Theory of Language

In this introductory-level linguistics text, Steven E. Weisler and Slavko Milekic develop a theoretically motivated analysis of language with an emphasis on grammar construction and argumentation. They introduce the theory of language, sounds, words, sentences, and meaning, as well as language and the brain. The text is available either in hard-copy form or as a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM presents the text in a dynamic digital learning environment, engaging the user in simulations, demonstrations, hypothesis testing, and theory construction while providing a systematic introduction to linguistic theory. The electronic edition also incorporates the Tree Builder tool for construction and evaluation of phonological, metrical, and syntactic analysis of trees, as well as a word processor, various annotation mechanisms (for example, the ability to create and exchange voice and text memos), import/export capabilities that allow the exchange of different types of information, and an extensive series of interviews with such prominent figures as David Caplan, Noam Chomsky, Lyn Frazier, John Rickford, Tom Roeper, Ivan Sag, and Tom Wasow.

Steven E. Weisler is Director of the Cognitive Science Program and Professor of Linguistics at Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts. Slavko Milekic is Associate Professor of Cognitive Science and Digital Interface Design at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

List of Authors	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Note to the Teacher	p. xv
Introduction
The Pervasiveness of Language	p. 1
The Central Role of Language	p. 2
Homo Loquens	p. 2
Language and Thought	p. 3
Language and Society	p. 4
Dialects and Status	p. 7
The Power of Language	p. 9
Expressiveness	p. 9
The Longest Sentence	p. 9
Novelty	p. 10
How Many Sentences Are There?	p. 10
The Specialness of Linguistic Knowledge	p. 10
The Poverty of the Stimulus	p. 11
Errors in the Data	p. 11
Language Learning and Imitation	p. 13
Learning without Evidence	p. 13
Tacit Knowledge	p. 15
Summary	p. 16
Sounds
The Representation of Sounds	p. 17
More on Aspiration	p. 19
Articulatory Phonetics	p. 20
Voiced Sounds	p. 22
Bilabials	p. 24
Alveolars	p. 26
Velars	p. 26
Fricatives	p. 27
Inter-dentals	p. 28
Alveolar Fricatives	p. 28
Alveo-palatal Fricatives	p. 28
Other Alveolar Sounds	p. 29
Glides	p. 29
English Vowels	p. 31
Front Vowels	p. 31
Back Vowels	p. 32
Diphthongs	p. 33
The Vowel Triangle	p. 33
The Consonant Chart	p. 34
The Phonetic Alphabet	p. 35
Beyond Phonetics	p. 35
Aspiration Revisited	p. 37
The Aspiration Rule	p. 41
Prefixes and Aspiration	p. 45
Vowel Lengthening	p. 51
Rule Ordering	p. 52
Morphemes and Lengthening	p. 53
The Schwa	p. 55
Words
Lexical Knowledge	p. 61
Do Words Exist?	p. 62
Lexical Access	p. 65
Lexical Decision	p. 65
Lexical Entries	p. 66
The Size of the Lexicon	p. 68
Lexical Productivity	p. 71
Morphological Processes	p. 72
Derivational Morphology	p. 79
Productivity	p. 80
Some Complications	p. 81
Rule Interactions	p. 83
Inflectional Morphology	p. 86
Inflection and Derivation	p. 88
Compounds	p. 89
Identifying Compounds	p. 90
Lexical Meaning	p. 92
Thematic Roles	p. 94
Feature Representation	p. 96
Lexical Items	p. 97
Morpho-phonemics	p. 99
More Past Forms	p. 103
The Plural Revisited	p. 108
A Third Plural	p. 110
Morpho-syntax	p. 111
Lexical Features	p. 112
Lexical Dependencies	p. 114
Number Agreement	p. 115
Pronouns and Case	p. 116
Morphological Gender	p. 118
Person, Number, and Pronouns	p. 121
Sentences
From Word to Sentence	p. 125
The Case of That	p. 130
Syntactic Representation	p. 133
Parts of Speech	p. 136
Categories and Rules	p. 139
Constituents	p. 142
Tests for Constituency	p. 146
From Rule to Tree	p. 151
Binary Branching	p. 153
Syntactic Ambiguity	p. 157
Subordination	p. 160
Subcategorization	p. 165
Modifiers	p. 166
More Modifiers	p. 172
Specifiers	p. 174
Case	p. 180
Theta Checking	p. 184
Displacement	p. 188
Generalizing the Problem	p. 190
Approaches to Displacement	p. 193
Lexicalism and A'-displacement	p. 197
Transformations and A'-displacement	p. 200
Bounding Theory	p. 204
Binding Theory	p. 208
Ellipsis	p. 213
Universal Grammar	p. 214
Principles and Parameters	p. 220
Meaning
Language and Meaning	p. 227
The Nature of Meaning	p. 229
Extending the Model	p. 231
Conjunction and Disjunction	p. 235
Complex Sentences and Ambiguity	p. 238
Tense and Possible Worlds	p. 241
Names and Descriptions	p. 243
Meaning and Reference	p. 245
Names and Substitutivity	p. 246
Sense	p. 249
Sense and Substitutivity	p. 252
Sense and Possible Worlds	p. 253
Quantification	p. 257
Quantification in English	p. 258
Quantifier Scope	p. 260
Analyzing Scope	p. 261
English Scope Ambiguity	p. 266
Restrictions on Scope	p. 268
Wh-quantifiers	p. 270
Summary	p. 271
Brain and Language
What Is Neurolinguistics?	p. 273
Neural Structures Supporting Language Functions	p. 276
Neurolinguistic Methods of Study	p. 280
Brain and Language	p. 280
Broca's Discovery	p. 282
Wernicke's Model	p. 283
Learning from Brain Damage	p. 287
Modern Techniques	p. 287
Lateralization of Function	p. 295
Unit of Localization	p. 296
Early Classifications	p. 296
Clinical Classifications	p. 297
Luria's Model	p. 300
Neurology and Linguistics	p. 301
Summary	p. 303
Glossary	p. 305
Bibliography	p. 331
Index	p. 339
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.

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