本教材以生动的表述，风趣的举例，明快的文笔将当代语言学各个领域的理论奥妙娓娓道来，旨在让：学生熟悉这门学科的研究对象、方法和成就，及其哲学渊源、文化底蕴和科学走向。全书共分15章，每章后面编有两类练习题，第一类侧重复习基本理念，第二类具有一定挑战性，启发独立思考，培养科研能力。练习之后介绍一位有突出贡献的语言学家，并推荐一批有影响的书籍。全书后面附有术语解释与汉译，方便学习与复习。
《高等学校英语专业系列教材：当代语言学导论》配有专门设计的学习网站，作为与读者交流互动的平台和与时俱进的信息源。本教材适用于大学英语专业本科或研究生阶段的语言学导论课程，可供一个学期的教学。
Chapter 1 Human Language
1.1 Language and languages
1.2 Language and human beings
1.3 Knowledge of language： endowed or conventional?
1.4 A marvelous scope to explore
Linguistic Stars： F. de Saussure
Chapter2 Linguistics as a Science
2.1 Speculation
2.2 Starting from observation
2.3 Doing your own research
2.4 Three adequacies
2.5 Testing a theory
2.6 The "tourist map" of linguistics
Linguistic Stars ： O. Jespersen】
Chapter3 Speech Sounds and Their System
3.1 IPA
3.2 Articulation
3.3 Consonants
3.4 Vowels
3.5 Phonemes and allophones
3.6 Stress and pitch
Linguistic Stars： YR Chao
Chapter 4 Word-making and Word-marking
4.1 Morphemes
4.2 Morphemes in Chinese
4.3 Compounding
4.4 Idiomatic power
Linguistic Stars ： L. Bloomfield
Chapter 5 Phrase Hierarchy
5.1 Trees
5.2 Merging
5.3 Functional categories
5.4 X-bar trees
5.5 A universal skeleton
5.6 From IP to CP
Linguistic Stars ： N. Chomsky
Chapter 6 From Form to Meaning
6.1 Proposition
6.2 Theta roles
Linguistic Stars ： C. Fillmore
Chapter 7 From Meaning to Function
7.1 Structurizing meaning
7.2 Signifier vs. signified
7.3 Denotation vs. connotation
7.4 Meaning vs. function
Linguistic Stars ： R. Montague
Chapter 8 Functional Structures in Communication
8.1 Given and New
8.2 Theme and Rheme
8.3 Topic-comment and end focus
8.4 A "meaning potential"
Linguistic Stars ： M. Halliday
Chapter 9 Meaning and Use
9.1 Language games
9.2 Act in words
9.3 What does the speaker mean by saying that?
9.4 Flouting maxims enjoyably
Linguistic Stars ： L. Wittgenstein
Chapter 10 Language Instinct
10.1 The modularity of language
10.2 Clinical evidence
10.3 Species uniqueness
Linguistic Stars ： S. Pinker
Chapter 11 Language Convention
11.1 Noah Websters oath
11.2 Stretching the grammar
11，3 Social imprint
11.4 Tongue and face
11.5 Magic kaleidoscopes
Linguistic Stars ： W. Labov
Chapter 12 Language Acquisition
12.1 Babbling
12.2 Prosodic bootstrapping
12.3 Error-marked creation
12.4 Triggering and choosing
12.5 Critical period
Linguistic Stars ： EH Lenneberg
Chapter 13 Second Language
13.1 Defining L2 acquisition
13.2 Fundamentally different?
13.3 Are you fed up?
13.4 Lado and Corder
13.5 Krashen and Swain
13.6 Interlanguage
13.7 Is UG Still awake?
Linguistic Stars ： S. Krashen
Chapter 14 Universals and Diversities
14.1 Language universals
14.2 Language diversities
14.3 Implications in Translation
Linguistic Stars： JH Greenberg
Chapter 15 Global Language
15.1 Rebuilding the Babel
15.2 Why is it English?
15.3 Teaching English as a foreign language
15.4 Globalized uncertainties
Epilogue
Linguistic Stars ： H. Widdowson
Glossary
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