Table of Contents

1. What is linguistics? 2. Evolutionary linguistics: how Language and languages got to be the way they are 3. Gesture and sign: utterance uses of visible bodily action 4. Writing systems: methods for recording language 5. Phonetics: the sounds humans make when speaking 6. Phonology 7. Morphology: the structure of words 8. Syntax: putting words together 9. Syntax as the dynamics of language understanding 10. Semantics: the meaning of words and sentences 11. Lexical semantics today 12. Lexicography: the construction of dictionaries and thesauruses 13. Pragmatics: language use in context 14. The linguistics of politeness and social relations 15. Narrative and narrative structure 16. Anthropological linguistics and field linguistics 17. Sociolinguistics: language in social environments 18. Psycholinguistics: language and cognition 19. Neurolinguistics: mind, brain, and language 20. First language acquisition 21. Second language acquisition and applied linguistics 22. Historical linguistics and relationships among languages 23. Linguistic change in grammar 24. Language endangerment 25. Linguistic typology and language universals 26. Translating between languages 27. Structural linguistics 28. Biolinguistics 29. Cognitive linguistics 30. Functional linguistics 31. Computational linguistics 32. Corpus linguistics 33. Linguistics and philosophy 34. Linguistics and the law 35. Linguistics and politics 36. Linguistics and social media

About the Author

Keith Allan is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Monash University and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Queensland.

Reviews

"This is a far-reaching and inclusive overview, which offers diverse perspectives on the study of language. Beginners will find clarity, and every expert will find something new."
Nigel Fabb, University of Strathclyde, UK."The Routledge Handbook of Linguistics is an extraordinarily useful resource both for newcomers and for practicing linguists. Keith Allan has put together a treasure trove of information encompassing the breadth and depth of the field by a truly impressive group of authors. This work outdoes most other books of its type in striking a balance between historical background and current research. This volume would be a valuable addition to any linguist’s bookshelf; I know I will be referring to it often."
Betty Birner, Northern Illinois University, USA"This volume provides an approachable introduction to unusually many areas of linguistic investigation and application. The clear presentations by highly qualified scholars should prove informative and broadly useful not only for linguists but for students and professionals representing a wide spectrum of interests."
Ronald W. Langacker, University of California, San Diego, USA"This is an impressively rich, thorough and up-to-date overview of the many sub-domains that make up the discipline of linguistics by a group of leading scholars from around the world. Both newcomers and those already working in the field will find much here to educate, enlighten and entertain them."
Nigel Vincent, University of Manchester, UK"This Handbook brings together an impressive team of experts to provide an introduction to linguistics more comprehensive than any that has gone before. The discussions are clear and insightful, and the chapters cover an array of topics ranging from gesture to neurolinguistics to social media, and everything in between. This volume is essential reading for university students