Jean Aitchison Book order (chronological)

Exploring the origins and evolution of human language, this comprehensive introduction delves into its development over time. It offers insights into linguistic diversity and the factors that have shaped communication among humans. With its accessible approach, the book serves as a valuable resource for readers interested in understanding how language has evolved and its significance in human society.

Based on the 100-million word British National Corpus and the Longman Corpus Network, this dictionary explores a vivid and exciting area of English - spoken English. It also pinpoints the language patterns and grammar unique to spoken English. The 2000-word Longman Defining Vocabulary is made up of words students already know, and the dictionary's definitions have been written using this familiar set of core words.

An up-to-date overview of language change considers where our evidence about language comes from and how and why changes happen, begin and end. This second edition has been substantially revised and enlarged.

"Words in the Mind" deals with words, and how humans learn them, remember them, understand them, and find the ones they want. It discusses the structure and content of the human word-store or 'mental lexicon, with particular reference to the spoken language of native English speakers. Discusses the structure and content of the human word-store, or 'mental lexicon'. Features a highly informative and accessible account of a central area of research. Incorporates new research on the mental lexicon. Written by a prominent researcher of the mental lexicon, language change, and the language of the media.

Requiring no prior knowledge of the subject, this text tackles basic questions central to the study of psycholinguistics, such as whether language is restricted to humans, whether there is biological evidence for innate language activity, how children learn language, and how we understand, plan and produce language. The author investigates these issues with regard to animal communication, child language and the language of adults, and provides references and suggestions for further reading.;The book has been substantially revised, in particular taking account of the considerable changes in Chomsky's recent ideas. As a result, the chapters on grammatical innateness, child language acquisition and speech comprehension have been largely rewritten.

This book is a straightforward introduction to linguistics for those approaching this fascinating and fast-expanding field of study for the first time.