Language play
In this text, David Crystal examines why we devote so much time and energy to language games, how professionals make a career of them, and how young children instinctively take to them.
ix, 248 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm
9780226122052, 0226122050
1114751122
The Ludic View
The Amateurs
Introduction
Enjoying the Joke
Dialect Humour
Funny Sounds and Voices
Nonce Words and Meanings
Sounds and Spellings
Limerick Land
Even Total Nonsense
The Enthusiasts
Introduction
The Language Enthusiast
Missions Impossible
The Ludic Tower of Babel
Building Higher Towers
Gematria, and its Legacy
Grid Games
And Finally ..
The Professionals
Introduction
The Advertisers
The Headline Writers
The Comedians
The Collectors
The Comic Writers
The Authors
The Artists
The Theologians
The Children
Introduction
The First Year
Growing Up
The Language of the Playground
Towards Education
The Logical Conclusion
The Readers
Introduction
The Ludic Gap
The Missing Play
From Creativity to Intervention
Other Domains?
A New Climate?
The Future
Introduction
Why Play?
The Final Step
Originally published Penguin: 1998