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Offers a contemporary approach to the study of language. The engaging, thought-provoking discourse of this book makes it accessible to all learners.
List of contents
Contents; Preface; Part I. Introduction: 1. Introducing linguistics Joyce Bruhn de Garavito and John W. Schwieter; Part II. Sound: 2. Phonetics: sound articulation and acoustics Christine Shea and Sarah Olivia O'Neill; 3. Phonology: sound patterns and contrasts Joyce Bruhn de Garavito; Part III. Structure And Meaning: 4. Morphology: word structure Joyce Bruhn de Garavito; 5. Syntax: phrase and sentence structure Joyce Bruhn de Garavito; 6. Semantics: language and meaning Roumyana Slabakova; Part IV. Language Typologies And Change: 7. The classification of languages Asya Pereltsvaig; 8. Historical linguistics Laura Grestenberger; Part V. Language And Social Aspects: 9. Sociolinguistics: language in society Terry Nadasdi; 10. Pragmatics and discourse analysis Maite Taboada; 11. Writing systems Peter T. Daniels and John W. Schwieter; Part VI. Language Acquisition: 12. First language acquisition John W. Schwieter; 13. Second language acquisition John W. Schwieter; Part VII. Language, Cognition, And The Brain: 14. Psycholinguistics: language processing John W. Schwieter; 15. Neurolinguistics: language and the brain John W. Schwieter; Part VIII. Brief Chapters On Companion Website and in eBook: 16. Animal communication and language Con Slobodchikoff; 17. Computational linguistics Robert E. Mercer; 18. English varieties outside of North America Daniel Schreier.
About the author
Joyce Bruhn de Garavito is a Professor Emeritus of Hispanic Studies and Linguistics at Western University and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Ottawa. She is the recipient of the Western University Pleva award for excellence in teaching and the Graham and Gail Wright Distinguished Scholar award. Her research interests include theoretical linguistics (syntax, language acquisition, Romance languages); languages in contact (language change, bilingualism, Amerindian languages); and applied linguistics (language teaching, methodology).John W. Schwieter is a Professor of Spanish and Linguistics and Faculty of Arts Teaching Scholar at Wilfrid Laurier University where he directs the Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, and Cognition Laboratory and Bilingualism Matters at Laurier. His research interests include: psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic approaches to multilingualism and language acquisition; second language teaching and learning; translation and cognition; and language, culture, and society. He is the Executive Editor of the book series Bilingual Processing and Acquisition (Benjamins) and Co-Editor of Cambridge Elements in Second Language Acquisition.
Summary
Everything we do involves language. Assuming no prior knowledge, this book offers students a contemporary introduction to the study of language. Each thought-provoking and engaging chapter is accessible to readers from a variety of fields, with three additional brief chapters available on the book's companion website.
Additional text
'Introducing Linguistics, by De Garavito and Schwieter, offers a fresh yet comprehensive look at the study of linguistics. Often viewed as a difficult area, the authors' approach is organized and addresses the major topics of language acquisition from both an academic and a social perspective. This structure is well developed and allows the reader to focus on specific topics under the major headings. The book promises to be a useful tool for the student who is not familiar with, as well as those who are well-versed in, linguistics.' Valerie C. Rutledge, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
