Collins COBUILD English Dictionary


Book Description

English dictionary with over 75000 references.




COBUILD British Advanced Dictionary


Book Description

The 8th edition of the Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary offers up-to-date coverage of today's English in a clear, attractive format. This dictionary is ideal for upper-intermediate and advanced learners of English. It covers all the words, phrases, and idioms that students need to master in order to speak and write effective English. With full-sentence definitions written in simple, natural English, this dictionary is easy to use and understand. The examples, taken from the 4.5-billion-word Collins Corpus, show learners how the words are used in authentic contexts. The dictionary also provides extensive help with grammar, including grammar patterns for many of the examples, and a grammar reference in the supplement. A wide range of vocabulary-building features, many of them with full-colour illustrations, encourage students to expand and improve their accuracy and fluency. The dictionary also includes a Visual Thesaurus, which provides alternatives to the 50 most over-used words in English; an Activity Guide, which helps students learn how to get the most out of the dictionary; a Writer's Handbook, which gives guidance on spelling, punctuation, letter-writing and CVs, and a Speaker's Handbook, which gives advice on the best set phrases to use in specific situations. The Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary provides invaluable and detailed guidance on the English language, and is the complete reference tool for learners of English.




Essential English Dictionary


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Collins Pocket English Dictionary


Book Description

A new edition of the most up-to-date and information-packed pocket dictionary available. This new edition of Collins Pocket English Dictionary retains all the key features that made its predecessors so successful: * All the entry words and spelling forms are highlighted in colour giving maximum ease of use. * Its completely up-to-date coverage of written and spoken English is based on analysis of Collins language database, the Bank of English, the largest database of the English language. * All definitions are provided in clear, no-nonsense language that makes the meanings clear. * Modern meanings are given first so it is easy to find the sense you need. But in addition, this edition brings language right up to the minute with its inclusion of the newest words on the scene. Also all the notes giving advice on puzzling or disputed points in using English have been completely revised, based on evidence from the Bank of English, to give you even more confidence in how to express yourself.




Collins COBUILD Pocket Dictionary


Book Description

Based on the completely new and innovative Cobuild Gem dictionary, the second edition of the Collins Cobuild Pocket Dictionary is specifically designed to meet the needs of learners, making it the essential tool to build confidence in English.




Words, Meaning and Vocabulary


Book Description

This work goes back to the sources of modern English words and studies the development of vocabulary over time. It examines what constitutes a word, with a discussion of words that look and sound the same, words that have several meanings, and "words" that are made up of more than one "word". As well as considering the borrowing of words from other languages throughout the history of English as a means of increasing the vocabulary, the book also outlines how English forms new words by exploiting the structure of existing words, through processes of derivation and compounding. The meaning of a word is composite of a number of relations: reference to external context, relations with other words of a similar or opposite meaning, collocational relations, and so on. The book grapples with the meaning problem, but then goes on to look at the contexts in which words are used and the purposes for which they are used, raising the question whether it is more sensible to talk about English "vocabularies" rather than English "vocabulary".




Words and Their Meaning


Book Description

In this book, the development of the English dictionary is examined, along with the kinds of dictionary available, the range of information they contain, factors affecting their usage, and public attitudes towards them. As well as an descriptive analysis of word meaning, the author considers whether a thematic, thesaurus-like presentation might be more suited than the traditional alphabetical format to the description of words and their meaning.




Discourse Markers in Native and Non-native English Discourse


Book Description

While discourse markers have been examined in some detail, little is known about their usage by non-native speakers. This book provides valuable insights into the functions of four discourse markers (so, well, you know and like) in native and non-native English discourse, adding to both discourse marker literature and to studies in the pragmatics of learner language. It presents a thorough analysis on the basis of a substantial parallel corpus of spoken language. In this corpus, American students who are native speakers of English and German non-native speakers of English retell and discuss a silent movie. Each of the main chapters of the book is dedicated to one discourse marker, giving a detailed analysis of the functions this discourse marker fulfills in the corpus and a quantitative comparison between the two speaker groups. The book also develops a two-level model of discourse marker functions comprising a textual and an interactional level.




Language and the Lexicon


Book Description

The lexicon represents the building blocks of language: words and vocabulary. Most of us think of language in terms of words, and words are also integral to the way in which linguists approach language as an object of study. The lexicon and lexical issues must be taken in consideration in every domain of language study and, conversely, the lexicon cannot be viewed in isolation from other aspects of language. 'Language and the Lexicon' provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of lexicology, introducing the reader to the lexicon by exploring the lexical aspects of a range of different areas of language: syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, language variation, language change, language acquisition and language processing. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, the book introduces the key concepts employing examples from a wide variety of languages in order to illustrate the points made. This book is ideally suited to those approaching lexicology for the first time. With its wide breadth of focus and diverse topics, it can equally serve as a first introduction to linguistics.




Thinking English Grammar


Book Description

Thinking English Grammar. To Honour Xavier Dekeyser, Professor Emeritus contains papers by 34 colleagues of professor Dekeyser on subjects that have interested him throughout his career. His research has mainly been devoted to the history of English, and it is only natural that the first and longest section should consist of 11 papers on variation in English, both diachronic and synchronic. The second, barely shorter with its 9 papers, is devoted to the description of various aspects of modern English; some of these papers shade off into theoretical linguistics. Professor Dekeyser having obtained his Ph.D. on grammaticography, there is a third section on "Grammar from the Past", with 5 papers. The final section, 9 papers on "Language Teaching and Contrast", honours the eminent teacher of literally thousands of budding anglicists.