Linguistics

Written for university students of linguistics and language studies, this introduction is now in a revised edition. The update adds new chapters on sign languages, on writing, and on text and discourse, and it extends its treatment of writing to electronic media. The chapters on the world's languages and on psycholinguistics have also been reworked and brought up to date.

The book is built around the way introductory courses are usually taught. Each chapter ends with key terms, further reading, questions and exercises, and the most important points are set out in highlighted boxes. Its explanations are meant to make demanding ideas approachable, and its examples come from many languages around the world.

A companion website, also substantially revised and expanded, accompanies the text. Instructors can request a separate answer book that covers the questions printed in each chapter.