Reviewed by Martin R. Gitterman, Lehman College and The City University of New York

This book provides clear explanations of terms used in linguistics. Each chapter is devoted to the terminology of a particular subdivision of linguistics, including ‘Phonetics and phonology’, ‘Grammar: Morphology and syntax’, ‘Semantics and pragmatics’, ‘Discourse and text analysis’, ‘Sociolinguistics’, ‘Psycholinguistics’, ‘Historical linguistics’, ‘Applied linguistics’, ‘Stylistics’, ‘Corpus linguistics’, and ‘Schools of linguistics’. Howard Jackson also includes an extensive list of readings, which explores beyond the references noted in the text. An index provides a list of all the terms contained in the volume. J’s primary target audience is beginning students of linguistics and language.

Because J provides explanations that are relatively brief, yet substantive, this volume will serve as a useful reference for students of linguistics and related areas. In general, the entries contain sufficient—and appropriate—examples to facilitate comprehension, and the inclusion of numerous subfields of linguistics adds to the usefulness of the book as a reference. For example, in ‘Schools of linguistics’, J provides a needed (albeit appropriately introductory) historical perspective that highlights the evolving nature of the discipline. Additionally, the inclusion of numerous references as well as relevant websites will enable the inquisitive reader to surpass the basic explanations and develop an in-depth understanding of the field.

Selecting entries to incorporate in a work of this type is extremely difficult. J correctly asserts, ‘A reference work of this kind cannot expect to be comprehensive’ (ix). He is to be commended for inviting readers to suggest additional terms for inclusion in future editions. One notable omission is truth value, which should be added to ‘Semantics and pragmatics’, especially because proposition and presupposition are currently included. Future editions would also benefit from diagrams or illustrations to help clarify explanations. The entry ‘Phrase structure rules’ would profit from a basic constituent structure tree as well as a short sample of phrase structure rules. Similarly, a diagram of the vocal tract would help clarify the various places of articulation. Moreover, although a number of the most prominent names in the field of linguistics (e.g. Noam Chomsky, Leonard Bloomfield, B. F. Skinner) are incorporated into the explanations of other entries, the only name of a person that stands alone as an official entry is  ‘Jones’ (a reference to Sir William Jones). Future editions should include a separate chapter that lists leading figures along with their contributions to the field of linguistics (even if those names appear elsewhere in the book).

In sum, this helpful book will be a valuable reference to its readers.