Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language

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Key Thinkers in Linguistics and the Philosophy of Language is a unique and accessible reference guide to the work of figures who have played an important role in the development of ideas about language. It includes eighty entries on individual thinkers in the Western tradition, ranging from antiquity to the present day, chosen because of their impact on the description or theory of language. Each entry explains the main ideas of the thinker, outlining their development and assessing their significance and influence. Brief biographical details place the subject in his or her cultural and historical context. No prior knowledge of either linguistics or philosophy is assumed; each entry concludes with suggestions for further reading of both primary texts and secondary sources, encouraging readers to find out more about the particular key thinker and the impact of his or her ideas. Thinkers included range from Plato and Aristotle, through Berkeley, Leibniz, Kant, Russell, Wittgenstein, and Austin, to Sacks, Kristeva, and Chomsky.

Key Features

• The only single-volume reference resource to bring together linguistics and the philosophy of language
• Entries are extensively cross-referenced, allowing readers to trace influences, developments and debates both in contemporary thinking and across time
• Accessibly written for use at all levels, including undergraduate, postgraduate, academic and other general readers in the fields of linguistics and the philosophy of language.