"We've got to produce people who can write proper English...You cannot educate people properly unless you do it on a basic framework and drilling system." - HRH Prince of Wales "Language is indissolubly linked to power...To think seriously about teaching English we need to understand the paradox that language is both potentially liberating and potentially enslaving" - H Rosen The teaching and practice of language and literacy is a hotly contested subject. Questions like 'what is standard English?', what is grammar?' and the place accorded to canonical writers in the curriculum continue to provoke controversy. In this handy A to Z guide to language and literacy, Ronald Carter unpicks the meaning of key terms like proper English', real books', text' and discourse', and the way in which such concepts are used - and abused - by teachers, politicians, linguists, journalists and employers. Each concise definition is cross-referenced and supported by extensive examples and references to further reading. Designed as a dictionary, but possessing an encyclopedic range, Keywords in Language and Literacy , provides an invaluable guide to the debate surrounding language and literacy. An indispensible book for all teachers and students of language and education, and anyone interested in the place of language in our schools.