Routledge English Language Introductions cover core areas of language study and are one-stop resources for students. Assuming no prior knowledge, books in the series offer an accessible overview of the subject, with activities, study questions, sample analyses, commentaries and key readings - all in the same volume. The innovative and flexible 'two-dimensional' structure is built around four sections - introduction, development, exploration and extension - which offer self-contained stages for study. Each topic can also be read across these sections, enabling the reader to build gradually on the knowledge gained. Now in its fourth edition, this best-selling textbook: Covers the core areas of the subject: speech acts, the cooperative principle, relevance theory, corpus pragmatics, politeness theory, and critical discourse analysis; Has updated and new sections on intercultural and cross-cultural pragmatics, critical discourse analysis and the pragmatics of power, second language pragmatic competence development, impoliteness, post-truth discourse, vague language, pragmatic markers, formulaic sequences, and online corpus tools; Draws on a wealth of texts in a variety of languages, from political TV interviews and newspaper articles, to extracts from classic novels and plays, to recent international films and humorous narratives, to exchanges on email, messaging, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp; Provides recent readings from leading scholars in the discipline, including Jonathan Culpeper, Lynne Flowerdew and César Félix-Brasdefer; Is accompanied by a companion website featuring extra material and activities. Written by two experienced teachers and researchers, this accessible textbook is an essential resource for all students of English language and linguistics