On Anniversaries

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Limited Edition Number 811 of 4000. Hardcover in Slipcase. Very good. The format is approximately 5.125 inches by 7.75 inches in a slipcase that is 5.25 inches by 8 inches. 66, [2] pages. Footnotes. Illustrations (some in color). Inscribed by the author on a half-title page. Inscription reads For Marcus and Barbara With best wishes David Crystal October 2009. This limited edition commemorates David Crystal's Lecture on Anniversaries delivered on 11 June 2009, in celebration of Cambridge University Press's 425th anniversary. 2009 marked the 425th anniversary of the printing in 1584 of the first book by a practising University Printer, fifty years after King Henry VIII granted to Cambridge in 1534 a royal charter to print 'all manner of books'. David Crystal, OBE, FBA, FLSW, FCIL (born 6 July 1941) is a British linguist, academic, and prolific author best known for his works on linguistics and the English language. Crystal studied at University College London. Awarded an OBE in 1995 and a Fellow of the British Academy in 2000, he has authored, co-authored, and edited over 120 books on a wide range of subjects. Crystal is a proponent of Internet linguistics and has published works on the subject. He has also been involved in Shakespeare productions, providing guidance on original pronunciation. As an expert on the evolution of the English language, he was involved in the production of Shakespeare at Shakespeare's Globe in the "Original Pronunciation" of the period, coaching the actors on the appropriate pronunciation for the period, and has since been the consultant for several other Shakespeare plays performed in Original Pronunciation. Crystal is a proponent of a new field of study, Internet linguistics, and has published Language and the Internet (2001) on the subject. Crystal's book Txtng: The Gr8 Db8 (2008) focused on text language and its impact on society. He was one of the book series editors of The Language Library. In this lecture, David Crystal takes a light-hearted and entertaining look at anniversaries - why we attach such importance to them, why we should view certain anniversary dates with suspicion, and why one publication took the controversial decision to ban anniversaries altogether.