Contents

• 1. The origins of language
• 2. Animals and human language
• 3. The development of writing
• 4. The sounds of language
• 5. The sound patterns of language
• 6. Words and word-formation processes
• 7. Morphology
• 8. Phrases and sentences: grammar
• 9. Syntax
• 10. Semantics
• 11. Pragmatics
• 12. Discourse analysis
• 13. Language and the brain
• 14. First language acquisition
• 15. Second language acquisition/learning
• 16. Gestures and sign languages
• 17. Language history and change
• 18. Language and regional variation
• 19. Language and social variation
• 20. Language and culture