Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction

It’s been our goal since Contemporary Linguistics was first published in 1989 to provide a comprehensive introductory linguistics textbook that conveys the fascinating aspects of language study to students in a way that is accessible and enlightening. By including up-to-date coverage of all the important areas of 1inguistics - from phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics to cross-curricular topics such as sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics - we aim to prepare students for further work in the subject. At the same time, we strive for a clear, direct presentation of the material so that students at different levels, and with different goals for taking the course, can come to appreciate how language works. To our gratification, feedback from users of previous editions indicates that Contemporary Linguistics has succeeded at both tasks. While updating both presentation and content of the material in the text, we have retained those features that have proved themselves over time in