Contemporary Linguistic Analysis: An Introduction, 9th edition

Contemporary Linguistic Analysis is written and edited by leading scholars in the field. It provides an up-to-date introduction with coverage of phenomena that are of special interest and relevance to the linguistic situation in Canada. 

Although Contemporary Linguistic Analysis has the distinction of being the first linguistics textbook designed primarily for a Canadian readership, it seeks to do much more than simply provide coverage of linguistic phenomena peculiar to Canada. As the title suggests, we have attempted an introduction to linguistic analysis as it is practised at this stage in the development of our discipline. While we do not ignore or reject other fruitful approaches to linguistics, we have taken the generative paradigm as basic for two reasons. First, generative linguistics provides a relatively coherent and integrated approach to basic linguistic phenomena. Phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics are viewed within this framework, as perhaps in no other, as fully integrated and interrelated. Second, the generative approach has been widely influential in its application to a broad range of other linguistic phenomena over the past several decades, including the study of first and second language learning, historical linguistics, typology, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics.

Hallmark features of this title

• Contemporary Linguistic Analysis is written and edited by leading scholars in the field. It provides an up-to-date introduction with coverage of phenomena that are of special interest and relevance to the linguistic situation in Canada.

New and updated features of this title

• An entirely new and updated chapter on semantics.
• A first-ever chapter on bilingualism, with special focus on the situation in Canada.
• Access to an alternate version of the syntax chapter - on the companion website - which focuses on the techniques of basic syntactic description that can be used independently of generative grammar.
• Revision of individual chapters to update and clarify their content, as well as offer revised end-of-chapter exercises that allow students to work through some of the concepts discussed in the chapter.
• A revised Study Guide offering practice exercises covering all 16 chapters of the textbook, accompanied by an instructor answer key.