Language and Creativity

<p>Language and Creativity has become established as a pivotal text for courses in English Language Linguistics and Literacy. </p><p>Creativity in language has conventionally been regarded as the preserve of institutionalised discourses such as literature and advertising and individual gifted minds. In this ground-breaking book bestselling author Ronald Carter explores the idea that creativity far from being simply a property of exceptional people is an exceptional property of all people. </p><p>Drawing on a range of real examples of everyday conversations and speech from flatmates in a student house and families on holiday to psychotherapy sessions and chat-lines the book argues that creativity is an all-pervasive feature of everyday language. Using close analysis of naturally occurring language taken from a unique 5 million word corpus <i>Language and Creativity</i> reveals that speakers commonly make meanings in a variety of creative ways in a wide range of social contexts and for a diverse set of reasons. </p><p>This <i>Routledge Linguistics Classic</i> is here reissued with a new preface from the author covering a range of key topics from e-language and internet discourse to English language teaching and world Englishes. <i>Language and Creativity</i> continues to build on the previous theories of creativity offering a radical contribution to linguistic literary and cultural theory. A must for anyone interested in the creativity of our everyday speech. </p>