Language Files 11
An Introduction to Language Files
Since its inception thirty years ago, Language Files has grown from a collection of materials designed simply as a supplement for undergraduate courses into a full-fledged introductory textbook. The scope of the text makes it suitable for use in a wide range of courses, while its unique organization into instructor-friendly files allows for tremendous flexibility in course design.
Language Files was originally the idea of Arnold Zwicky, who was among its first authors. Since the first edition, many editors have contributed to the development of Language Files; the current edition is the result of this cumulative effort.
Changes in the Current Edition
In the 11th edition, we have revised, clarified, and updated many of the existing files. Suggestions for further reading have been added to all files, and the number of cross-references between chapters has been increased.
In many places throughout the text and exercises, we refer to websites and online resources. For this purpose, we have created a page of useful links at http://linguistics.osu.edu/research/publications/languagefiles/links rather than printing URLs in the text. This website provides links to the various websites referred to in the text as well as other websites related to language and linguistics that instructors and students may find interesting.
In addition to these global changes, the following chapters have undergone significant
revision or changes.
Chapter 3: Phonology
• The files in this chapter have been reordered to make the concepts easier to understand. The new order is: File 3.1 Phonotactic Constraints and Foreign Accents; File 3.2 Phonemes and Allophones; File 3.3 Phonological Rules; File 3.4 Implicational Laws; and File 3.5 How to Solve Phonology Problems.
Chapter 4: Morphology
• File 4.1 Words and Word Formation: The Nature of the Lexicon now includes a discussion of lexical categories, which are explicitly distinguished from syntactic categories.
Chapter 5: Syntax
• The eleventh edition includes an entirely new syntax chapter. The new chapter strives to be theory-neutral and compatible with a variety of frameworks, such as Minimalism, Categorial Grammar, and HPSG. It is sufficiently rich in content to be suitable for instructors who wish to dedicate more time to syntax in their course.
- File 5.1 Basic Ideas of Syntax clarifies the role of syntax as a distinct component of mental grammar.
- File 5.2 Syntactic Properties features an extensive discussion of arguments and adjuncts, as well as word order constraints.
- File 5.3 Syntactic Constituency discusses syntactic constituents and several general constituency tests.
- File 5.4 Syntactic Categories explains the notion and significance of syntactic categories, as distinct from lexical categories.
- File 5.5 Constructing a Grammar guides the reader through the construction of a simple, context-free grammar for English, building on the material introduced in previous files.
- File 5.6 Practice offers a variety of brand-new exercises, ranging from simple practice questions to more challenging questions that ask the reader to evaluate the content of the chapter and use the tools introduced in the chapter to analyze more difficult problems.
Chapter 6: Semantics
• While this chapter is still accessible and nontechnical in nature, parts of it have been rewritten or otherwise edited to make the content more compatible with mainstream semantics, should a student wish to pursue a more advanced course.
- File 6.1 An Overview of Semantics now features a more detailed discussion of sense and reference.
- Files 6.2 and 6.3 from the previous edition have been combined into a single coherent file on lexical semantics (the current File 6.2 Lexical Semantics: The Meanings of Words) that discusses different kinds of references, some of the ways in which word senses can be represented in the mind of a language user, and meaning relationships between words.
- File 6.3 Compositional Semantics: The Meanings of Sentences explicitly addresses propositions.
Chapter 10: Language Variations
• File 10.5 Language and Identity (formerly File 13.1) has been moved to this chapter.
Chapter 11: Language and Culture
• This chapter has been substantially expanded, updated, and revised in order to give students a more thorough introduction to the topic of language and culture and how it is studied.
- File 11.1 Linguistic Anthropology is a new file that addresses the topics of communicative competence and indexicality.
- File 11.2 Language and Thought has been substantially revised.
- File 11.4 Politeness is a new file that discusses linguistic politeness strategies used in various cultures.
- File 11.5 Ethnography is a new file that introduces the methodology of ethnography and various ways of observing in order to study language and culture.
- File 11.6 Practice offers a variety of brand-new exercises, ranging from simple practice questions to more challenging questions that ask the reader to evaluate the concepts of language and culture and use the tools introduced in the chapter to analyze more difficult problems.
Chapter 14: Animal Communication
• A discussion of attempts to teach language to animals other than primates has been added.
Chapter 15: Writing Systems
The discussion of writing systems is now a separate chapter, in order to discuss writing systems and their relation to language and culture in more depth without distracting from other topics.
- File 15.1 Writing, Language, and Culture introduces the concept of writing from a cultural viewpoint and discusses the relationship between language and writing.
- File 15.2 Types of Writing Systems explores various types of writing systems and how each one relates to linguistic structure.
- File 15.3 The Historical Evolution of Writing Systems describes how writing systems are created, traces the development of the Greek and Roman alphabets, and discusses the deciphering of ancient scripts.
