Table of contents

Geert Booij's popular textbook examines how words are formed, compounded, and inflected in different languages. It shows how, when, and why to use methods of morphological analysis and explains how morphology relates to syntax, phonology, and semantics. The author considers the universal characteristics of morphology and how these are reflected in the workings of mind. The revised edition has been revised and updated throughout; it has a full glossary and a new chapter on the field's most notorious problem: the status of the word. 'The Grammar of Words by Geert Booij covers a broad range of topics from structural questions to psycholinguistic issues and problems of language change. This introduction to morphology is thorough and accessible and, like other works by this renowned author, especially strong at showing the significance of empirical facts for theoretical reasoning.' Ingo Plag, University of Siegen 'A book that is fully comprehensive in its coverage as well as exemplary in its clarity, written by one of the major scholars of contemporary lexical theory.' Sergio Scalise, University of Bologna

This book offers new work by some major figures in the field of linguistics, addressing old debates from the perspective of current explanatory grammatical theory. These include paradigmatic relations among words, and agreeing adjectives and their grammatical source. Covering a broad range of empirical domains, the contributors of this volume examine the role of Economy in syntax and in syntactic interfaces with phonology and semantics, and their implications for processing. The evidence is taken from a great variety of languages, including Arabic dialects, Basque, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Two chapters on metrics complete honoring Carlos Piera s longstanding scholarship in linguistic theory within Spain and abroad."

This volume focuses on detailed studies of various aspects of Construction Morphology, and combines theoretical analysis and descriptive detail. It deals with data from several domains of linguistics and contributes to an integration of findings from various subdisciplines of linguistics into a common model of the architecture of language. It presents applications and extensions of the model of Construction Morphology to a wide range of languages. Construction Morphology is one of the theoretical paradigms in present-day morphology. It makes use of concepts of Construction Grammar for the analysis of word formation and inflection. Complex words are seen as constructions, that is, pairs of form and meaning. Morphological patterns are accounted for by construction schemas. These are the recipes for coining new words and word forms, and they motivate the properties of existing complex words. Both schemas and individual words are stored, and hence there is no strict separation of lexicon and grammar. In addition to abstract schemas there are subschemas for subclasses of complex words with specific properties. This architecture of the grammar is in harmony with findings from other empirical domains of linguistics such as language acquisition, word processing, and language change.

In the ancient scholarly curriculum, grammar formed part of the Trivium, with its sister sciences of logic and rhetoric. Logic asks: When is a sentence true? Rhetoric asks: Which is the right sentence? Grammar purely asks: When is a sentence correct? In Grammar, Rachel Grenon defines the rules governing the construction of words, phrases, sentences, and extended text or speech. Beginning with the rules behind ancient languages such as Sanskrit and Greek, she then focuses on how the rules of English have developed-from nouns and pronouns, verbs and adverbs, to tenses, the passive voice, questions, imperatives, and much more. With diagrams, engravings, and witty cartoon illustrations, this original take on a classic subject is essential for anyone interested in language.

Research in linguistic semantics may be roughly divided into two broad traditions. Students concerned with lexical fields and lexical domains ('lexical semanticists') have interested themselves in the paradigmatic relations of contrast that obtain among related lexical items and the substantive detail of how particular lexical items map to the nonlinguistic objects they stand for. 'Formal semanticists' (those who study the combinatorial properties of word meanings) have been mostly unconcerned with these issues, concentrating rather on how the meanings of individual words, whatever their internal structure may be and however they may be paradigmatically related to one another, combine into the meanings of phrases and sentences (and recently, to some extent, texts).

Millions of people around the world communicate better thanks to Mignon Fogarty, aka Grammar Girl, whose top-rated weekly grammar podcast has been downloaded more than 40 million times. Now she's turning her attention to improving our vocabulary—one smart word at a time—with Grammar Girl's 101 Words to Sound Smart. Are you often stumped for the perfect way to say or write something? Do you find yourself using the same words over and over? Grammar Girl to the rescue! This handy reference guide contains 101 words that will enhance your writing, adding nuance, subtlety, and insight. Using these words in speeches, you'll sound confident and articulate—a skill that will benefit you for years to come. Full of clear, straightforward definitions and fun quotations from historic luminaries such as Leonardo da Vinci and Charlotte Bronte as well as contemporary notables such as Dave Eggers and Rowan Atkinson, this highly useable guidebook gives you the ability to speak and write eloquently at any occasion, setting you up for a lifetime of success.

Morphology in English is a text which provides an in-depth analysis of the branch of linguistics which studies the formation of composite words and the form-meaning relationships between their subparts. It takes a cognitive viewpoint and provides full coverage of the essential topics of prefixation, suffixation and compounding. It covers categorization, configuration and conceptualization and enables readers to recognize the complexity of the English lexical system. It demonstrates the pivotal role which morphemes play in the expansion of a languages lexical store. The book combines two aspects of language: word formation and semantic distinctions regarding usage, enabling readers to understand the formation of composite words and their use in natural language. The book features: clear layout accessible style explicit definitions vivid illustrations actual data examples exercises further reading appendices companion website with full answer set

This three-in-one guide is the perfect addition to any professional or amateur writer's bookshelf. Aimed at those who use language in their day-to-day lives, it is divided into three parts. The Grammar Guide provides clear, comprehensive guidance on sentence structure, parts of speech and punctuation; the Vocabulary Builder helps you choose the right word by listing commonly confused, misused and cliched words; the dictionary of Literary Terms provides concise definitions of linguistic forms. The budding writer can use this guide to quickly enhance their style and improve their word power. The rules and advice provided are accompanied by usage examples throughout.

"If you are not already a Steven Pinker addict, this book will make you one." -- Jared Diamond In Words and Rules, Steven Pinker explores profound mysteries of language by picking a deceptively simple phenomenon -- regular and irregular verbs -- and examining it from every angle. With humor and verve, he covers an astonishing array of topics in the sciences and humanities, from the history of languages to how to simulate languages on computers to major ideas in the history of Western philosophy. Through it all, Pinker presents a single, powerful idea: that language comprises a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules. The idea extends beyond language and offers insight into the very nature of the human mind. This is a sparkling, eye-opening, and utterly original book by one of the world's leading cognitive scientists.