Linguistics

Selected Reference Books:

*Note: Reference books are for use within the library only. They cannot be checked out or taken out of the library. The reference stacks are on the first floor of the library. 

 The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics 

The third edition of The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics is an authoritative and invaluable reference source covering every aspect of its wide-ranging field. In 3,250 entries the Dictionary spans grammar, phonetics, semantics, languages (spoken and written), dialects, and sociolinguistics. Clear examples - and diagrams where appropriate - help to convey the meanings of even the most technical terms. It also incorporates entries on key scholars of linguistics, both ancient and modern, summarising their specialisms and achievements.With existing entries thoroughly revised and updated, and the addition of 100 new entries, this new edition expands its coverage of semantics, as well as recently emerging terminology within, for example, syntactic theory and sociolinguistics.Wide-ranging and with clear definitions, it is the ideal reference for students and teachers in language-related courses, and a great introduction to linguistics for the general reader with an interest in language and its study. (Summary from publisher).

 

 The Routledge Linguistics Encyclopedia

A single-volume encyclopedia covering all major and subsidiary areas of linguistics and applied linguistics. The 79 entries provide in-depth coverage of the topics and sub-topics of the field. Entries are alphabetically arranged and extensively cross-referenced so the reader can see how areas interrelate. Including a substantial introduction which provides a potted history of linguistics and suggestions for further reading, this is an indispensable reference tool for specialists and non-specialists alike. This third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new entries on: attitudes to language conversation analysis English Language Teaching gesture and language idioms language and advertising language and new technologies linguistics in schools optimality theory research methods in linguistics slang. The following entries have been recommissioned or substantially revised: Animals and Language, Artificial Languages, Computational Linguistics to Language Engineering, Contrastive Analysis/Contrastive Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dialectology, Discourse Analysis, Dyslexia, Genre Analysis, Historical Linguistics, Intonation, Language and Education, Language, Gender and Sexuality, Language Origins, Language Surveys, Language Universals, Linguistic Typology, Metaphor, Pragmatics, Rhetoric, Semantics, Semiotics, Sociolinguistics, Stylistics, Systemic-Functional Grammar, Writing Systems. (Summary from publisher).

 

 The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language 

This second edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language presents a mass of new information and introduces the subject of language to a fresh generation of students and general readers. The first edition of the book is probably the most successful general study of language ever published. This second edition extends the range of coverage to include advances in areas like machine translation, speech interaction with machines, and language teaching. There is new material on acoustics, physiological concepts of language, and World English, and a complete update of the language distribution maps, language-speaking statistics, a table of the world's languages, and further reading. All geopolitical material has been revised to take account of boundary changes. The book has been redesigned and is presented for the first time in full colour, with new pictures and maps added. (Summary from publisher).

 

 The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Analysis

This handbook compares the main analytic frameworks and methods of contemporary linguistics. It offers a unique overview of linguistic theory, revealing the common concerns of competing approaches. By showing their current and potential applications it provides the means by which linguists and others can judge what are the most useful models for the task in hand. Distinguished scholars from all over the world explain the rationale and aims of over thirty explanatory approaches to the description, analysis, and understanding of language. Each chapter considers the main goals of the model; the relation it proposes between lexicon, syntax, semantics,pragmatics, and phonology; the way it defines the interaction between cognition and grammar; what it counts as evidence; and how it explains linguistic change and structure. (Summary from publisher).

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Selected Books:

 Why Only Us: Language and Evolution

Berwick and Chomsky draw on recent developments in linguistic theory to offer an evolutionary account of language and humans' remarkable, species-specific ability to acquire it. "A loosely connected collection of four essays that will fascinate anyone interested in the extraordinary phenomenon of language." -- New York Review of Books We are born crying, but those cries signal the first stirring of language. Within a year or so, infants master the sound system of their language; a few years after that, they are engaging in conversations. This remarkable, species-specific ability to acquire any human language -- "the language faculty" -- raises important biological questions about language, including how it has evolved. This book by two distinguished scholars -- a computer scientist and a linguist -- addresses the enduring question of the evolution of language. Robert Berwick and Noam Chomsky explain that until recently the evolutionary question could not be properly posed, because we did not have a clear idea of how to define "language" and therefore what it was that had evolved. But since the Minimalist Program, developed by Chomsky and others, we know the key ingredients of language and can put together an account of the evolution of human language and what distinguishes us from all other animals. Berwick and Chomsky discuss the biolinguistic perspective on language, which views language as a particular object of the biological world; the computational efficiency of language as a system of thought and understanding; the tension between Darwin's idea of gradual change and our contemporary understanding about evolutionary change and language; and evidence from nonhuman animals, in particular vocal learning in songbirds. (Summary from publisher).

 

 Why Do Linguistics? Reflective Linguistics and the Study of Language

What do we need to know about language and why do we need to know it? This book shows how viewing the world through a linguistics lens can help us to understand how we communicate with each other and why we do it in the ways we do. Above all this book is about noticing. It is about encouraging readers to pay attention to the language that surrounds them. The book addresses fundamental linguistic questions such as: Where do people's beliefs about language come from? Who decides what language we should speak? How do we choose the best way to express what we mean? It introduces a set of practical tools for language analysis and, using examples of authentic communicative activity including overheard conversations, Facebook posts and public announcements, shows how this kind of analysis works and what it can tell us about social interaction.Exploring language and language use from a social, intercultural and multilingual perspective, the authors demonstrate the relevance of linguistics in understanding day-to-day interaction. This book will help readers not only to become informed, active observers of language for its own sake, but also to be able to take on and challenge some of the misconceptions, assumptions and prejudices that so often underlie public discussion of language issues. (Summary from publisher).

 

 Seven Ways of Looking at Language

From the publication of Noam Chomsky's revolutionary Syntactic Structures in 1957, to the counter-revolutions that followed, linguistics has seen many fashions over the years. With new ideas and discoveries constantly challenging the ways we look at language, Ronald Macaulay provides a brief and lively introduction to some of the different approaches linguists have taken to the study of language in all its complexity. Considering language as Meaning, Sound, Form, Communication, Identity, History and Symbol, Macaulay examines the main issues, debates and ideas that have emerged in language study over the last fifty years.Designed for the intending student, as well as the non-specialist general reader with an interest in language, Seven Ways of Looking at Language concisely conveys a review of exciting work in the core areas of linguistics, including phonetics, syntax, semantics, language interaction, language variation, language change and the significance of writing. A helpful glossary, as well as detailed suggestions for further reading, makes this the ideal starting point for anyone wishing to learn about the study of language. (Summary from publisher). 

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Selected E-Books:

To access the e-books from their listings within OneSearch, click on "Full Text Available" or on "Link to Resource". 

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (E-version)

Fully revised and updated for the second edition, this invaluable work is the most authoritative dictionary of linguistics of its kind available.The dictionary covers every aspect of this multidisciplinary field, including sociolinguistics, language theory and history, language families, and major languages from all over the world (including major national/regional dialects), phonetics, formal semantics, and key figures and ideas in linguistics. (Summary from publisher).

 Applied Linguistics

In this complete survey of the theories, methods, and key findings within applied linguistics, students are introduced to core research questions and the various approaches to tackling these. Provides a comprehensive introduction to this interdisciplinary field of research and practice, dealing with practical issues of language and communication. Takes a problem-solving approach, introducing students to key research questions and guiding them through the various ways of tackling these. Features additional study aids throughout, including chapter outlines, learning objectives, key terms, research questions and answers, study questions, and recommended further readings. Enables students to identify every-day language and communication issues, and to draw on their own personal experiences. Edited by a leading figure in the field, heading up an experienced and interdisciplinary team of contributors from the renowned department of applied linguistics at Birkbeck College, University of London - resulting in unique combination of knowledge, skills, and strength from scholars who teach and research together. (Summary from publisher).