Contents; List of tables and figures; How to read this book; Preface; Abbreviations and conventions; 10. Grammatical Word and Phonological Word; 11. Distinguishing Noun and Verb; 12. The Adjective Class; 13. Transitivity; 14. Copula Clauses and Verbless Clauses; 15. Pronouns and Demonstratives; 16. Possession; 17. Relative Clause Constructions; 18. Complement Clauses and Complementation Strategies; Glossary; References; Combined indexes for Volume 1 and Volume 2.
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.