Overview

This introduction to pragmatics - the study of language in use - provides an authoritative and comprehensive account of its central topics and a guide to the latest research. It opens with a discussion of the scope, meaning, and history of pragmatics from Aristotle to the present. It shows how the subject relates to the study of semantics, syntax, and sociolinguistics and to such fields as the philosophy of language, linguistic anthropology, and artificial intelligence.The remainder of the volume is divided into two parts. Part I begins with an account of classical and neo-Gricean theories of conversational and conventional implicature. It considers presupposition and speech act theory, and describes the different kinds of deixis. Part II explores some of the most productive current work in the subject, much of it at the interface between pragmatics and other core areas of inquiry. It looks at the pragmatics-cognition interface and relevance theory before examining the interfaces between pragmatics and semantics and pragmatics and syntax.Professor Huang illustrates his lively account with examples drawn from English and a wide range of the world's languages. He includes exercises and essay topics at the end of each chapter, and offers guidance and suggested solutions at the end of the volume. He provides a full glossary of terms and guides to further reading. This is the ideal textbook for students of linguistics. It will also be a valuable resource for scholars and students of language in philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and computer science.

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9780199243686

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Reviews

[A]n excellent textbook in pragmatics. ... Huang's achievement is impressive. Journal of Pragmatics As for textbooks in pragmatics, there have been some on the market (see e.g., Cummings 2005, Grundy 2000, Levinson 1983, Mey 2001, Verschueren 1999), but the present one under review stands out. ... Students of pragmatics, philosophy of language in general, Gricean pragmatics, relevance theory and anaphora in particular will find this textbook useful and valuable. While all topics are introduced in terms accessible to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, this text, authoritative and up-to-date, can serve as a valuable resource for scholars from pragmatics and neighbouring areas of inquiry who wish to keep abreast of advances in the discipline. International Cognitive Linguistics Association Book Reviews This new publication by Professor Huang ... gives a very thorough introduction to this subdiscipling in linguistics, which is becoming increasinly interwined with psychology and neurolinguistics. ... I would therefore recommend this introductory text to any postgraduates or researchers in psycholinguistics. The Psychologist [T]he book is very thorough in its coverage of topics within the field. Mindful of its student audience, it also has extensive study questions, examples, and glossaries. My overall impressions is that it is a valuable textbook to anyone in the field of pragmatics. The Linguist List

[A]n excellent textbook in pragmatics. ... Huang's achievement is impressive. Journal of Pragmatics As for textbooks in pragmatics, there have been some on the market (see e.g., Cummings 2005, Grundy 2000, Levinson 1983, Mey 2001, Verschueren 1999), but the present one under review stands out. ... Students of pragmatics, philosophy of language in general, Gricean pragmatics, relevance theory and anaphora in particular will find this textbook useful and valuable. While all topics are introduced in terms accessible to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, this text, authoritative and up-to-date, can serve as a valuable resource for scholars from pragmatics and neighbouring areas of inquiry who wish to keep abreast of advances in the discipline. International Cognitive Linguistics Association Book Reviews This new publication by Professor Huang ... gives a very thorough introduction to this subdiscipling in linguistics, which is becoming increasinly interwined with psychology and neurolinguistics. ... I would therefore recommend this introductory text to any postgraduates or researchers in psycholinguistics. The Psychologist [T]he book is very thorough in its coverage of topics within the field. Mindful of its student audience, it also has extensive study questions, examples, and glossaries. My overall impressions is that it is a valuable textbook to anyone in the field of pragmatics. The Linguist List

Author Information

Yan Huang is Professor of Theoretical Linguistics at the University of Auckland. He has a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a DPhil from the University of Oxford, and has taught linguistics at both universities. His published work includes The Syntax and Pragmatics of Anaphora (CUP, 1994) and Anaphora: A Cross-Linguistic Study (OUP, 2000). He has also published a number of articles and reviews in leading international journals of linguistics.

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