Language Made Plain
Encyclopedia
Language Made Plain by Anthony Burgess
is a brief overview of the field of linguistics
. Without dealing specifically with any one language, it provides an introduction to semantics
, phonetics
, and the development of language.
Burgess later incorporated most of Language Made Plain into the first half of A Mouthful of Air
, which then goes on to deal almost exclusively with the English language
.
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
is a brief overview of the field of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. Without dealing specifically with any one language, it provides an introduction to semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
, phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, and the development of language.
Burgess later incorporated most of Language Made Plain into the first half of A Mouthful of Air
A Mouthful of Air
A Mouthful of Air: Language and Languages, Especially English is a work on the subject of linguistics by Anthony Burgess published in 1992.Among the topics covered are: the mechanics of linguistic sounds; the development of the English language and its connections with other languages; the making...
, which then goes on to deal almost exclusively with the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.