Babel for Academic Australia

Kanopy, the leading supplier of programming to Australian University Libraries has acquired Beyond Babel and will be making the series available for direct streaming or purchase on DVD. This reflects the series continuing use by universities in Europe, the Middle East, US and Asia Pacific regions. Beyond Babel remains the only series to offer a comprehensive examination of the global spread of English and its supporting material (freely available from this website) has ensured its value as a teaching resource.
The Life of Slang
Following the heated debate on pernicious versus beneficial effects of slang, a fascinating new book The Life of Slang, by Julie Coleman Professor of English Language at the University of Leicester, offers a timely insight into its ever presence throughout the history of the language. As well as unpicking the surprising antiquity of some contemporary slang, she also clarifies the role it plays in social differentiation between the users and society at large. This use of slang to establish discrete group identities, goes a long way to explaining the anger it manages to provoke among those self-appointed defenders of the integrity of English. Slang is decisive in its nature uniting one group to the exclusion of another, but its pretty clear that after centuries of recorded use it has yet to undermine or destroy English.
The Ebonics Controversy
You Tube Channel Re-Launch
Britsh Council Adopts Babel
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In response to the many e-mails requesting information and related material to Beyond Babel, I have decided activate the blogging element of this website and to offer occasional posts here.