If you’re a student of English you’ve most likely used one of David Crystal’s many texts on language and linguistics.  David Crystal is a renowned author and linguist and has published extensively in his field of expertise - lots of his books are recommended reading on your module reading lists.

Works include reference books such as the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English Language and Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, examination of the development in internet linguistics and text speak, practical application of grammar, the Language of Shakespeare, English spelling and words in detail.

David also writes on his own website and blog so you can find useful commentary and insight here as well.  Don’t forget to use the library Discover search tool to look for online information such as newspaper and journal articles by David.  Log in to Discover, choose the Advanced Search option and enter “David Crystal” into one of the search boxes, making sure you select change the field option to author. 

This will enable you to find articles directly with David Crystal as the author - but remember there will probably be more than one David Crystal and you will need to evaluate your results.

For more on what the University of Sunderland holds in our library collection by David Crystal check the library catalogue or click here for an example search.  You can also narrow by e-books if you prefer to read online or cannot get into the library to borrow a book.

For more on Discover help see our dedicated pages here.

Students on LAC309 Talking Elves and Aliens - your guided reading for week 2 is Susan Mandala’s article ‘Solidarity and the Scoobies: an analysis of the -y suffix in the television series Buffy and the Vampire Slayer’.

This is available to read online, save and print directly through your LAC309 online reading list:

• Go to library.sunderland.ac.uk
• Choose the Reading Lists option
• Search for the LAC309 list using lecturer name, module name or module code
• From the Weekly Reading folder find week 2, click on the article and read!

NOTE:  If you’re off-campus (outside a library building) you may be asked to enter your University user ID and password to verify you have permission to access it.

Keep in touch:

If you have any problems accessing this essential reading let me know - you can tweet us @uniofsunlib using the hashtag #LAC309 with any comments or questions.

There’s been a lot of English subject-related things happening recently - National Poetry Day, National Novel Writing Month, various book festivals and interesting things online at BBC4.  Let’s have a round up of just a few of the e-books we have in stock to support studying topics in English:

Search the library catalogue with keywords which describe your topic to find more books in your specific area of study.  We’re adding new titles all the time - to see the latest books added to stock click on the e-book link from the library homepage.

The government have unveiled plans to make learning a foreign language compulsory at primary schools. Plans will go to formal consultation later this year and it has been suggested that Mandarin, Latin and Greek be added to the list of languages to be studied.  Read the full article at the BBC by clicking the link above - including opinions from Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg, Russell Hobby (general secretary of the school leaders’ union, NAHT) and children’s writer Michael Rosen.

With over 918 comments about this article it’s definately a talking point - what do you think?  If you wish you’d learned a language or want to take what you do know to the next level, don’t forget about the University Language Scheme.

Voxy is a language learning website which you can sign up to for free mobile apps and information.  It also directs you to useful tips and information like the one above (original source grammar.net) via facebook, twitter or tumblr. When you sign up choose the free option for personalised progress and information. If you’ve got a tumblr blog click on the ‘reblogged from govoxy’ link below and then follow to get the latest blog posts direct to your dashboard.

Just a selection of the new books for Culture subjects at Murray Library.

Cuddon, J. A. (1999) Literary terms and literary theory. 4th ed. London : Penguin.

Macey, D. (2001) Penguin dictionary of critical theory. London : Penguin.

Smalzer, W. R. (2010) Basic grammar in use: workbook with answers. 3rd ed. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Martin, R. M. (2011) Pasos 1 : Spanish beginner’s course - audio and support book pack. 3rd rev. ed. London : Hodder Education.

Fallon, D. and Mee, J. (eds) (2011) Romanticism and revolution : a reader. Chichester : Wiley-Blackwell.  *Also available as an e-book*

O’Neill, M. and Callaghan, M. (eds) (2011) Twentieth-century British and Irish poetry : Hardy to Mahon. Chichester : Wiley-Blackwell.

Roach, P. (2009) English phonetics and phonology : a practical course. 4th ed. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.

Cutting, J. (2007) Pragmatics and discourse : a resource book for students. 2nd ed. London : Routledge.

Wray, A. (2012) Projects in linguistics and language studies. 3rd ed. London : Hodder Education.

Ortego, A. et al. Exacto! : a practical guide to Spanish grammar. 2nd ed. London : Hodder Education.

Leech, G. et al. (2006) English grammar for today : a new introduction. 2nd ed. Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan.

Murphy, R. (2012) English grammar in use with answers : a self-study reference and practice. 4th ed. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press.