Frontmatter -- Table of contents -- Preface to the first edition -- Preface to the second edition -- Preface to the third edition -- Abbreviations and notational conventions -- Introduction: what this book is about and how it can be used -- 1. The sounds: phonetics -- 2. The sound system: phonology -- 3. The structure of words: morphology -- 4. The structure of sentences: syntax -- 5. The meaning of words and sentences: semantics -- 6. Studying language in use: pragmatics -- 7. Extensions and applications: historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics -- 8. Linguistics as an empirical science -- Glossary -- References -- Subject index