Description
Book SynopsisThe book introduces the major branches of theoretical linguistics - phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics - in the context of cognitive science, with reference to fields such as vision, auditory perception, and philosophy of mind.
Trade ReviewReview from previous edition This book is an engaging and pioneering introduction to Biolinguistic theory construction and scientific method. It's one of very few texts I've ever read that clarifies, with formal yet accessible linguistic analyses and argument, the Chomskyan shift in focus away from treating human language as some kind of non-psychological human-external entity to the study of human language as "I-language" - a cognitive system embedded within the mind/brain of each individual. * Professor Samuel Epstein, University of Michigan *
Strikingly original and fully student-oriented, this book covers all the bases of modern linguistic theory from a single perspective: the workings of the human mind. Breaking with the traditional organization of a linguistics textbook, Isac and Reiss juxtapose an engaging presentation of linguistic analysis with exciting discussion of relevant aspects from cognitive science and philosophy. This is arguably the most stimulating introductory textbook around today, offering an approach that I now know was sorely missed. * Dr Jan-Wouter Zwart, University of Groningen *
Table of ContentsPART I: THE OBJECT OF INQUIRY; PART II: LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION AND COMPUTATION; PART III: UNIVERSAL GRAMMAR; PART IV: IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
