It's not what you say, it's the way that you say it ...

There have long been debates about 'correct' pronunciation in the English language, and Britain's most distinguished linguistic expert, David Crystal, is here to set the record straight. Sounds Appealing tells us exactly why, and how, we pronounce words as we do.

Pronunciation is integral to communication, and is tailored to meet the demands of the two main forces behind language: intelligibility and identity. Covering phonetics, linguistics and physiology, and with wide-ranging examples from Eliza Doolittle to Winston Churchill, Crystal explores the origins of regional accents: how they are influenced by class and education, and how their peculiarities have changed over time.

'Highly entertaining'
Observer

'Crystal's achievement is to make the history of our language a live and lively study.'
The Times