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Linguistic Terms And Concepts Geoffrey Finch Pdf Download: A Practical and Accessible Introduction t



These two books by Geoffrey Finch are designed to be accessible and practical guides to thestudy of linguistics. The first book listed (HTSL) introduces the major aspects oflinguistic study. After the introductory chapter on how language works and how one can describelanguage, Finch starts with notions such as linguistic competence and performance and thevarious functions of language (chap. 2). The next three chapters present the central aspects of thecore areas of linguistics: phonetics and phonology (chap. 3), syntax (chap. 4), and semantics andpragmatics (chap. 5). Chapter 6 explores the core areas further by discussing topics such asdistinctive feature analysis, intonation, morphology, X-bar theory, and transformational grammar,and then provides a brief introduction to sociolinguistics, stylistics, and psycholinguistics. Oneinteresting feature of this book is that Finch often uses literary work and quotations to illustratehis points in the discussion of linguistic concepts. HTSL ends with a chapter that offersadvice on how to write a linguistics essay and is complete with a glossary and an index. At theend of each chapter there is a list of references for further reading, but there are no exercises thatone usually expects of an introductory linguistics book.


Phonetics and phonology are concerned with the study of speech and, more particularly, with the dependence of speech on sound. In order to understand the distinction between these two terms it is important to grasp the fact that sound is both a physical and a mental phenomenon. Both speaking and hearing involve the performance of certain physical functions, either with the organs in our mouths, or with those in our ears. At the same time, however, neither speaking nor hearing are simply mechanical, neutral processes. We endow the sounds we make and hear with meaning. They have a mental, or cognitive existence as well as a physical one. Another way of putting this is to say that sounds are psychologically, as well as physically, real. Psychological reality is important in linguistics. Sometimes things can be psychologically real without having any real-world correlates. So, for example, most people will idealise their own speech and hear themselves speaking perfectly clearly and accent-neutral when in fact the reverse is the case.




Linguistic Terms And Concepts Geoffrey Finch Pdf Download


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