The Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism presents a comprehensive introduction to the foundations of bilingualism, coveringlanguage processing, language acquisition, cognition and the bilingual brain. Thisthorough introduction to the psycholinguistics of bilingualism is accessible to non-specialists with little previous exposure to the field Introduces students to the methodological approaches currently employed in the field, including observation, experimentation, verbal and computational modelling, and brain imaging Examines spoken and written language processing, simultaneous and successive language acquisition, bilingual memory and cognitive effects, and neurolinguistic and neuro-computational models of the bilingual brain Written in an accessible style by two of the field's leading researchers, together with contributions from internationally-renowned scholars Featuring chapter-by-chapter research questions, this is an essential resource for those seeking insights into the bilingual mind and our current knowledge of the cognitive basis of bilingualism

Dialects are constantly changing, and due to increased mobility in more recent years, European dialects have 'levelled', making it difficult to distinguish a native of Reading from a native of London, or a native of Bonn from a native of Cologne. This comprehensive study brings together a team of leading scholars to explore all aspects of recent dialect change, in particular dialect convergence and divergence. Drawing on examples from a wide range of European countries - as well as areas where European languages have been transplanted - they examine a range of issues relating to dialect contact and isolation, and show how sociolinguistic conditions differ hugely between and within European countries. Each specially commissioned chapter is based on original research, giving an overview of work on that particular area and presenting case studies to illustrate the issues discussed. Dialect Change will be welcomed by all those interested in sociolinguistics, dialectology, the relevance of language variation to formal linguistic theories, and European languages.

Proposing a novel theory of parts of speech, this book discusses categorization from a methodological and theoretical point a view. It draws on discoveries and insights from a number of approaches - typology, cognitive grammar, notional approaches, and generative grammar - and presents a generative, feature-based theory. Building on up-to-date research and the latest findings and ideas in categorization and word-building, Panagiotidis combines the primacy of categorical features with a syntactic categorization approach, addressing the fundamental, but often overlooked, questions in grammatical theory. Designed for graduate students and researchers studying grammar and syntax, this book is richly illustrated with examples from a variety of languages and explains elements and phenomena central to the nature of human language.
'A welcome reconsideration of the notion of lexical category from a syntactic-decomposition perspective. Panagiotidis draws together insights from a diverse array of frameworks to formulate his central hypothesis concerning the 'perspective-taking' contribution of (N) and (V) features at LF. His proposal has explanatory power in a number of domains, particularly in providing an intuitive rationale for the long-recognized requirement that lexical roots must be categorized in order to participate in a syntactic derivation. Other outstanding contributions include the idea that the notion of 'functional' reduces to 'bears uninterpretable categorial features', and a substantive characterization of what 'semi-lexical' really means. A very stimulating read.'
Heidi Harley - University of Arizona

In every language there are descriptive lexical elements, such as evening and whisper, as well as grammatical elements, such as the and -ing. The distinction between these two elements has proven useful in a number of domains, but what is covered by the terms, lexical and grammatical, and the basis on which the distinction is made, appear to vary according to the domain involved. This book analyses the grammatical elements ('functional categories') in language, a topic that has drawn considerable attention in linguistics, but has never been approached from an integrated, cross-disciplinary perspective. Muysken considers functional categories from the perspective of grammar, language history, language contact and psychology (including child language and aphasia). Empirically based, the book examines the available converging evidence from these various disciplines, and draws on comparative data from a wide range of different languages.

The Handbook of Language Variation and Change , written by a distinguished international roster of contributors, reflects the vitality and growth of the discipline in its multifaceted pursuits. It is a convenient, hand-held repository of the essential knowledge about the study of language variation and change.
Written by internationally recognized experts in the field.
Reflects the vitality and growth of the discipline.
Discusses the ideas that drive the field and is illustrated with empirical studies.
Includes explanatory introductions which set out the boundaries of the field and place each of the chapters into perspective.

The Routledge Linguistics Encyclopedia is a single-volume encyclopedia covering all major and subsidiary areas of linguistics and applied linguistics. The 79 entries provide in-depth coverage of the topics and sub-topics of the field. Entries are alphabetically arranged and extensively cross-referenced so the reader can see how areas interrelate. Including a substantial introduction which provides a potted history of linguistics and suggestions for further reading, this is an indispensable reference tool for specialists and non-specialists alike. This third edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, with new entries on: attitudes to language conversation analysis English Language Teaching gesture and language idioms language and advertising language and new technologies linguistics in schools optimality theory research methods in linguistics slang. The following entries have been recommissioned or substantially revised: Animals and Language, Artificial Languages, Computational Linguistics to Language Engineering, Contrastive Analysis/Contrastive Linguistics, Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, Dialectology, Discourse Analysis, Dyslexia, Genre Analysis, Historical Linguistics, Intonation, Language and Education, Language, Gender and Sexuality, Language Origins, Language Surveys, Language Universals, Linguistic Typology, Metaphor, Pragmatics, Rhetoric, Semantics, Semiotics, Sociolinguistics, Stylistics, Systemic-Functional Grammar, Writing Systems.

A dramatic account of the rate of language extinction, and how it endangers the future of biodiversity Few people know that nearly 100 native languages once spoken in what is now California are near extinction, or that most of Australia's 250 aboriginal languages have vanished. In fact, at least half of the world's languages may die out in the next century. What has happened to these voices? Should we be alarmed about the disappearance of linguistic diversity? The authors of Vanishing Voices assert that this trend is far more than simply disturbing. Making explicit the link between language survival and environmental issues, they argue that the extinction of languages is part of the larger picture of near-total collapse of the worldwide ecosystem. Indeed, the authors contend that the struggle to preserve precious environmental resources-such as the rainforest-cannot be separated from the struggle to maintain diverse cultures, and that the causes of language death, like that of ecological destruction, lie at the intersection of ecology and politics. And while Nettle and Romaine defend the world's endangered languages, they also pay homage to the last speakers of dying tongues, such as Red Thundercloud, a Native American in South Carolina, Ned Mandrell, with whom the Manx language passed away in 1974, and Arthur Bennett, an Australian, the last person to know more than a few words of Mbabaram. In our languages lies the accumulated knowledge of humanity. Indeed, each language is a unique window on experience. Vanishing Voices is a call to preserve this resource, before it is too late.

Statistical analysis is a useful skill for linguists and psycholinguists, allowing them to understand the quantitative structure of their data. This textbook provides a straightforward introduction to the statistical analysis of language. Designed for linguists with a non-mathematical background, it clearly introduces the basic principles and methods of statistical analysis, using 'R', the leading computational statistics programme. The reader is guided step-by-step through a range of real data sets, allowing them to analyse acoustic data, construct grammatical trees for a variety of languages, quantify register variation in corpus linguistics, and measure experimental data using state-of-the-art models. The visualization of data plays a key role, both in the initial stages of data exploration and later on when the reader is encouraged to criticize various models. Containing over 40 exercises with model answers, this book will be welcomed by all linguists wishing to learn more about working with and presenting quantitative data.

Most societies in today's world are multilingual. "Language contact" occurs when speakers of different languages interact and their languages influence each other. This book is an introduction to the subject, covering individual and societal multilingualism, the acquisition of two or more languages from birth, second-language acquisition in adulthood, language change, linguistic typology, language processing, and the structure of language faculty. It explains the effects of multilingualism on society and language policy, as well as the consequences that long-term bilingualism within communities can have for the structure of languages. Drawing on the author's own first-hand observations of child and adult bilingualism, the book provides a clear analysis of such phenomena as language convergence, grammatical borrowing, and mixed languages.
● An integrated approach - covers both individual and societal bilingualism
● Includes authentic, first-hand examples of child and adult bilingualism
● Includes a detailed survey by category of structural borrowing

A general account of the languages of the Soviet Union, one of the most diverse multinational and multilingual states in the world as well as one of the most important. There are some 130 languages spoken in the USSR, belonging to five main families and ranging from Russian, which is the first language of about 130,000,000 people, to Aluet, spoken only by 96 (in the 1970 census). Dr Comrie has two general aims. First, he presents the most important structural features of these languages, their genetic relationships and classification and their distinctive typological features. Secondly, he examines the social and political background to the use of functioning of the various languages in a multilingual state. The volume will be of importance and interest to linguists and to those with a broader professional interest in the Soviet Union.

In the 1990's, the focus of phonological studies has changed from rule-based analysis to constraint-based analysis. The study of Chinese phonology has also undergone such a change, as have other area studies in Generative Phonology. Why and how this change has occurred, the difference between the two kinds of analyses, and what has really happened in phonology after the change are the primary concerns of linguists and anyone interested in the study of Generative Phonology or other area studies in Generative Linguistics. To answer these questions, one must: review the developing process of the change; compare the two kinds of analyses in terms of their different frameworks and research focuses; and profile the studies in phonology (in any area studies) in recent years. "Chinese Phonology in Generative Grammar" is intended to offer such a review and comparison while outlining the studies in Chinese phonology. Eight unpublished papers written by seven authors are selected to cover the areas of field-work, dialectology, and synchronic studies of segmental and tonal systems of the Chinese language family. These papers are directly related to the theoretical issues in: the SPE Model; Lexical Phonology and Morphology; Autosegmental Phonology; Metrical Phonology; and Optimality Theory. By putting the study of Chinese phonology into the generative perspective, this collection provides useful data for further theoretical work and draw significant feedback to the theory of Generative Phonology. It reviews the theoretical development from rule-based analysis to constraint-based analysis in the study of Generative Phonology over the last three decades. It compares the two kinds of analyses with respect to their different frameworks and research focuses and their relations with each other in Generative Phonology. It profiles the study of Chinese phonology in recent years by putting it into the generative perspective.

All languages have demonstratives, but their form, meaning and use vary tremendously across the languages of the world. This book presents the first large- scale analysis of demonstratives from a cross-linguistic and diachronic perspective. The first part of the book analyzes demonstratives from a synchronic point of view, examining their morphological structures, semantic features, syntactic functions, and pragmatic uses in spoken and written discourse. The second part concentrates on diachronic issues, in particular on the development of demonstratives into grammatical markers. Across languages demonstratives provide a frequent historical source for definite articles, relative and third person pronouns, nonverbal copulas, sentence connectives, directional preverbs, focus markers, expletives, and many other grammatical markers. The book describes the different mechanisms by which demonstratives grammaticalize and argues that the evolution of grammatical markers from demonstratives is crucially distinct from other cases of grammaticalization.

This book presents, for the first time in English, a complete critical survey of the theory and methodology of Indo-European linguistics, from its origins two centuries ago to the present day.