Concise Introduction to Linguistics, A

by Rowe, Bruce M.; Levine, Diane P.

• ISBN13: 9780205446155
• ISBN10: 0205446159
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780205572380
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-01
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Summary

This reader-friendly and well-balanced overview of the field of introductory linguistics pays special attention to linguistic anthropology, revealing the main contributions of linguistics to the study of human communication and how issues of culture are relevant. Well-constructed exercises in every chapter allow students to practice concepts. This new addition to the study of linguistics covers all topics integral to an understanding of introductory linguistics and is written with the generalist reader in mind but also provides the linguistics, English, and anthropology major with the resources needed to succeed in subsequent courses. The problem-centered approach includes well-constructed exercises and study questions integrated within each chapter. These short sections (usually 3-7 pages) in each chapter help students to understand each subject before moving on to the next. Numerous cross-cultural examples relevant to the topics covered are included, with specific chapters devoted to anthropological topics providing emphasis on fieldwork and the fronting of phonology. No previous knowledge on the part of the reader is assumed and all concepts are explained in a systematic way aided by numerous pedagogical aids including Introductory Questions that give the reader a summary of the content of the chapter and provide questions to keep in mind as the student reads the chapter; chapter summaries that provide a concise overview of the contents of each chapter; key terms that are defined on the page where introduced; and an end-of-book glossary that provides a tool for readers to review all key terms together. Suggested readings and Internet resourses at the end of each chapter provide more sources for further reading.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction: The Nature of Communication	p. 1
The Nature of Communication	p. 2
Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared	p. 4
Chimpanzees and Gorillas in Controlled Environments	p. 10
Skepticism over Ape Language Studies	p. 15
Summary	p. 20
Suggested Reading	p. 21
Suggested Websites	p. 21
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 22
End of Chapter Questions	p. 24
The Phonological Component: Phonetics	p. 28
Articulatory Phonetics	p. 29
Consonants and Vowels	p. 32
Syllables and Syllabic Consonants	p. 48
Suprasegmentals	p. 50
Connected Speech	p. 53
Summary	p. 57
Suggested Reading	p. 58
Suggested Websites	p. 58
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 59
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 61
The Phonological Component: Phonology	p. 64
The Phoneme and the Concept of Significant Differences in Sounds	p. 64
Distinctive Feature Analysis	p. 74
Phonological Processes	p. 78
The Continuous and Complex Nature of Speech, Revised	p. 82
Summary	p. 84
Suggested Reading	p. 85
Suggested Websites	p. 85
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 86
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 87
The Morphological Component	p. 89
The Morpheme	p. 89
Morphological Typology	p. 95
How New Words Are Coined	p. 97
Parts of Speech	p. 106
Summary	p. 110
Suggested Reading	p. 111
Suggested Websites	p. 111
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 111
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 113
Syntax	p. 114
Syntactic Construction	p. 115
Subconscious Knowledge	p. 123
The Constituent Structure of Sentences	p. 131
Phrase Structure Rules	p. 134
Transformational Rules	p. 139
Optional and Obligatory Transformations	p. 142
Summary	p. 145
Suggested Reading	p. 146
Suggested Websites	p. 146
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 146
Semantics and Pragmatics	p. 150
The Meaning of Words: Lexical Semantics	p. 150
The -Nyms	p. 157
Other Kinds of Meaning: Structural Semantics	p. 162
Pragmatics	p. 166
Summary	p. 177
Suggested Reading	p. 178
Suggested Websites	p. 179
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 179
Fieldwork Project	p. 181
Sociolinguistics and Linguistic Anthropology	p. 182
Regional Dialects	p. 183
African American English	p. 188
Hispanic English	p. 194
Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles	p. 197
Situational Dialects or Registers	p. 198
Gender and Language	p. 206
Linguistic Anthropology	p. 211
Language and Nationalism	p. 217
Summary	p. 218
Suggested Reading	p. 219
Suggested Websites	p. 220
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 221
Language Acquisition	p. 225
Language and the Brain	p. 225
Ideas about Language Acquisition	p. 226
How Do Children Acquire the Components of Language?	p. 228
Language Socialization: Three Examples	p. 238
The Acquisition of Sign Language	p. 240
Bilingualism	p. 242
Summary	p. 247
Suggested Reading	p. 248
Suggested Websites	p. 248
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 249
Sign Language	p. 252
The Nature of Sign Language	p. 253
What Is ASL?	p. 254
Nicaraguan Sign Language: The Birth of a New Language	p. 267
Social Dimensions of Sign Language	p. 268
Summary	p. 268
Suggested Reading	p. 270
Suggested Websites	p. 270
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 271
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 272
Writing Systems	p. 275
Writing Is Secondary to Speech and Sign Language	p. 275
Types of Writing Systems	p. 276
The History of Writing	p. 294
The Printing Press	p. 305
A Few Words about Computers	p. 307
Summary	p. 307
Suggested Reading	p. 308
Suggested Websites	p. 308
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 309
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 311
Nonverbal Communication	p. 314
What Does "Nonverbal" Mean?	p. 315
Kinesic Behavior	p. 315
Affect Displays	p. 318
The Eyes Have It	p. 320
Physical Appearance	p. 321
Touching (Tactile) Behavior	p. 323
Paralanguage	p. 325
Proxemics	p. 326
The Physical Environment	p. 328
"How-To" Books: A Word of Caution	p. 330
Summary	p. 330
Suggested Reading	p. 331
Suggested Websites	p. 331
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 332
End of Chapter Exercises	p. 333
Historical Linguistics	p. 336
The Relationships between Languages	p. 337
Types of Language Change	p. 345
How Long Does It Take a Language to Change?	p. 353
Disappearing, Reappearing, and Emerging Languages	p. 355
The Spread of Englishes	p. 357
New Jargons	p. 358
Summary	p. 359
Suggested Reading	p. 360
Suggested Websites	p. 360
Review of Terms and Concepts	p. 361
Answers to Reviews of Terms and Concepts	p. 365
Answers to Selected Exercises	p. 377
Fieldwork Exercises	p. 387
Index	p. 397
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