DR. VYVYAN EVANS
Language Expert & Digital Communication Technologist
I am an expert in language, digital communication, and the future of communication. I conduct research into the prodigious capacity of our species, Homo sapiens, to mean during the course of spoken interaction. I have published 14 books on aspects of language, non-linguistic communication, meaning, mind, imagination, their evolution, and the future of language; I discuss these topics regularly in the popular written and broadcast media. I am available to provide expert feedback and advice; feel free to get in touch.
My exploration of common questions and issues about language can be found in my Psychology Today blog: "Language in the mind", and in my popular science writing:
NEWS
A sign of the times? Gestures including 'what's the time?' and 'give me the bill' face dying out as they make no sense to the young
6 October 2020
The writing's on the wall for gesturing for the bill. The Daily Telegraph
6 October 2020
Technology is changing our hand gestures.
Psychology Today
7 October 2020
RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOOKS:
(see more books here)
THE EMOJI CODE:
COGNITIVE LINGUISTICS:
UK edition -- published May 2017
US edition -- published Aug 2017
Buy from: amazon.co.uk
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Is Emoji the new universal 'language'? -- Excerpt from chapter 1 of 'The Emoji Code'
The power of emoji, Japan's most transformative design -- Excerpt from 'The Emoji Code' in CNN Style
Emoji is the body language of the digital age -- Excerpt from 'The Emoji Code' in Nautilus magazine
Emoji is the new universal 'language'. LinkedIn Weekend Essay
Emojis actually make our language better -- article in New York Post
Say it with feeling -- Review of 'The Emoji Code' in New Scientist
Q&A podcast, discussing my book "The Emoji Code" with Science magazine, can be heard here.
Published July 2019 by Edinburgh University Press, and distributed by Oxford University Press in North America.
Buy direct from publisher
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Cognitive Linguistics: A Complete Guide is a comprehensive and authoritative overview—a complete guide—to the cognitive linguistics enterprise. The book serves as an essential work of reference for practising cognitive linguists, and others, including researchers from neighbouring disciplines, as well as students and educated lay readers, wishing to discover the way in which language and mind work, and what cognitive linguistics can tell us about what it means to be human.
Endorsements
"One of the best introductions to the intersection of language and the mind ever written...a masterpiece and a delight."
PROFESSOR DANIEL L. EVERETT, BENTLEY UNIVERSITY
"A “must-read”...comprehensive, in-depth...Its breadth and depth of coverage are unparalleled."
JEANNETTE LITTLEMORE, PROFESSOR OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
My Oxford Bibliography of Cognitive Linguistics can be found here.