Linguistics : An Introduction to Linguistic Theory

"Linguistics: An Introduction to Linguistic Theory is a very impressive achievement, lucidly and engagingly presenting the major areas of Chomskian theoretical linguistics. Readers who work their way through the comprehensive presentation and the abundant well-chosen exercises will attain a deep understanding of what Chomskian generative grammar is all about, and, even more, a feel for what it is to actually participate in the enterprise."

--Howard Lasnik, University of Connecticut

"This is by far the best introductory book and the one that I will use. It gives a real working knowledge of each area of linguistics and maintains a consistent level of intellectual challenge throughout. The exercises are excellent."

--Edwin Williams, Princeton University

"This excellent and detailed introduction to the field of linguistics draws on an impressive range of languages. Any student that wants to find out about the scientific study of human language will profit immensely from this book."

--Richard Kayne, New York University

"This textbook fills in all the gaps that are characteristic of other introductory texts in linguistics. Each section is written by a leading figure in a particular area of linguistic theory: morphology and syntax, semantics, and phonetics and phonology. It is impressive both in breadth and depth. Each section ends by considering how the particular principles that were described in that section emerge in the course of language development, thereby reinforcing the importance of linguistic theory for understanding young children's universal mastery of natural language."

--Stephen Crain, University of Maryland at College Park

"This is an outstanding new introduction to contemporary linguistics, written by a team of the foremost scholars in the field. The orientation throughout is towards real, usually current, research questions. A very nice feature is the inclusion of chapters on language acquisition in connection with each subdiscipline of linguistics. I am sure this book will be the standard introductory textbook for some time to come."

--Ian Roberts, Universität Stuttgart

"This introductory textbook is unique in the extent and depth of the coverage it provides. Teachers and beginning students of linguistics and cognitive science should find it both helpful and inspiring"

--Maria Luisa Zubizarreta, University of Southern California

Blackwell Publishing Web Site, January, 2002

Linguistics: An Introduction to Linguistic Theory is a textbook, written for introductory courses in linguistic theory for undergraduate linguistics majors and first-year graduate students. Twelve major figures in the field bring their expertise to each of the core areas of the field - morphology, syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, and language acquisition.

In each section the book is concerned with discussing the underlying principles common to all languages, showing how these are revealed in language acquisition and in the specific grammars of the world's languages. Theoretical concepts are introduced through the analysis of a wide set of language data from Arabic to Zulu. The student will learn how to "do" linguistics by working through real linguistic data. Each section explains how to define and solve a problem; organizes the data into paradigms revealing the structured patterns in the data; formulates generalizations based on these patterns; proposes rules or principles to account for the generalization; seeks independent evidence in its argument for the proposed theoretical construct.

The book brings the latest developments in theoretical linguistics to bear in its discussion of the traditional issues. It covers these subjects in greater depth than is found in most introductory texts permitting the student to proceed directly, after using this text, to graduate courses in the field. It contains problems, a glossary, and a bibliography for further reading.

Linguistics is supported by an instructor's manual.

Section I: Introduction:

1. Linguistics: The Scientific Study Of Human Language.

Section 2: Morphology And Syntax:

2. Morphology: The Structure Of Words.
3. Syntax I: Argument Structure And Phrase Structure.
4. Syntax II: Syntactic Dependencies.
5. Syntax III: The Distribution Of Verbal Forms: A Case Study.
6. Acquisition Of Word And Sentence Structure.

Section 3: Semantics:

7. Semantics I: Compositionality.
8. Semantics II: Scope.
9. Semantics III: Cross Categorial Parallelisms.
10. Acquisition Of Meaning.

Section 4: Phonetics And Phonology:

11. Phonetics: The Sounds Of Language.
12. Phonology I: Basic Principles And Methods.
13. Phonology II: Representations.
14. Phonology III: Explanation And Constraints.
15. Acquisition Of Phonetics And Phonology.

Bibliography.
Glossary.