Communicating in English: Talk, Text, Technology looks at how people use spoken and written English to communicate in their everyday lives.
Exploring the complex relationship between communication, technology and the English language, this book offers the reader practical insights into the analysis of speech and writing. A wide range of examples is provided, ranging from text messages and domestic quarrels to the works of Shakespeare and the words of Martin Luther King.
This book takes a fresh look at established topics such as rhetoric, language acquisition, and professional communication, as well as covering exciting new fields such as everyday creativity, digital media, and the history of the book. Key theoretical concepts are introduced in an accessible manner, and the reader is given an in-depth understanding of English-language communication in its social and historical contexts.
Drawing on the latest research and on the Open University’s experience of producing accessible and innovative texts, this book
• explains basic concepts and assumes no previous study of English studies, communication studies or linguistics
• features a range of source material and commissioned readings to supplement chapters
• includes contributions from leading experts in their fields, including Naomi Baron, Deborah Cameron, Guy Cook, Janet Holmes and Almut Koester
• has a truly international scope, encompassing examples and case studies from Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australasia
• is illustrated in full colour and includes a comprehensive index.
Communicating in English: Talk, Text, Technology is essential reading for all students of English language studies or communication studies.
Series: Worlds of English
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 397
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
Series preface
Biographical information
General introduction
1 Talking in English
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The structure and functions of talk
1.3 Politeness and interpersonal meaning
1.4 Communicative strategies and conversational style
1.5 Stories, accounts and identity
1.6 Collaborative storytelling
1.7 Conclusion
READING A: Rules of conversational sequence
READING B: Communicative strategies in Aboriginal English
2 Reading and writing in English
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Reading signs and images
2.3 Meaning and typeface
2.4 Genre
2.5 Literacy practices
2.6 Multimodal literacy and cultural difference
2.7 Conclusion
READING A: Genre under construction: the diary on the internet
READING B: The Edwardian postcard
3 Growing up with English
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Learning to talk in English
3.3 Learning to read and write in English
3.4 Conclusion
READING A: English is a difficult writing system for children to learn
READING B: Young children learning different writing systems
4 Working in English
4.1 Introduction
4.2 How does workplace talk differ from ordinary conversation?
4.3 Workplace genres
4.4 English as an international language and intercultural communication
4.5 Relationships at work
4.6 Language and power
4.7 Conclusion
READING A: The discourse of architecture
READING B: Humour and workplace culture
5 Everyday creativity in English
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Conversational poetics
5.3 Creative transformations
5.4 Cross-over creativity
5.5 Conclusion
READING A: Penfriend poetics
READING B: TXTPL@Y. Creativity in South African digital writing
6 Persuasion in English
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Classical rhetoric
6.3 Attitudes towards rhetoric
6.4 Advertising
6.5 Public relations
6.6 Personal persuasion
6.7 Evaluating persuasion
6.8 Conclusion
READING A: 'The light has gone out’: Indian traditions in English rhetoric
READING B: Forcing a smile: customer care and ‘superior service’
7 Material English
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Materialising language
7.3 Symbols and spaces in early medieval British literacy
7.4 To write, to print and to read
7.5 ‘English’ and the market for English-language texts
7.6 Access to texts
7.7 Conclusion
READING A: Noah Webster and the diffusion of linguistic innovations for political purposes
READING B: ‘Blood from stones’: censorship and the reading practices of South African political prisoners, 1960-1990
8 Digital English
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Digital Englishes
8.3 Digital texts
8.4 Digital talk
8.5 Digital globe
8.6 Conclusion
READING A: Under the microscope: facets of modern written culture
READING B: Researching language practices on a photo-sharing website
References
Acknowledgements
Index
