A clear and up-to-date introduction to linguistics. This best-selling textbook addresses the full scope of language, from the traditional subjects of structural linguistics (relating to sound, form, meaning and language change) to the more specialised subjects of contextual linguistics (including discourse, dialect variation, language and culture, and the politics of language). There are also separate chapters on language and the brain, computational linguistics, writing, and first and second language learning. Extensively classroom-tested, this second edition has been revised to further support student learning, with numerous new examples, exercises and textboxes to model and contextualise key concepts. Updated throughout to incorporate contemporary issues and events, it includes worked examples of phonological analyses and multiple examples of a variety of World Englishes. A rich collection of online resources completes the learning package. Each chapter is written by an expert on the subject and presents a clear and current representation of the topic, supported by numerous examples and exercises Includes topics that are often underrepresented in linguistics textbooks, such as discourse, language and culture, the politics of language, computation linguistics, writing, and first and second language acquisition A rich online package includes solutions to exercises, sound files, suggestions for further reading, additional exercises, weblinks and digital figures