que provienen de la tradición oral latinoamericana. Se trata de un libro muy divertido que propicia el juego con el lenguaje.

Entra a este divertido laberinto de palabras y frases características de las conversaciones entre mexicanos.

English Vocabulary: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English vocabulary, the way linguists classify and explain it, and the place of vocabulary in our overall picture of the language, and in society. Introducing a range of terminology for discussing vocabulary, the listener is provided with a coherent, structured description of what we know about words and their meanings.

In Articulate While Black, two renowned scholars of Black Language address language and racial politics in the U.S. through an insightful examination of President Barack Obama's language use--and America's response to it. In this eloquently written and powerfully argued book, H. Samy Alim and Geneva Smitherman provide new insights about President Obama and the relationship between language and race in contemporary society.

From “one of the most brilliant young psychologists of her generation” (Paul Bloom), a groundbreaking examination of how speech causes some of our deepest social divides—and how it can help us overcome them.

Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?

Almost everyone swears, or worries about not swearing, from the two year-old who has just discovered the power of potty mouth to the grandma who wonders why every other word she hears is obscene. Whether they express anger or exhilaration, are meant to insult or to commend, swear words perform a crucial role in language. But swearing is also a uniquely well-suited lens through which to look at history, offering a fascinating record of what people care about on the deepest levels of a culture - what's divine, what's terrifying, and what's taboo.

Phineas Finn, a handsome young man of 23, comes to England to make his fortune in parliamentary politics. But despite all his aspirations, Finn is haunted by ethical questions as his personal convictions conflict with his duty towards his party. Loyalty versus honor, love versus money, and privacy versus prominence: our eponymous hero faces a variety of dilemmas as he navigates his way through the House of Commons.

Rosmersholm is a play surrounding the deep and intense political and cultural change in Norway in the middle of the 1880s, a period during which the traditional ruling class were forced to relinquish their right to impose their ideals on the rest of society. We follow Johannes Rosmer, a pastor who has resigned from his position; Rebecca West, a woman who sees Rosmer's potential and believes she can help him to realize his dream of creating a world of "happy, noble people"; and Headmaster Kroll, Rosmer's former best friend.