Most people don’t think about the words they use every day, and yet everyone just gets it without conscious analysis. Most people certainly do not write a 10,000-word report on an interaction they just had with a telephone fundraiser, or any other banal everyday occurrence, for sure. They are normal people. And yet, ordinary people (i.e. non-linguists) buy hundreds of books every year about language, written specifically for the non-specialist audience on topics ranging from punctuation to eloquence. People are clearly keen to solve the puzzle of language and the riddle of how people tend to use it.

So why is this a good thing?

Understanding elements of language and how and why certain people do things differently to yourself fosters empathy. When you begin to understand even the basics of English grammar or idioms or accents, you start to realise just how complex the language we take for granted actually is, allowing you to sympathise with those trying to learn it from scratch. Whether it’s children learning in school, or refugees trying to integrate in to society, a little understanding can go a long way.

Educating yourself on how language users communicate can also work to debunk stereotypes we are all guilty of thinking. Those youths loitering outside the corner shop at midnight hurling insults at each other – are they uneducated fools that are wasting their days away, or are they actually very effective and creative language users without even knowing it? The old Indian man at the counter in the bank getting frustrated because the cashier is getting annoyed with him – has he just not bothered to learn English properly, or is he simply unaware of the conventional ways we British demonstrate politeness (and rudeness) because it’s different in his first language?

And that’s the best thing that learning about language can do – encourage critical thinking. If you know how language and people work, not only will you find yourself rethinking your initial assumptions about particular groups, but you will also become more aware of how information is being presented to you. How is that brand selling this perfume to me? What is that politician doing in that speech to make me side with them – and am I going to allow it?

So the next time you’re in Waterstones it’s worth having a browse of the linguistics shelf because there will be something for everyone’s passing interests. It won’t do you any harm whereas it could do a lot of good.