Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Despite its academic flavor, this survey of language will entertain the general reader. Its 33 short chapters range from children's language acquisition to semantics, syntax, creoles and language around the world. Macaulay, a linguistics professor at Pitzer College in California, highlights unspoken rules of conversation, decodes the puffery of advertisements, considers the finer points of insults and swearing and explains how the interactive nature of language affects what we say and how we say it. Calling Standard English a ``nonregional dialect'' promulgated by an educated minority, he argues that it may not be superior to nonstandard dialects in its logic, regularity or beauty. He also disputes the popular ``linguistic relativity theory,'' finding insufficient evidence for its proponents' claim that people's thought processes are molded by the particular language they speak. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

CHOICE Review

Like its 1994 predecessor, the second edition of this book is teachable and engaging--the sort of book every linguist wishes he or she had written. In 35 chapters, Macaulay (emer., Pitzer College) presents a well-organized theory-free tour of the field. He draws on years of teaching to present the core areas of linguistics--phonology, prosody, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and language change--in brief, meaningful discussions illustrated with memorable examples (including some from Macaulay's own research on Scottish). He discusses the origin and biology of language, pidgins and creoles, the language diversity of the world, and the history of English. He also shows the relevance of linguistics for the analysis of conversation, narrative, verse, and rhetoric, and he highlights cursing, nursery rhymes, and male-female language differences. Including a useful glossary, suggestions for further reading, and phonetic symbols, this book will be a fine resource not only for introductory linguistics courses but also for library collections, where it will be used by both students and general readers. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and above; general readers. E. L. Battistella Southern Oregon University

Booklist Review

As familiar and pedestrian as it seems, everyday speech conceals a world of mystery. Macaulay invites the reader to explore this world as he investigates the way children learn their native tongue, the way adults acquire a second language, the way Old English transformed itself into modern English, and the way words enchant, beguile, frustrate, or seduce us in various settings. How is it, for instance, that English, Russian, Pima, and Laguna children all use almost the same words to refer to their fathers and mothers? In search of an answer, Macaulay clarifies the nature of a child's preverbal babbling, in which stop consonants (m, p, d) occur with remarkable regularity. And how is it that a word (humor) originally meaning "water" or "liquid" now refers to one's sense of the laughable? Only a foray into medieval physiology can illuminate the matter. But whether the topic is nursery rhymes, literature, dialects, rhetoric, or profanity, Macaulay sweeps aside the obvious and uncovers riddles and surprises. Itself a delightful introduction to linguistics, the book concludes with helpful recommendations for further reading. ~--Bryce Christensen

Kirkus Book Review

A modest survey of recent linguistic theory and practice in which Macaulay (Linguistics/Pitzer College; Generally Speaking, 1980--not reviewed) draws on 25 years of teaching to present what he admits is derivative, technical, and pedagogically oriented. Unlike the luminous and artful version of contemporary linguistics by Anthony Burgess (A Mouthful of Air, 1993), or the vivid and original contributions by Ray Jackendoff, Steven Pinker, and Joel Davis, this study is tidy, conservative, distinguished by the 30 short and methodical chapters, the teacher's voice, and the wide array of examples. Mostly, Macaulay describes familiar facets of language by using linguistics terminology: language acquisition, phonemics, vocabulary, syntax, semantics, and ``deictic'' elements- -the implied gestures of spoken language. He divides dialects into region, social class, written and spoken language; and he ``registers'' the technical vocabularies of different fields, stylistic devices, and also sexual differences, which he believes are unimportant despite the ``nonsense'' the topic has produced. The power of language; ``magic'' words; rhetoric as both an abuse that obscures meaning (or lack of it) and as a power of persuasion; conversation; narratives; foreign languages; the history of English; of Indo-European; and the literary uses of language--all these expand the topics beyond the typical linguistic preoccupation of describing how language is used. Except for Macaulay's disarming ``Envoi,'' revealing his personal experience with linguistics and with gathering authentic examples, especially from his native Scottish dialect, the scope and approach are familiar, indeed self- evident. Competent, noncontroversial, and instructive: it's difficult to determine why a reader would prefer this volume to all the brilliant competition.