While it is often said that ‘money talks’, money is not usually discussed in very human terms. This paper argues that with the help of linguistic analysis, it is possible to think about money in a more human way. Human creativity, both linguistically and semiotically, has always been present in the world of money. From get-rich books and stories about gambling to everyday talk about money and attempts to reclaim it, money depends – like language – on human trust, community and relationships. Drawing on data from the Bank of England Museum, the Mass Observation Archive, ethnographic research and community currency initiatives, I foreground the human communities and social relationships that money emerges from and depends on.

Annabelle Mooney is Professor of Language and Society at University of Roehampton, London and Head of the School of Arts. Her most recent books are The Language of Money: Proverbs and Practices (Routledge, 2018) and The Language of Money and Debt: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Palgrave, 2017; edited with Evi Sifaki). She has previously worked on human rights, marginal religious movements, globalization and HIV.

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