Meaning in Language: An Introduction to Semantics and Pragmatics / Edition 3

by Alan Cruse

Overview

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the ways in which meaning is conveyed in language, covering not only semantic matters but also topics normally considered to fall under pragmatics. Above all, the book displays and explains the richness and subtlety of meaning, with the aid of numerous examples and exercises throughout the text. Highly readable, written with style and wit, Meaning in Language is not bound to any particular theory, but provides explanations of theoretical approaches and perspectives as the context requires, with a stress throughout on the need for conceptual clarity.

The text and exercises in this third edition have been fully updated to take into account the most recent developments in the field and new chapters have been added, one on the semantics of prepositions and another on the semantics of derivational affixes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199559466
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/22/2011
Series:	Oxford Textbooks in Linguistics
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Alan Cruse was formerly Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Manchester.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Fundamental Notions1. Introduction2. Logic and Meaning3. Concepts and MeaningPart 2 Words and Their Meanings4. Lexical Units5. Contextual Variability of Word Meaning6. Paradigmatic Relations of Inclusion and Identity7. Paradigmatic Relations of Exclusion and Opposition8. Lexical Hierarchies9. Syntagmatic Semantic Relations10. Describing Lexical Senses 1: Dimensions and Structures11. Describing lexical Senses 2: Approaches to the Specification of Word Meanings12. Extensions of MeaningPart 3 Grammatical Meaning13. Grammatical Meaning: Nouns and Noun Phrases14. Argument Structure and Transitivity15. Grammatical Meaning: Verbs and Adjectives16. The Semantics of Prepositions17. The Semantics of Derivational Affixespart 4 Pragmatics18. Speech Acts19. Reference and Deixis20. Conversational ImplicaturesEpilogueAnswers to QuestionsReferencesAuthor IndexSubject Index

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the Second Edition

"Enjoyable throughout...an extremely good textbook. ... Certainly, the cognitive theory of meaning will get a boost with this introductory textbook."—Linguist List

From the Publisher