Lexis

Journal in English Lexicology 

Book reviews | 2020

David CRYSTAL, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the

English Language (Third edition)
Cambridge University Press, 2019, 506 pages

Oscar Garcia-Marchena

Electronic version
URL: http://journals.openedition.org/lexis/4512
DOI: 10.4000/lexis.4512
ISSN: 1951-6215

Publisher
Université Jean Moulin - Lyon 3
 

Electronic reference
Oscar Garcia-Marchena, “David CRYSTAL, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third
edition)”, Lexis [Online], Book reviews, Online since 13 July 2020, connection on 09 April 2021. URL:
http://journals.openedition.org/lexis/4512 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/lexis.4512

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 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 1

David CRYSTAL, The Cambridge

Encyclopedia of the English Language
(Third edition)
Cambridge University Press, 2019, 506 pages

Oscar Garcia-Marchena

REFERENCES
David Crystal
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of English Language. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
2019.ISBN: 978-1-108-42359-5, Price: 36 €, 506 pages

1 This comprehensive encyclopedia is 506 pages long, includes a preface, an introductory

chapter and 24 more chapters distributed in six parts concerning different topics: the
history of English, its vocabulary, grammar, spoken and written varieties, use and
language acquisition. It is completed by a useful webography and by an essential
section on further readings for each section of the book, which allows to deepen any of
the subjects. Besides, it contains three indexes about linguistic items, authors and
topics respectively.
2 The book constitutes a unique reference work on the current knowledge on the English
language, and includes a presentation of different aspects of each subfield, together
with illustrations, data tables, maps, diagrams and separated panels, which include
anecdotal or specific cases that exemplify and provide deeper insight on the topic in
question. Some chapters even include exercices with answers in the side page, which
adds an interactive component to the work.
3 Almost every page of the 25 chapters contains at least one of these items, which
ensures the pedagogical aim of this ambitious work. This regular distribution of
theoretical content, case studies and anecdotal articles make the work comprehensive
and easy to understand. As the authors puts it in the preface, he strived for “a balance

Lexis , Book reviews

 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 2

between talking about the language and letting the language talk for itself”, following
the model of his preceding work The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language.
4 The pedagogical nature of this book makes it suitable for different kinds of reader.
Students of the English language, English linguistics or general linguistics will find a
unified account of the numerous topics that are included in the study of language in
general, and the English language in particular. Besides, thanks to its structured
account and the combination of scientific information with illustrations and small
independent articles, non-academic readers interested in the English language will also
find useful insights on any aspect of the subject, either in the form of particular
information or illustrative examples.
5 The first chapter “Modelling English” consists of a short introductory diagram showing
the relationships between the different aspects of the study of language that are
exposed in the body of the work, following the classical dichotomy: structure vs. use.
The following chapters are grouped in the aforementioned six thematic parts, each part
containing a variable number of chapters between two and six, all dealing with the
main areas of study of a particular subfield. These six chapters also differ in length: 120
pages are devoted to Part 1 (The History of English), and 178 to Part 5 (Using English), with
the remaining parts ranging from 30 to 75 pages.
6 The first part, “The history of English”, presents the first seven chapters in
chronological order: “The origins of English”, “Old English”, “Middle English”, “Early
Modern English”, “Modern English” and, lastly, “World English”, which enlarges this
traditional classification. For each chapter, the author offers an account of basic axes of
synchronic description: spelling, sounds, grammar and vocabulary, as well as other
aspects like existing corpora and major milestones in the history of the language for
each period, like The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Chaucer, Shakespeare, etc.
7 As we mentioned, Crystal’s work is useful and delightful for both students in linguistics
and people interested in the English language. Nevertheless, some parts of the work are
more accessible than others, as a consequence of the subject treated. For instance,
Part 1 contains a large quantity of data, from which a part (like the description of Old
English) is somehow specialised, which makes it less accessible for those lacking
linguistic background. In contrast, Part 2, deals with a more familiar subject for the
reader not acquainted with linguistics: vocabulary, and it is therefore more accessible
for readers without prior knowledge in linguistics.
8 Grammar being the subject of Part 3, the account is necessarily incomplete. It presents
a selection of salient topics, with the advantage of not using any technical terminology.
In this way, this part is almost entirely composed of panels containing examples of
grammatical features. Part 4 offers a description of two technical aspects in the
description of English: phonetics and writing. As a consequence, it is composed of fewer
illustrations, anecdotes and examples, and is therefore less educational, but it succeeds
in presenting a schematic account of the basis of English phonology, phonetics and
writing in a few pages. To conclude the work, Part 5 adds some topics on English
language acquisition and study. Only a small number of phenomena are presented, but
they are precisely illustrated with corpus data and charts.
9 Having considered these contents, one can wonder the interest of grouping the history
of English in a single volume (Part 2), its grammar (Parts 3 and 4) and its acquisition
and study (Parts 5). The inclusion of a diachronic description (Part 2) and a synchronic
one (Parts 3 and 4), seems ambitious but logical in an encyclopedic work of this kind.

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 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 3

However, the last part breaks its thematic coherence, since it addresses topics that are
not related to the English language itself, but with its learning. Still, this part
undoubtedly enriches the account of the description of English with new parameters of
analysis; it would be a pity to omit the data on the language acquisition and on the
properties of English put forward by corpus studies. This is a characteristic of Crystal’s
work: it aims to include basic references to every sub-field in the study of English,
including the most recent trends.
10 Chapter 2, “The origins of English”, is a short introduction presenting the mythical and
historical origin of English that precedes Chapter 3 about Old English. Together with
the basic account of the language, this chapter addresses a number of questions: runes,
early literature and its devices, phonetic changes, different sources of vocabulary like
Latin and Old Norse, Scandinavian influence and the emergence of dialects. Another
valuable asset of the chapter is the number of illustrated examples of early writing
samples, often accompanied by their transcription and translation, which can be
particularly useful for both students and dilettantes. Likewise, the presence of maps is
essential for understanding the birth of Old English dialects.
11 Chapter 4, on Middle English, presents the continuity of the English language through
the historical events and their effect on the transformation of the language, and
discusses topics such as the change and continuity of literary tradition, the Chaucerian
work, the Norman and French influence and changes in the different aspects of the
language: sound system, spelling, grammar, morphology and vocabulary. Special
attention is also drawn to the development of Middle English dialects and the origins of
the standard variety. All these contents are presented in a clear and summarised
fashion. As in the preceding chapter, the panels’ contents are of great value: pictures of
various literary works are accompanied by their transcription, and the use of maps and
diagrams constitute an essential contribution for understanding Crystal’s account.
12 Chapter 5 presents a synchronic description of Early Modern English, roughly between
1400 and 1800 AD, and focuses on a number of subjects: the emergence of printing in
England, main texts such as the various versions of the Bible, authors like Shakespeare,
changes in grammar and sound, the stabilisation of the language (influenced by the
regularisation of spelling or punctuation), and the publication of Johnson’s dictionary.
Again, illustrations allow to have a visual image of the protagonists and reference
works, and panels offer several examples of each point.
13 Chapter 6 provides an outline of some interesting topics on Modern English, like the
grammatical changes at the beginning of the period, the influence of prescriptive
grammar, modern varieties of English, the American linguistic identity and current
trends in lexical creation. Some tables offer specific data on these matters, like the
evolution in the creation of scientific vocabulary and the preferred pronunciation of
some terms. Besides, thanks to numerous images, it introduces and illustrates a
number of literary personalities that contributed to the linguistic identity of Modern
English, like Charles Dickens.
14 Chapter 7 deals with the varieties of English across the world, such as Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, South and South-East Asia, Colonial Africa and South Pacific,
paying special attention to the synchronic and diachronic description of US varieties.
Although such an ambitious coverage is necessarily schematic, maps and diagrams
allow us to relate them to derivations of either British or American English. It also

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 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 4

presents interesting data on the use of English as L1 and L2 through the world, and the
grouping of these varieties under different standards of English.
15 The second part of the book, grouping chapters 8 to 12, is dedicated to the lexicon, and
explores its nature, its sources, etymology, structure and a number of lexical-semantic
concepts like taboos and clichés. Chapter 8 introduces this part, broaching the subject
of the size of the lexicon and some kinds of items that make part of it, like
abbreviations and proper nouns. Chapter 9 further tackles the subject, presenting the
sources of the English vocabulary and some word-formation rules, such as
compounding or neologisms, providing amusing illustrated examples of popular and
literary culture.
16 Chapter 10, dedicated to etymology, tackles the traditional subjects of semantic change
and folk etymology, and develops the more original question of proper names for
places, people or objects. Place names are illustrated with several maps that present
the sources of place names in England, the US and Canada, and people names are
analysed for their type, variations, and use through time.
17 Chapter 11 investigates the structure of the lexicon, addressing subjects such as
semantic fields, thesauri, syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic relationships, collocations,
lexicalisation and semantic relationships like synonymy and hyponymy. The use of
panels for diagrams and example constitutes an essential tool in this chapter to
illustrate structural relationships within the lexicon. Chapter 12 enriches this account
with the inclusion of its connotative aspects: taboo, swearing, jargon, slang, doubble-
speak, political correctness and archaisms, among others.
18 Part 3 deals with the grammar of English by addressing a number of topics: the
definition of syntax, morphology, parts of speech and sentence structure, in
Chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16 respectively. Chapter 13 distinguishes the concepts of
grammatical knowledge and prescriptive grammar, and introduces basic concepts that
will allow non-linguists to easily understand the following chapters. Chapter 14
presents some salient features of English grammar, such as suffixation for noun
number and case and verb tense system. The examples are very specific, but accessible
thanks to their schematic disposition. Here, as in the rest of the work, accessibility is
preferred to depth.
19 Chapter 15 continues this technical description, dealing with parts of speech and its
sub-classes, according to their particular semantic, morphological or syntactic
properties. Again, the synoptic presentation allows the reader to have a quick overview
of the basic units of analysis. Similarly, Chapter 16’s account of sentence structure
contains a profusion of structured topics, like sentence types and functions, clause
elements, phrases, verbal properties (such as aspect, voice and tense), information
structure and textual coherence. This broad account is especially useful to get
acquainted with one of these particular topics, but it is less explicit in the relationship
between these different aspects of grammar.
20 Shorter than the other parts, Part 4 is composed of only two chapters, 17 and 18, which
deal with spoken and written English respectively. The first one presents the basics of
the English phonological and phonetic system, paying particular attention to the
description of the most complex aspects, like vowels and diphthongs, and focusing on
the place and manner of articulation, syllable structure, connected speech, prosody and

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 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 5

sound symbolism. Except for this last topic, the chapter is necessarily technical, but
clear enough to provide basic knowledge to any reader lacking linguistic background.
21 Chapter 18 addresses the subject of writing, and is composed of two different parts. The
first one presents a description of the items in the Latin alphabet, with its origins and
variants, both synchronic (upper case vs. lower case) and diachronic, and finishes with
a couple of concepts of textometry: frequency and distribution. The second part
continues the technical account, and includes some pedagogical material for dealing
with various heterogeneous topics: graphemic symbolisms and variety, graphology,
spelling and punctuation.
22 Section 5 of the work completes the description of the English language given in the
preceding chapters by adding a different perspective. If Parts 2 to 4 deal with the
different aspects of English language as an abstract system, Part 5 describes the way the
English language is used, and more particularly, the different axes of variation
according to classical analysis. These axes include diatopic, diastratic and diaphasic
differences, but Crystal’s work includes also more innovative frames like the
specificities of various textual genders and the use of English in the internet sphere.
23 Chapter 19 enlarges the description of language use by taking into account the use of
sentences in actual discourse. It pays special attention to current trends in language
study such as conversation and presents some existing models of analysis, covering
both monologic and dialogic differences. It also contains an interesting description of
language variation in text types and speech media, including recent text types born
with the internet revolution.
24 Chapter 20 enriches the account of the use of English with a presentation of regional
variations, mainly by showing and commenting excerpts from newspapers in the two
main models of language use, US and UK English. It displays some of the most salient
differences in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. It also makes extensive use of
maps and dialectal atlases to account for the internal variation in these two models,
providing detailed data, including UK varieties of English such as Scots, Irish and Welsh
English, and world varieties like Canadian, Caribbean, Australian, New Zealand, South
African and South Asian English. This account is necessarily schematic, but allows the
reader to grasp the general idea of the particularities of English worldwide.
25 Chapter 21 deals with social variation, including topics such as prescriptivism, and
gender-respectful use, but most of it focuses on the particularities of English in
different occupational domains, like science, law, and politics, as well as within media
types: journal, broadcasting, sports, publicity, etc. Similarly, Chapter 21 integrates data
from recent trends in corpus linguistics that aim to cover a maximum diversity of
language use. In its aim for exhaustivity, it also includes very specific uses of language,
like chess, heraldics and recipe books.
26 Chapter 22 goes even further in the description of language variation; if Chapter 21
aimed to cover a wide range of cases of particular language use for communication
purposes, this chapter explores the possibilities of language variation for other
purposes, like playing, creating social distance, humour, and stating literary or
personal identity. Particular attention is given to humour and the expression of
identity, detailing their specificities in the different levels of language: phonetics,
syntax, morphology, vocabulary and writing. It concludes with a reference to forensic

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 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 6

linguistics, which analyses personal differences for creating scientific reports used in
legal matters.
27 Under the title “Electronic variation”, Chapter 23 closes Part 5, presenting here the
particular uses in digital media, and the different characteristics of its various text
types: text messages, e-mail, chat groups, blogs, etc., as well as the particular use of
language for humorous purposes. More interestingly, it presents schematically the
distinctive features of English in electronic-mediated communication (EMC) or netspeak.
The chapter analyses the particularities regarding word-formation, graphology
(spelling, capitalisation, spacing, etc.), punctuation, grammar, discourse and
pragmatics.
The work’s account of recent topics in electronic-mediated communication can be an
advantage, since it informs about the latest trends on the subject as few book do, and a
disadvantage, since these data will soon be outdated by the quick development of
technology and its (linguistic) practises. In any case, the comprehensive nature of the
work makes necessary the inclusion of this chapter, which will remain as a witness of
the state of electronic-mediated communication at the end of the 2010s.
28 The last section of the work introduces some topics regarding language acquisition and
study, making use of recent tools. Chapter 24 displays a number of examples that give a
general idea about the way children acquire language, and their use of sounds, words,
morphology and syntax in the early stages of their learning. It also mentions some
insufficiencies in language production, like those created by aphasia, stammering or
language delay.
29 Finally, chapter 25 concerns the use of digital tools for the analysis of English, such as
corpus and electronic dictionaries. It presents a typology of corpus, some examples of
the most important ones, and some techniques for analysing corpus data, like tagging
and structuring. However, it does not address more specialised methods like parsing.
Similarly, the account on electronic dictionaries mentions new systems of words
classification, like wordtrees, but does not mention other important ones, like the
creation of lexico-semantic ontologies. This chapter is in this way less deep than the
rest, undoubtedly due to the aim of the work to give preference to accessibility over
depth.
30 All things considered, in this book, the reader will not find answers to questions about
grammatical rules or pronunciation, either of descriptive or prescriptive nature, of a
particular item of the language. It is not a grammar book, and as such, it does not
describe how English as a particular instance of language works, but how it works as a
specimen of natural language, as a macro-system. Nonetheless, the comprehensive
coverage of this description makes it unique for the number of subjects addressed in a
unified and structured fashion.
31 In this way, Crystal’s Encyclopedia provides a detailed and user-friendly account of
almost every aspect concerning the English language that a non-specialist could be
interested in. On the one hand, the illustrations, examples and straightforward
language make it accessible for all readers; on the other hand, the specificity of data
and the wide coverage of subjects makes it also an interesting tool for linguists.
Besides, thanks to the simple and explicit structure of the work, the reader can easily
find the answer, an example or a development for any particular question about the
linguistic description of English other than grammatical rules.

Lexis , Book reviews

 David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Third edit... 7

32 Nevertheless, the reader should keep in mind that this is a reference work dealing with
basic matters on the scientific discipline of linguistics, not a manual that can be easily
read from beginning to end. Indeed, the detailed account of the subjects covered in the
book makes it informationally dense to an extent that it would be overwhelming to
read it from cover to cover. The extent of the coverage of this work can be illustrated
by comparing it to the program of a university curriculum on English Linguistics:
Parts 2 to 4 could provide material for independent subjects in the first year of the
degree.

AUTHORS
OSCAR GARCIA-MARCHENA
Oscar Garcia-Marchena, EILA, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3
Dr. Oscar Garcia Marchena teaches Spanish linguistics at University Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3.
He teaches Spanish syntax, morphology and synchronic and diachronic phonetics to
undergraduates. His research revolves around the syntax of verbless clauses in corpora of
contemporary Spanish. He holds a MA from University Paris 3 in Linguistics, a MA from the
University of Seville in Spanish and English, and a PhD in Linguistics from University Paris
Diderot. He is a member of the AESLA and AELINCO linguistic associations.

Lexis , Book reviews