Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics

Cognitive Linguistics in Practice #1

by René Dirven †, Margaret E. Winters

"Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics "is designed as a comprehensive introductory text for first and second-year university students of language and linguistics. It provides a chapter on each of the more established areas in linguistics such as lexicology, morphology, syntax, phonetics and phonology, historical linguistics, and language typology and on some of the newer areas such as cross-cultural semantics, pragmatics, text linguistics and contrastive linguistics. In each of these areas language is explored as part of a cognitive system comprising perception, emotion, categorisation, abstraction processes, and reasoning. All these cognitive abilities may interact with language and be influenced by language. Thus the study of language in a sense becomes the study of the way we express and exchange ideas and thoughts. Cognitive Exploration of Language and Linguistics is clearly presented and organized after having been tested in several courses in various countries. It contains contributions from 15 specialists from 9 countries. Some key features of the text are: overviews and summaries for each chapter; a great many illustrations, examples, figures and tables; defined technical terms printed in bold; full index; annotated further reading lists for each chapter; exercises at the end of each chapter; detailed solutions to exercises elsewhere on this website.(This publication is sponsored by the European Socrates Bureau. Adapted editions for Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian and Spanish are in preparation.)

Genres: Nonfiction, Linguistics

314 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Tyler Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good introduction to linguistics within a Cognitive Linguistics framework. It is important to realize that this is a more general introduction to linguistics and not an introduction to Cognitive Linguistics specifically.

Chapters are really well put together with plenty of well thought illustrative examples. I will admit that I only scanned the exercises at the end of each chapter but they look well worth the time.

I have read other introductions to linguistics so much of the material was relatively familiar. With that said, I was surprised at how similar it was to other non-cognitive linguistic materials. Perhaps more could have been done to explicitly carve out the space this work is occupying within the field, but I honestly don't know the field well enough to say if this was necessary.

Highly recommended for anyone looking for an introduction to linguistics.

[Fatih Bozdağ · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a great book to read...