To coincide with the publication of his new book, A Little Book of Language, we asked Professor David Crystal about some of the hot topics in language today:

• How important is it that children learn “proper”, “standard” English? [Click here]
• Is new technology – such as texting, tweeting and Facebook – changing language in ways we haven’t seen before? [Click here]



• There are 3,000 languages at risk of extinction in the current century. How concerned about this should we be? [Click here]
• You look at some of the possible future developments in language in your book. Do you think we’ll be talking to machines that will talk back to us some time soon? [Click here]
• You’re a great enthusiast for language. How have you maintained that enthusiasm over the decades you’ve been studying language? [Click here]

To listen to the complete interview with David Crystal, click here.