Description

The book introduces human language and linguistics—the systematic study of how language works. It explains that language is much more than simply a collection of words: it is a complex system with rules that allow people to create and understand an unlimited number of meaningful expressions.

The introduction prepares students to study several major aspects of language, including:

1. What language is — the nature and characteristics of human language.
2. The brain and language — how language is related to the human brain.
3. Morphology — how words are formed and structured.
4. Syntax — how words are organised into sentences.
5. Semantics — how language conveys meaning.
6. Phonetics and phonology — how speech sounds are produced and organised.
7. Language acquisition — how children learn language.
8. Language processing — how humans understand and produce language.
9. Language and society — how language varies according to social and cultural factors.
10. Language change and writing — how languages develop over time and how writing represents language.