Introduction to English Linguistics

Ingo Plag, Maria Braun, Sabine Lappe, and Mareile Schramm, University of Siegen, Germany.

This successful textbook introduces beginning university students of English to the study of English linguistics. Now updated and expanded, the second edition features a more detailed discussion of the differences between British and North American English, and explains the differences in the two traditions of phonetic transcription.

The major difference between this book and its potential competitors lies in its hands-on didactic orientation, with a strong focus on linguistic analysis and argumentation. Language and linguistic theory are approached from a strictly empirical perspective: given a certain set of data to be accounted for, theoretical and methodological problems must be solved in order to analyze and understand the data properly. The book is not written in the perspective of a particular theoretical framework and draws on insights from various research traditions. Introduction to English Linguistics concentrates on gaining expertise and analytical skills in the traditional core areas of linguistics, i.e. phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The final chapter on "Extensions and applications" widens the perspective to other areas of linguistic research, such as historical, socio- and psycholinguistics. Each chapter is accompanied by exercises and suggestions for further reading. A glossary and an index facilitate access to terms and topics.