ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION This book is an introduction to how language is used in infinitely intriguing ways and how even rigorous analysis of these areas can be fun and fascinating. We focus unashamedly on language. However, while it is a particularly important part of communication, we unreservedly accept that the context (linguistic and non-linguistic) within which language is used is crucial for understanding how language is being used and what meaning is being expressed. We recognize that language use is problematical – it is not as simple as many would like to believe. For instance, a recently produced Alternative York Guide is intended as a guidebook to the alternative scene in York (UK), but the title could be taken as meaning that it is simply another guide to the city, alternative to the ones that already exist. Infamous antique shops from the same publication is an interesting phrase. Infamous means the same as notorious. Is the writer using infamous with its conventional meaning of ‘having a bad reputation’ or using infamous with its newer meaning of ‘famous’? This could be related perhaps to the way wicked is changing – at least for younger people – into a term of approval.
