author : Carol Genetti

This new introduction to linguistics presents language in all its amazing complexity, while guiding students systematically through the basics. Students emerge with an appreciation of the diversity at the world’s languages, as well as a deeper understanding of the structure of human language, the ways it is used, and its broader social and cultural context.

Chapters devoted to the nuts and bolts of language study – from speech sounds to sound patterns, from sentence structure to meaning – are combined with chapters introducing students to the “functional” aspects of language, such as discourse, prosody, pragmatics, and language contact, helping them gain a better grasp of how language works as speakers use it in daily interaction.

A rich set of Language Profiles helps students explore the world’s linguistic diversity and identify similarities and differences between languages, while encouraging them to apply concepts from earlier chapter material. A range of carefully designed pedagogical features fosters student engagement by adopting a step-by-step approach along with study questions and case studies.

Well-chosen illustrations support students in developing their analytical skills; the extensive online material includes multimedia resources for students and instructors.