Basic linguistic theory

In Basic Linguistic Theory R. M. W. Dixon provides a new and fundamental characterization of the nature of human languages and a comprehensive guide to their description and analysis. In three clearly written and accessible volumes, he describes how best to go about doing linguistics, the most satisfactory and profitable ways to work, and the pitfalls to avoid. In the first volume he addresses the methodology for recording, analysing, and comparing languages. He argues thatgrammatical structures and rules should be worked out inductively on the basis of evidence, explaining in detail the steps.

List of tables and figures; How to read this book; Preface; Abbreviations and conventions; 1. Basics; 1.1. What this book is about; 1.2. Linguistics as a branch of natural science; 1.3. Prototypical patterns and variations on them; 1.4. Grammatical labels; 1.5. Limitations of a language; 1.6. Why is each language the way it is?; 1.7. Meaning and its organization in a language; 1.8. A grammar as an integrated system; 1.9. Grammar and meaning; 1.10. The basics of grammar; 1.11. Grammar and lexicon; Sources and notes; 2. Principles to Follow; 2.1. Writing a grammar

2.2. Always go back to the primary sources2.3. Unfashionable issues; 2.4. Avoid the fashion fads; 2.5. Avoid sloppy terminology; 2.6. How to learn linguistics; Sources and notes; 3. Grammar Overview; 3.1. Basic units: word and clause; 3.2. The clause; 3.3. The two major word classes, Noun and Verb; 3.4. Phrases; 3.5. Clause structure and word classes; 3.6. Adjectives; 3.7. Pronouns, demonstratives, and interrogatives; 3.8. Syntactic specification of space and time; 3.9. Marking of core and peripheral arguments; 3.10. Complement clauses; 3.11. The sentence; 3.12. Negation; 3.13. Morphology

3.14. Derivations3.15. Non-spati…