Life of a Language Legend

Earlier this week, I finished 'Just a Phrase I'm Going Through: My Life in Language' by venerable linguist and writer David Crystal.  Earlier today, I finished writing a post about it, which unfortunately got swallowed by Blogger.  An extreme ellipsis that had me using some choice language I can tell you.  Anyway, here we go again!

Book 128:
'Just a Phrase I'm
Going Through:
My Life in Language'
by David Crystal
(Routledge, 2009)

In 'Just a Phrase I'm Going Through', Professor Crystal gives us a snapshot of what it means to be a linguist.  Driven by a passion for language and a boundless curiosity, he follows a childhood in North Wales and Liverpool with an academic career at University College London and later the universities of Reading and Bangor.  Seizing the opportunities presented by the burgeoning new science of Linguistics, he is able to explore and expand a range of fields and interests, including speech therapy, grammar and language teaching.  Following government cuts in the 1980s, however, Professor Crystal decides to leave academia, but this is far from the end of his linguistics journey.  He finds new roles, including broadcaster, consultant, writer and encyclopedia compiler, applying his endless energy to an ongoing quest to make knowledge accessible and encourage the public's interest in the words and language they use everyday.  It is a route Professor Crystal still follows.

To me, this book was the antithesis of the typical celebrity biography.  Rather than the author being the star of the show, language, Linguistics and Professor Crystal's ongoing passion for them both was centre stage.  His private life is often the catalyst for his work, but on the whole it took a comfortable back seat and is not the main focus of the book.  This means that the reader is able to learn something about Professor Crystal without feeling like they're intruding.

Professor Crystal was a bit of a legend for my A Level English Language group and 'It's Just a Phrase I'm Going Through' reminded me of how I felt about Linguistics in my late teens.  How much it fascinated me and how wonderful it was to have the freedom to study this amazing subject.  Thanks to him, we could pursue our interest because we had access to informative, well written and highly readable books on the subject.  We didn't have to wade through the tomes that almost put him off at our age, so, thank you, Professor.

Overall, this is a funny, interesting, touching, informative book which should appeal to anyone with an interest in the study of language or the Professor himself.  It tends to follow themes rather than exact chronology, but the writer's deft, accessible style means you never feel lost.  In fact, most of the time I was completely absorbed and found Professor Crystal's positivity and enthusiasm for life completely infectious.  I was sad to finish the book and look forward to reading more by him in the future.  Just as well really, I have at least three other books by him...

Now, from one book by a bearded man about a bearded man to another.  Bernard Cornwell's been chronicling Uhtred again!