| Preface | page ix | ||
| 1 | The origins of language | 1 | |
| The divine source; The natural sound source; The physical adaptation source; Teeth, lips, mouth, larynx and pharynx; The human brain; The genetic source; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 2 | Animals and human language | 8 | |
| Communicative and informative signals; Displacement; Arbitrariness; Productivity; Cultural transmission; Duality; Talking to animals; Chimpanzees and language; Washoe; Sarah and Lana; The controversy; Kanzi; The barest rudiments of language; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 3 | The development of writing | 20 | |
| Pictograms and ideograms; Logograms; Rebus writing; Syllabic writing; Alphabetic writing; Written English; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 4 | The sounds of language | 29 | |
| Phonetics; Voiced and voiceless sounds; Place of articulation; Bilabials; Labiodentals; Dentals; Alveolars; Palatals; Velars; Glottals; Charting consonant sounds; Limitations of the chart; Manner of articulation; Stops; Fricatives; Affricates; Nasals; Liquids; Glides; The glottal stop and the flap; Vowels; Diphthongs; Subtle individual variation; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 5 | The sound patterns of language | 43 | |
| Phonology; Phonemes; Phones and allophones; Minimal pairs and sets; Phonotactics; Syllables and clusters; Co-articulation effects; Assimilation; Elision; Normal speech; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Bob Belviso translated; Further reading | |||
| 6 | Words and word-formation processes | 52 | |
| Etymology; Coinage; Borrowing; Compounding; Blending; Clipping; Backformation; Conversion; Acronyms; Derivation; Prefixes and suffixes; Infixes; Multiple processes; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 7 | Morphology | 62 | |
| Morphology; Morphemes; Free and bound morphemes; Lexical and functional morphemes; Derivational and inflectional morphemes; Morphological description; Problems in morphological description; Morphs and allomorphs; Other languages; Kanuri; Ganda; Ilocano; Tagalog; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 8 | Phrases and sentences: grammar | 73 | |
| Grammar; Traditional grammar; The parts of speech; Agreement; Grammatical gender; Traditional analysis; The prescriptive approach; Captain Kirk’s infinitive; The descriptive approach; Structural analysis; Immediate constituent analysis; Labeled and bracketed sentences; A Gaelic sentence; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 9 | Syntax | 86 | |
| Generative grammar; Syntactic structures; Deep and surface structure; Structural ambiguity; Recursion; Symbols used in syntactic description; Tree diagrams; Phrase structure rules; Lexical rules; Back to recursion; Complement phrases; Transformational rules; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 10 | Semantics | 100 | |
| Conceptual and associative meaning; Semantic features; Semantic roles; Agent and theme; Instrument and experiencer; Location, source and goal; Lexical relations; Synonymy; Antonymy; Hyponymy; Prototypes; Homophones and homonyms; Polysemy; Word play; Metonymy; Collocation; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 11 | Pragmatics | 112 | |
| Invisible meaning; Context; Deixis; Reference; Inference; Anaphora; Presupposition; Speech acts; Direct and indirect speech acts; Politeness; Negative and positive face; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 12 | Discourse analysis | 124 | |
| Interpreting discourse; Cohesion; Coherence; Speech events; Conversation analysis; Turn-taking; The co-operative principle; Hedges; Implicatures; Background knowledge; Schemas and scripts; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 13 | Language and the brain | 137 | |
| Neurolinguistics; Parts of the brain; Broca’s area; Wernicke’s area; The motor cortex and the arcuate fasciculus; The localization view; The tip of the tongue phenomenon; Slips of the tongue; Slips of the ear; Aphasia; Broca’s aphasia; Wernicke’s aphasia; Conduction aphasia; Dichotic listening; The critical period; Genie; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 14 | First language acquisition | 149 | |
| Basic requirements; The acquisition schedule; Caregiver speech; Cooing and babbling; The one-word stage; The two-word stage; Telegraphic speech; The acquisition process; Developing morphology; Developing syntax; Forming questions; Forming negatives; Developing semantics; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 15 | Second language acquisition/learning | 162 | |
| Second language learning; Acquisition and learning; Acquisition barriers; Affective factors; Focus on method; The grammar–translation method; The audiolingual method; Communicative approaches; Focus on the learner; Transfer; Interlanguage; Motivation; Input and output; Communicative competence; Applied linguistics; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 16 | Gestures and sign languages | 172 | |
| Gestures; Types of gestures; Types of sign languages; Oralism; Signed English; Origins of ASL; The structure of signs; Shape and orientation; Location and movement; Primes, faces and finger-spelling; The meaning of signs; Representing signs; ASL as a natural language; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 17 | Language history and change | 182 | |
| Family trees; Family connections; Cognates; Comparative reconstruction; Sound reconstruction; Word reconstruction; Language change; Old English; Middle English; Sound changes; Syntactic changes; Semantic changes; Diachronic and synchronic variation; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 18 | Language and regional variation | 194 | |
| The standard language; Accent and dialect; Dialectology; Regional dialects; Isoglosses and dialect boundaries; The dialect continuum; Bilingualism and diglossia; Language planning; Pidgins and creoles; The post-creole continuum; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 19 | Language and social variation | 205 | |
| Sociolinguistics; Social dialects; Education and occupation; Social markers; Speech style and style-shifting; Prestige; Speech accommodation; Register and jargon; Slang; Social barriers; Vernacular language; The sounds of a vernacular; The grammar of a vernacular; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| 20 | Language and culture | 216 | |
| Culture; Categories; Linguistic relativity; The Sapir–Whorf hypothesis; Eskimos and snow; Cognitive categories; Classifiers; Social categories; Address terms; Gender; Gendered words; Gendered speech; Gendered interaction; Study questions; Research tasks; Discussion topics/projects; Further reading | |||
| Appendix: Suggested answers to study questions | 228 | ||
| Glossary | 236 | ||
| References | 253 | ||
| Index | 265 | ||