An Introduction To Linguistics And Language Studies

This introductory textbook provides readers with a foundation in methods for analysing and understanding language from various theoretical perspectives within linguistics and language studies. Its novel approach introduces systemic functional linguistics, text and discourse analysis, and formal approaches to linguistics. It demonstrates applications of these approaches to reveal how we use language in society, how our brains process language, and how we learn language. Topics include phonetics, phonology, conversation analysis, morphology, semantics, functional and formal syntax, text linguistics, genre analysis, evaluative lexis in text, multimodal representations of meaning, language change and variation, animals and language, the brain and language, and first and second language development/acquisition. The main language focused on is English, while other languages are also drawn on to illustrate the principles, models and theories. Learning outcomes, exercises (with answer key), ideas for project work, and questions for reflection are provided throughout. A final chapter gathers explanations of various fields of practice within linguistics, written by linguists from around the world, including David Crystal (Clinical Linguistics), Frances Christie (Educational Linguistics), and Malcolm Coulthard (Forensic Linguistics). An Introduction to Linguistics and Language Studies offers an array of analytical tools for undergraduate students of language, communication, and education, and provides an overview of the field for those interested in further study in linguistics and applied language studies. Readers will come away with a heightened sensitivity to and appreciation of their own and other's use of language for creating meaning and for interaction.

This accessible textbook is the only introduction to linguistics in which each chapter is written by an expert who teaches courses on that topic, ensuring balanced and uniformly excellent coverage of the full range of modern linguistics. Assuming no prior knowledge the text offers a clear introduction to the traditional topics of structural linguistics (theories of sound, form, meaning, and language change), and in addition provides full coverage of contextual linguistics, including separate chapters on discourse, dialect variation, language and culture, and the politics of language. There are also up-to-date separate chapters on language and the brain, computational linguistics, writing, child language acquisition, and second-language learning. The breadth of the textbook makes it ideal for introductory courses on language and linguistics offered by departments of English, sociology, anthropology, and communications, as well as by linguistics departments.

For the Love of Language: An Introduction to Linguistics is an engaging introduction to human language and the role of linguistics in understanding its fundamental design, acquisition and functions. Replete with case studies and examples from Australia, New Zealand and around the world, this text offers a thorough introduction to core topics, including the structure and meaning of words, the systems that organise language, strategies for learning about language, the evolution of language and the function of language as a complex social resource. The second edition includes extensive new content across the entire text, including the areas of orthography, syntax, corpus linguistics, language acquisition and multilingualism. Each topic is accompanied by a wide array of pedagogical resources designed to consolidate student understanding, including examples and exercises. Each chapter ends with a research project, providing readers with an opportunity to build on fundamental skills and engage more thoroughly with each topic.

Linguistic Universe: An Introduction to Linguistics provides an innovative introduction to Linguistics for undergraduate university and college students who come from a variety of diverse disciplines and for those who consider majoring in Linguistics. The textbook originated in the North American university classroom experience and has been successfully tested in the classroom for five years. The book can also assist individuals outside of the university contexts to understand some fundamental facts about language origins, structure, and functions. The book is reader-friendly. It presents major linguistic concepts in a captivating and insightful way. It is aimed at motivating learners to engage into further studies of language. Exercises after each chapter assist the readers in developing their critical thinking skills and in monitoring their progress. The exercises can also help the instructors with ideas for additional activities in the classroom. Each chapter has a list of references that can be employed as secondary reading sources. The book is comprised of two parts: chapters 1-5 cover an overview of the nature of human language and the subject matter of linguistics, as well as the major sub-disciplines of linguistics: phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicology and semantics. The second part (chapters 6-10) covers some selected topics in applied linguistics and other language-related disciplines, such as language classifications and language history, sociolinguistics, language acquisition by children, acquisition of additional languages, and a comparison of animal communication with human languages. The book chapters content is quantified for an easy fit into a one-term or two-term course schedule, and can be used as needed for one introductory course, or for two introductory courses - in linguistics and in applied linguistics (or language structures and language dynamics). The linguistic material and examples come primarily from English, but also involve a wide variety of languages with different origins and typologies.

Offers a contemporary approach to the study of language. The engaging, thought-provoking discourse of this book makes it accessible to all learners.

This compact and engagingly elegant text, now in its Second Edition, continues to provide a succinct introduction to Linguistics. The aim of the book is to introduce basic concepts in Linguistics, and to familiarize the students with the fundamentals of modern Linguistics in a clear and simple manner. Each chapter is expository as well as explanatory with examples. Most of the examples in grammar and semantics are based on the structure of the English Language, but the principles of language study discussed in the text are applicable to any language in general. Divided into three sections, Section I: The Study of Language; Section II: The Study of Grammar; and Section III: The Study of Semantics, each chapter, besides detailing with the concepts, contains Summary and Comprehensive Questions for better understanding of the subject and enhancing comprehension skills. WHAT’S NEW TO THIS EDITION  An exclusive chapter on the Study of Language Variation (Chapter 5) with important terms such as Dialect, Accent and Stylistics.  More examples given in the grammar section.  Devotes an entire chapter to a new topic—Supra-sentential Grammar — a must for Linguistics study today. Students of Linguistics and postgraduate students of English pursuing courses in Linguistics should find this text highly useful and a handy companion for their study

Understanding how people learn and fail to learn second and foreign languages is increasingly recognised as a critical social and psycholinguistic issue. Second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements. This book provides a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research.