** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1.
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language – by David Crystal

I’ve long been a big fan of David Crystal. See a nice video below, to get a sense of the “gentle” man. If anyone ever deserved a medal in the name of “Language” – it is him.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language is the ultimate reference and linguists, language mavens and practicing language teachers will all get immense, lifelong benefit from the articles. I’ve long had both a hard copy and ecopy and always dip into it for really serious information about any of the diverse topics related to language. Great charts and illustrations make this book very engaging and accessible. As always, the mind of David Crystal is evident. Here is an excerpt so you can decide for yourself.

Two other reference books worth mentioning are: The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics – R.E. Asher, editor in chief. A 14 volume tomb of 1,000s of pages/articles by the best minds around. A-Z of ELT by Scott Thornbury. Illuminating reading and very practical minded for practicing teachers. Also see Scott’s blog for the book.

As promised, here is a great interview and conversation with David Crystal about the Future of English Another great book of his! Also, about a lot more…