Encyclopedia of Linguistics

(Note: Introduction is taken from uncorrected proofs. Changes may be made prior to publication.)

The study of language goes far back in recorded history. Almost two-and-a-half millenia ago, the Indian grammarian Panini wrote his formal treatises on Sanskrit, Xun Zi appeared as China's first major philosopher of language, and Plato and Aristotle initiated the Greek philosophy of language. Since the renaissance, there has been an increasing focus on the description of individual languages, the exploration of familial relationships between languages and the formulation of increasingly general theories of language structure. Now, almost every university or college has a language department or even a specialized linguistics department, which means that an immense number of researchers are working in the field and have published an enormous body of primary literature.

Given this wealth of published data, it is not surprising to meet beginning graduate students of linguistics who already identify themselves as "syntacticians" or "phoneticians." This early specialization reflects genuine interest, but also is in part a mechanism by which the students block out a large number of possible inputs to be able to concentrate on a more manageable few. In their subsequent research, most researchers narrow down their field of interest even more; they become immersed in the highly conceptual and terminological world of their specialty, and they often write articles comprehensible only to their small group of peers. In other words, linguistics is a mature science and, as in other scientific fields, there can be a communications gap both within the field and, even more so, between the active researchers and the general public.

The Encyclopedia of Linguistics provides an accessible overview of and introduction to the multiple facets of the study of language. To bridge this gap between professional linguists and the general public, my editorial colleagues and I made this encyclopedia very readable by eliminating technical terminology as far as possible and by making each essay self-contained.

How to Use This Book
The Encyclopedia of Linguistics is organized into a series of 508 free-standing essays, between 1000 and 3000 words in length. They range from factual narrative entries to thematic and analytical discussions, and combinations of all these. Where debates and controversies occur, these are indicated and discussed. As far as possible, this book takes the field of linguistics up to the present, at least to the opening years of the twenty-first century.

Perhaps the most significant feature of the encyclopedia is the easily accessible A to Z format. Cross-referencing in the form of See Alsos at the end of each entry refer the reader to other related essays. A thorough, analytical Index complements the accessibility of the entries, easing the reader's entry into the wealth of information provided. Selected Works and Further Readings at the end of each entry refer the reader to seminal writings as well as some of the most recent work on the subject. Other special features include 12 language-distribution maps and a thematic Table of Contents in addition to an alphabetical Table of Contents. In addition, more than 100 illustrations are dispersed throughout. A total of 288 scholars from 34 countries have contributed their expertise to this encyclopedia.

Contents
These essays have been written by scholars who provide a general introduction to the material without presupposing knowledge about the subject and without going into a theoretical depth that would raise questions that cannot be answered in the space given. The entries fall into the following thematic categories: linguistic topics ( for example, code switching) (50%), languages (for example, Sumerian) (30%), persons (for example, Noam Chomsky) (15%), and regions of the world (for example, Algeria) (5%).

Linguistic Topics
Among these essays are general introductions to major fields of inquiry, such as semantics, historical linguistics, and neurolinguistics. Other articles concentrate on issues within those fields, introducing concepts that are important in linguistics regardless of theoretical perspective, such as "affix," or "reference," or which are so commonly used the concept becomes unquestioned, such as "phoneme" or "deep structure". Other articles describe crucial phenomena that any theory of language has to explain, such as "acquisition," "tone," or "aphasia."

Languages
These essays cover the major language families of the world and discuss how individual languages are related to each other. Articles concentrating on specific languages from Ainu to Zuni explain where these languages are spoken, by whom, and under what socio-political circumstances. They provide a glimpse of the language's structure and highlight with examples particularly interesting characteristics.

Persons
These essays highlight the major theoretical contributions of noted linguists, discuss the influences that led up to their work, and put the contributions into historical perspective, in addition to providing basic biographical sketches

Regions
These essays map out the linguistic landscape of a particular region. They show which languages are spoken, explain how this particular situation came about historically, and discuss language-political issues relevant in this region.

We have made a concerted effort to cover languages around the globe. Should you note any imbalance in favor of "western" regions, languages, persons, or topics, this simply reflects that the European languages are the best-studied languages in the world.

Acknowledgements
First of all, I thank Steve Larue and Paul Schellinger of Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers for giving me the opportunity to participate. And to their staff Christy Prahl, Heather Sabel, and Peter Daniels who did most of the hard work to start this project. At Routledge Reference, a team led by Marie-Claire Antoine — including Kate Aker, Susan Gamer, and Josh Pasternak — successfully completed this work.

Deciding which topics to cover was one of the hardest aspects in shaping this reference work, and I am deeply indebted to our advisors who helped shape the book in multiple rounds of suggestions and constructive criticism. When I first invited potential advisors, a well-known linguists declined saying that "linguists can't write for lay people." I firmly believe that our authors proved this statement wrong. Thus, greatest thanks is due our authors, who did an impressive job of introducing their specialty without recourse to the precise terminology they are accustomed to using. I thank both authors and advisors for staying the course during the years from inception to publication of the Encyclopedia of Linguistics.

Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to Karin, Isabel, Max and Mia, who supported me while I disappeared in the basement for months on end to work on this book.