What does TV news have in common with popular romance fiction? Do people interpret the visual element in film and magazines in a similar way to language? This volume provides a broad-ranging and accessible introduction to recent ideas about texts and the complex ways in which they communicate. The collection of articles reflects the growing convergence of linguistic and media analysis. In an introductory section the editors review how linguists have usually approached questions of meaning, examine the contribution linguists have begun to make to media studies, and describe the broader definition of 'text' which has emerged in recent years. Later sections of the book focus on theories of authorship, and how readers construct meaning out of the texts they read. Many of the contributors illustrate postmodern concerns with the historical and social contexts in which texts are produced and used, the ideological and other effects of texts on people, and the impossibility of establishing definite meanings. The anthology should be of great interest to students and researchers in linguistics, media and communication studies, to English teachers who also teach media, and to anyone who wants to know more about the kinds of text which pervade everyday life.

David Graddol and Oliver Boyd-Barrett are members of the Centre for Language and Communications, School of Education at the Open University.