This second edition of The Handbook of Linguistics provides an updated and timely overview of the field of linguistics. The editors' broad definition of the field ensures that the book may be read by those seeking a comprehensive introduction to the subject, but with little or no prior knowledge of the area.

Table of Contents

• Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics
• List of Contributors
• Preface to the Second Edition
• Preface to the First Edition
• List of Abbreviations
• Part I: Starting Points
• Chapter 1: Origins of Language - Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy
• Chapter 2: Languages of the World - Bernard Comrie
• Chapter 3: Typology and Universals - William Croft
• Chapter 4: Field Linguistics: Gathering Language Data from Native Speakers - Pamela Munro
• Chapter 5: Writing Systems - Peter T. Daniels
• Part II: Theoretical Bases
• Chapter 6: The History of Linguistics: Approaches to Linguistics - Lyle Campbell
• Chapter 7: Generative Grammar: Rule Systems for Describing Sentence Structure - Thomas Wasow
• Chapter 8: Functional Linguistics: Communicative Functions and Language Structure - Robert D. Van Valin Jr.
• Part III: Core Fields
• Chapter 9: Linguistic Phonetics: The Sounds of Languages - John Laver
• Chapter 10: Phonology: Sound Structure - Abigail C. Cohn
• Chapter 11: Morphology - Andrew Spencer
• Chapter 12: The Lexicon - D. A. Cruse
• Chapter 13: Syntax - Mark C. Baker
• Chapter 14: Formal Semantics - Shalom Lappin
• Chapter 15: Historical Linguistics: Language Change Over Time - Brian D. Joseph
• Part IV: Languages and the Mind
• Chapter 16: Neurolinguistics - David Caplan
• Chapter 17: Psycholinguistics - Kiel Christianson
• Chapter 18: Sign Languages - Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin
• Chapter 19: First Language Acquisition - Brian MacWhinney
• Part V: Languages in Use
• Chapter 20: Pragmatics: Language and Communication - Ruth Kempson
• Chapter 21: Discourse Analysis - Agnes Weiyun He
• Chapter 22: Linguistics and Literature - Nigel Fabb
• Chapter 23: Linguistic Anthropology and Ethnolinguistics - Steven P. Black and Elizabeth A. Falconi
• Chapter 24: Sociolinguistic Theory: Systematic Study of the Social Uses of Language - J. K. Chambers
• Chapter 25: Language Variation: Sociolinguistic Variationist Analysis - Kirk Hazen
• Chapter 26: Multilingualism - Suzanne Romaine
• Chapter 27: Second Language Acquisition: One Person with Two Languages - Vivian Cook
• Part VI: Applications of Linguistics
• Chapter 28: Second Language Pedagogy: Where Theory Meets Practice - Janie Rees-Miller
• Chapter 29: Educational Linguistics - James Paul Gee
• Chapter 30: Linguistics and Reading - Rebecca Treiman
• Chapter 31: Language and Law - Roger W. Shuy
• Chapter 32: Translation - Christoph Gutknecht
• Chapter 33: Language Planning and Policy - Kathryn D. Stemper and Kendall A. King