Description
Book SynopsisTable of ContentsBrief Contents
Glossary
Inside Front Cover Dialect Map of American English, Consonant Phonemes of American English, Vowel Phonemes of American English
Inside Back Cover Brief Timeline for the History of the English Language
Detailed Contents
List of Symbols, Linguistic Conventions, and Common Abbreviations
What’s New to This Edition
Preface to Instructors
Letter to Students
Chapter 1 A Language like English
Chapter 2 Language and Authority
Chapter 3 English Phonology
Chapter 4 English Morphology
Chapter 5 English Syntax: The Grammar of Words
Chapter 6 English Syntax: Phrases, Clauses, and Sentences
Chapter 7 Semantics
Chapter 8 Spoken Discourse
Chapter 9 Stylistics
Chapter 10 Language Acquisition
Chapter 11 Language Variation
Chapter 12 American Dialects
Chapter 13 History of English: Old to Early Modern English
Chapter 14 History of English: Modern and Future English
Bibliography
Credits
Index
Detailed Table of Contents
Glossary
Inside Front Cover Consonant Phonemes of English, Vowel Phonemes of English, Phonetic Alphabet for American English
Inside Back Cover Brief Timeline for the History of the English Language
List of Symbols, Linguistic Conventions, and Common Abbreviations xviii
What’s New to This Edition
Preface to Instructors
Letter to Students
Chapter 1 A Language Like English
The Story of Aks
Language, Language Everywhere
The Power of Language
Name Calling
Judging by Ear
A Question to Discuss: What Makes Us Hear an Accent?
The System of Language
Arbitrariness and Systematicity
A Scholar to Know: Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913)
Creativity
Grammar
Linguistics
Human Language versus Animal Communication
Birds and Bees
Chimps and Bonobos
Distinctive Characteristics of Human Language
The Process of Language Change
Language Genealogies
A Question to Discuss: Can Your Language Peeves Be Rethought?
Mechanics of Language Change
Progress or Decay?
Special Focus: Attitudes about Language Change
Summary
Suggested Reading
Exercises
Chapter 2 Language and Authority
Who Is in Control?
Language Academies
Language Mavens
A Question to Discuss: Does the SAT Know Good Grammar from Bad?
Defining Standard English
Descriptive versus Prescriptive Grammar Rules
Case Study One: Multiple Negatives
Case Study Two: Ain’t
Case Study Three: Who and Whom<
