The English Language: From Sound to Sense

Grounded in linguistic research and argumentation, The English Language: From Sound to Sense is written to help readers become independent language analysts capable of critically evaluating claims about the language and the people who use it. Written in a clear style, it guides its readers on topics including basic assumptions about language and discourse, pronunciation, word-formation strategies, parts of speech, clause elements and patterns, how clauses may be combined into sentences, and how clauses and sentences are modified to suit speakers’ and writers’ discourse purposes.

The English Language avoids presenting the language as a set of arbitrary facts by grounding its conclusions in the analytic methods that have characterized the best grammatical and linguistic practices for hundreds of years. Although its perspectives derive from modern-traditional and generative grammar, its goal is to provide its readers with a broad spectrum of basic knowledge about English. Each chapter contains a glossary of terms, a list of readings, and numerous exercises.