Linguistics For Dummies
Linguistics For Dummies

Author: Rose-Marie Dechaine

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-02-08

Total Pages: 387

ISBN-13: 1118101596

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The fascinating, fun, and friendly way to understand the science behind human language Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics students study how languages are constructed, how they function, how they affect society, and how humans learn language. From understanding other languages to teaching computers to communicate, linguistics plays a vital role in society. Linguistics For Dummies tracks to a typical college-level introductory linguistics course and arms you with the confidence, knowledge, and know-how to score your highest. Understand the science behind human language Grasp how language is constructed Score your highest in college-level linguistics If you're enrolled in an introductory linguistics course or simply have a love of human language, Linguistics For Dummies is your one-stop resource for unlocking the science of the spoken word.

Linguistics for Beginners
Linguistics for Beginners

Author: W. Terrence Gordon

Publisher: For Beginners (For Beginners)

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13:

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Author Terrence Gordon begins with a lucid definition of language and proceeds to examine how language becomes the subject matter of linguisitics. Topics include the contrast between writing and speech and elementary lessons in different levels of analysis from sounds to sentences. Here, absurd fictions are explored and the borderlands between linguistics and philosophy are investigated.

All About Language
All About Language

Author: Barry J. Blake

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2008-04-24

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 0191622834

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In clear, congenial style Barry Blake explains how language works. He describes the make-up of words and how they're built from sounds and signs and put together in phrases and sentences. He examines the dynamics of conversation and the relations between the sound and meaning. He shows how languages help their users connect to each other and to the world, how they vary around the world, why they never stop changing, and that no two people speak a language in the same way. He looks at how language is acquired by infant children, how it relates to thought, and its operations in the brain. He investigates current trends and issues such as the levelling of linguistic class differences and the rise of new secret or in-group languages such as argot and teenspeak. He describes the history of writing from its origins to digital diffusion, and ends by looking at how language might have originated and then evolved among our distant hominid and primate ancestors. Language is crucial to every aspect of our lives whether we're thinking, talking, or dreaming. Barry Blake reveals the wonders that lie beneath the surface of everyday communication, enriching his exposition with a unique blend of anecdote and humour. His engaging guide is for everyone curious about language or who needs to know more about it.

Saussure For Beginners
Saussure For Beginners

Author: W. Terrence Gordon

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser

Published: 2015-07-01

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 193999442X

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A concise, accessible introduction to the great linguist who shaped the study of language for the 20th century, Saussure for Beginners puts the challenging ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) into clear and illuminating terms, focusing on the unifying principles of his teachings and showing how his thoughts on linguistics migrated to anthropology. Ferdinand de Saussure’s work is so powerful that it not only redefined modern linguistics, it also opened our minds to new ways of approaching anthropology, literary criticism, and psychoanalysis. Saussure felt that 19th century linguistics avoided hard questions about what language is and how it works. By 1911, he had taught a general linguistics course only three times. Upon his death, however, his students were so inspired by his teachings that they published them as the “Course in General Linguistics.” Saussure For Beginners takes you through this course, points out the unifying principles, and shows how these ideas migrated from linguistics to other subjects.

How Language Works
How Language Works

Author: David Crystal

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2007-03-29

Total Pages: 656

ISBN-13: 0141911735

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In this fascinating survey of everything from how sounds become speech to how names work, David Crystal answers every question you might ever have had about the nuts and bolts of language in his usual highly illuminating way. Along the way we find out about eyebrow flashes, whistling languages, how parents teach their children to speak, how politeness travels across languages and how the way we talk show not just how old we are but where we’re from and even who we want to be.

Field Linguistics
Field Linguistics

Author: Terry Crowley

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 0199213704

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This book is a comprehensive, practical guide to field linguistics. It deals in particular with the problems arising from the documentation of endangered languages. Terry Crowley shows how to prepare for that task, and how to record, analyse, and describe languages in the filed. Mixing formal instruction and anecdote, the author shares his rich experience with the new generation of linguistic fieldworkers.

Language and Linguistics
Language and Linguistics

Author: John Lyons

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1981-05-29

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 1139935658

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This 1981 book is a general introduction to linguistics and the study of language, intended particularly for beginning students and readers with no previous knowledge or training in the subject. There is first a general account of the nature of language and of the aims, methods and basic principles of linguistic theory. John Lyons then introduces in turn each of the main sub-fields of linguistics: the sounds of language, grammar, semantics, language change, psycholinguistics: the sounds of language, grammar, semantics, language change, psycholinguistics, language and culture. Throughout the book he emphasizes particularly those aspects of the discipline that seem fundamental and most likely to remain important. He stresses throughout the cultural at least as much as the biological context of human language, and shows how the linguist's concerns connect productively with those of the traditional humanities and the social sciences. Each chapter has a wide-ranging set of discussion questions and revision exercises, and extensive suggestions for further reading. The exposition is marked throughout by the author's characteristic clarity, balance and authority.

A Beginner’s Guide to Discourse Analysis
A Beginner’s Guide to Discourse Analysis

Author: Sean Sutherland

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-09-16

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 113740289X

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This practical textbook introduces students to a range of tools and techniques used in discourse analysis. The perfect starting point for those new to the field, it explores a wide range of fundamental concepts in discourse analysis, including sociolinguistic variables that affect language use, register, cohesion and coherence, discourse markers and Grice's maxims. Excerpts from novels, songs, newspaper articles and spoken conversations illustrate key concepts and enrich students' understanding of the subject. This introductory guide is an invaluable resource for undergraduates studying discourse analysis, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics modules or courses. It is also ideal for students of related disciplines which entail an understanding of discourse analysis, such as communication studies, sociology, anthropology, management and psychology.

How to Study Linguistics
How to Study Linguistics

Author: Geoffrey Finch

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-03-14

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1350317969

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If you are new to linguistics as a subject and beginning a course at undergraduate or sixth-form level, How to Study Linguistics is the ideal introduction and companion to your studies. - Covers all the core areas of linguistic study, with chapters discussing strategies for studying phonology, syntax and semantics. - Explores other branches of linguistics such as sociolinguistics, stylistics, and psycholinguistics. - Includes a chapter on writing linguistics essays and a detailed glossary to aid learning and revision. - Second edition includes new material designed to help the more advanced reader. How to Study Linguistics is both a guide to current ideas about linguistics and a refreshingly practical text book. It will not only develop your skills as a language student, but will also make an often complex and daunting subject easy to understand, and a pleasure to study.