Linguistics. A Very Short Introduction

Linguistics falls between arts and science, where the most fascinating discoveries and the most important problems are found. Peter Matthews begins his discussion with the oldest, "arts" end of the subject and moves chronologically through to the latest in scientific research. He looks in turn at such areas as the prehistory of languages and their common origins, language and evolution, the nature of change inherent in language, grammars and dictionaries, and phonetics.
An appraisal of the latest research into language in neuro-science completes this refreshing and insightful introduction to linguistics.