With several terms from the First World War still present in modern speech, Languages and the First World War presents over 30 essays by international academics investigating the linguistic aspects of the 1914-18 conflict.
The first of the two volumes covers language change and documentation during the period of the war, while the second examines the representation and the memory of the war.

Communicating in a Transnational War examines languages at the front, including the subject of interpretation, translation and parallels between languages; communication with the home front; propaganda and language manipulation; and recording language during the war.

Representation and Memory examines historiographical issues; the nature of representing the war in letters and diaries; the documentation of language change; the language of representing the war in reportage and literature; and the language of remembering the war.

Covered in the process are slang, censorship, soldiers' phrasebooks, code-switching, borrowing terms, the problems facing multilingual armies, and gendered language.

“This book brings together a thought-provoking and fascinating range of essays addressing the much-neglected area of language and the First World War. The essays shed new light on issues surrounding communication, representation, and language change in the context of the First World War. The book highlights the way language can be used as a means to better understand the First World War and its ongoing legacy, and fills a major gap in our understanding of the war. This is a terrific and much-needed work.” (Amanda Laugesen, Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, Australian National University, Australia)

“The First World War has long been recognised as possessing exceptional interest as an example of how social and political upheaval can transform linguistic practice. The editors of these two volumes deserve congratulation for assembling an international team of scholars and for publishing a fascinating collection of new and important research. For anyone interested in the subject at any level, Languages and the First World War: Representation and Memory will be an essential starting point.” (David Stevenson, Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)

"This book brings together a thought-provoking and fascinating range of essays addressing the much-neglected area of language and the First World War. The essays shed new light on issues surrounding communication, representation, and language change in the context of the First World War. The book highlights the way language can be used as a means to better understand the First World War and its ongoing legacy, and fills a major gap in our understanding of the war. This is a terrific and much-needed work." (Amanda Laugesen, Director of the Australian National Dictionary Centre, Australian National University, Australia) "The First World War has long been recognised as possessing exceptional interest as an example of how social and political upheaval can transform linguistic practice. The editors of these two volumes deserve congratulation for assembling an international team of scholars and for publishing a fascinating collection of new and important research. For anyone interested in the subject at any level, Languages and the First World War: Representation and Memory will be an essential starting point." (David Stevenson, Professor, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)

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