Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics

✍ Scribed by John Lyons

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 1969
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 533
• Edition: 1st
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This is a comprehensive introduction to theoretical linguistics. It presupposes no previous knowledge and terms are defined as they are introduced; but it gives a rigorous and technical treatment of a wide range of topics, and brings the reader to an advanced level of understanding. Since its first publication in 1968 Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics has been one of the classic introductions to the discipline. In a field which is often seen as rapidly moving, it will continue to be used by students seeking an overview of the central areas of linguistics - phonetics and phonology, grammar and semantics - and to be of great value to anyone interested in the ways in which theory can help to explain the key problems of human language.

✦ Table of Contents

1 Linguistics: The Scientific Study of Language 14
1.1 Introductory 14
1.2 Traditional grammar 17
1.3 Comparative philology 34
1.4 Modern linguistics 51
2 The Structure of Language 66
2.1 Introductory 66
2.2 Substance and form 67
2.3 Paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations 83
2.4 Statistical structure 94
3 The Sounds of Language 112
3.1 Introductory 112
3.2 Phonetics 114
3.3 Phonology 125
4 Grammar: General Principles 146
4.1 Introductory 146
4.2 Formal grammar 150
4.3 Grammar and lexicon 171
5 Grammatical Units 183
5.1 Introductory 183
5.2 The sentence 185
5.3 The morpheme 193
5.4 The word 207
5.5 The notion of ‘rank’ 219
6 Grammatical Structure 222
6.1 Immediate constituents 222
6.2 Phrase-structure grammars 228
6.3 Categorial grammars 240
6.4 Exocentric and endocentric constructions 244
6.5 Context-sensitive grammars 248
6.6 Transformational grammar 260
7 Grammatical Categories 283
7.1 Introductory 283
7.2 Deictic categories 288
7.3 Number and gender 294
7.4 Case 302
7.5 Tense, mood and aspect 317
7.6 The parts of speech 330
8 Grammatical Functions 347
8.1 Subject, predicate and adjunct 347
8.2 Transitivity and ergativity 363
8.3 Voice 384
8.4 Existential, locative and possessive constructions 401
9 Semantics: General Principles 413
9.1 Introductory 413
9.2 Traditional semantics 416
9.3 ‘Meaningfulness’ 425
9.4 Reference and sense 437
9.5 ‘Lexical’ and ‘grammatical’ meaning 448
10 Semantic Structure 456
10.1 Introductory 456
10.2 Synonymy 459
10.3 Hypmymy and incompatibility 466
10.4 Antonymy, complementarity and converseness 473
10.5 Componential analysis and universal semantics 483
Notes and references 495
Addenda 502
Bibliography 503
Table of symbols and notational conventions 519
Index of proper names 520
Index of subjects 523