A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (Crystal)

A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (Crystal) is a recommended TEFL/TESOL title from the Global English reading list, available to buy on Amazon.

What it is. David Crystal's single-volume A to Z of the terminology of linguistics and phonetics, published by Wiley-Blackwell and revised repeatedly since it first appeared in 1980. It is the reference people reach for when a term in an article turns out to be doing more work than it looked like it was doing.

How it is built. Entries span the whole field - phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, stylistics. Each one defines the term, shows it working in an example, and cross-references the neighbouring concepts. Major terms get an extended entry with a note on how different schools of thought use them differently, which is very often the thing you actually needed to know. The prose is readable rather than forbidding.

Who it suits. It becomes essential the moment you start reading academic sources rather than teaching handbooks - a Level 5 assignment, the linguistics or phonetics specialist courses, or any point at which you have to write about language in the field's own vocabulary and get it right. Keep it beside you while you read, not on a shelf.

What it does not do. A dictionary defines; it does not argue and it does not teach. It will settle what a morpheme is and will never tell you how morphology should shape a vocabulary lesson. Buy the most recent edition you can find: terminology has moved, particularly in pragmatics and in corpus work.

Recommended for these courses:

• Level 5 250 Hour TEFL/TESOL Professional Course
• 30 hour Introduction to Phonetics
• 30 hour Introduction to Linguistics