The Five-Minute Linguist has been a popular introduction to the subject of language because it is succinct, clear, accurate - and fun to read. It is used by beginning students of linguistics, language education and anthropology, and has broad appeal for general readers, people who read for enjoyment as well as knowledge. The book started life as a series of five-minute radio broadcasts and for this reason its conversational style feels more like a series of fireside chats than a regular college textbook. Those radio broadcasts were highly acclaimed and won the 2007 Linguistics, Language, and the Public Award from the Linguistic Society of America. The chapters are short, suitable for browsing or reading on the run. But although it is intentionally light in tone, the book is full of up-to-date information, written by more than 60 experts from around the world. This expanded second edition of the book is produced under the sponsorship of the Linguistic Society of America and the US National Museum of Language.