Language: The BasicsThis second edition of R. L. Trask's Language: The Basics, provides a concise introduction to the study of language. Written in an engaging and entertaining style, it encourages the reader to think about the way language works. Fully updated and revised, it now contains a chapter on language usage which introduces pragmatics, metaphor, speech and writing, and discourse analysis, a section on sign language, a glossary of key terms, and an expanded further reading section. Trask also addresses issues such as the uniqueness of the human language, language and meaning, variation in language, change in language, learning a first language and attitudes toward language. Language: The Basics provides an accessible overview of a fascinating subject. It is an essential book for anyone who's ever been accused of splitting an infinitive. |
Contents
1The uniqueness of human language | 1 |
2The grammatical backbone | 21 |
3Language and meaning | 35 |
4Variation in language | 51 |
5Change in language | 66 |
6Language in use | 85 |
7Language mind and brain | 105 |
8Children and language | 119 |
9Attitudes to language | 132 |
Going further | 149 |
Glossary | 150 |
| 159 | |
| 166 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
aitches American animal aphasia Auslan Basque behaviour borrowed brain British Sign Language Broca's area called calque centuries Chapter child colour terms conversation course damage deaf distinctions Dyirbal England English grammar English words English-speakers example fact forms French gender German grammar of English grammatical endings h-dropping Hanunóo happened hence human language hyponyms hypothesis identical Ingvaeonic innateness hypothesis language acquisition language areas language faculty large number lexical categories linguistic Lisa London tomorrow look meaning metaphor Mike normal Norwegian nouns Old English particular perhaps phonaesthesia phonemes pidgin plural possible prescriptivism prestige produce pronounce pronunciation Proto-Germanic question right hemisphere rules Sapir-Whorf hypothesis sentence sign language Spanish speak speech sounds spelling split infinitives spoken language standard English talking tense things tongue Trudgill typical utterances variation variety of English verb vocabulary vocal tract vowel Wernicke's Wernicke's area women written