| Foreword |
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xiii | |
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| Introduction |
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1 | (6) |
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1 Why learn about language? |
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7 | (4) |
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2 You're a linguist? How many languages do you speak? |
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11 | (5) |
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3 What is the difference between dialects and languages? |
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16 | (5) |
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4 Do all languages have the same grammar? |
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21 | (4) |
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5 How many languages are there in the world? |
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25 | (5) |
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6 Why is Chomsky such a big deal in linguistics? |
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30 | (7) |
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7 How are the sounds of a language made? |
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37 | (4) |
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8 What is the right way to put words together? |
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41 | (4) |
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9 What makes a word `real'? |
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45 | (5) |
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10 What is grammatical gender? |
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50 | (4) |
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11 What is an artificial language? |
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54 | (4) |
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12 Do animals use language? |
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58 | (7) |
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Language and communication |
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13 What happens if you are raised without language? |
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65 | (4) |
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14 Can animals understand us? |
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69 | (5) |
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15 What is `speaking in tongues'? |
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74 | (4) |
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16 How many kinds of writing system are there? |
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78 | (5) |
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17 Whatever happened to Esperanto? |
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83 | (6) |
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18 Why do linguists study brains? |
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89 | (4) |
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19 Does our language influence the way we think? |
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93 | (5) |
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20 How does the brain handle multiple languages? |
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98 | (5) |
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21 Can you lose language? |
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103 | (8) |
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22 What was the original language? |
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111 | (4) |
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23 Do all languages come from the same source? |
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115 | (5) |
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24 What language did Adam and Eve speak? |
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120 | (4) |
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25 Where does grammar come from? |
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124 | (4) |
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26 Where did writing come from? |
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128 | (4) |
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27 Where did English come from? |
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132 | (4) |
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136 | (7) |
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Language variation and change |
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29 Do languages have to change? |
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143 | (4) |
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30 Aren't pidgins and creoles just bad English? |
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147 | (4) |
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31 Do Deaf people everywhere use the same sign language? |
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151 | (5) |
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32 Do men and women talk differently? |
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156 | (4) |
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33 Can someone `sound gay'? |
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160 | (3) |
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163 | (6) |
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35 How do babies learn their mother tongue? |
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169 | (5) |
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Roberta Michnick Golinkoff |
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36 How many languages can a person learn? |
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174 | (5) |
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37 What causes foreign accents? |
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179 | (4) |
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38 What does it mean to be bilingual? |
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183 | (4) |
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39 What makes some languages harder to learn than others? |
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187 | (4) |
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40 Can monolingualism be cured? |
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191 | (4) |
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41 How have our ideas about language learning changed through the years? |
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195 | (8) |
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42 What is the connection between language and society? |
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203 | (5) |
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43 What are lingua francas? |
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208 | (5) |
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44 How can a country function with more than one official language? |
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213 | (5) |
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45 Why do people fight over language? |
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218 | (6) |
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46 What is gendered language? |
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224 | (7) |
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Language in the United States |
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47 What is the language of the United States? |
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231 | (5) |
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48 Is there a language crisis in the United States? |
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236 | (5) |
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49 Are American dialects dying? |
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241 | (4) |
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50 How many Native American languages are there? |
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245 | (5) |
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51 What is African American English? |
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250 | (4) |
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52 What is the future of Spanish in the United States? |
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254 | (9) |
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53 How is language used on social media? |
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263 | (4) |
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54 Can computers teach languages faster and better? |
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267 | (4) |
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55 How good is machine translation? |
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271 | (4) |
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56 Is text messaging changing how I write and speak? |
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275 | (8) |
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57 Why should educators care about linguistics? |
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283 | (5) |
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58 Should schools teach grammar? |
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288 | (4) |
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59 Is elementary school too early to teach foreign languages? |
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292 | (7) |
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60 Why study languages abroad? |
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299 | (5) |
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61 What is bilingual education? |
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304 | (7) |
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62 How are dictionaries made? |
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311 | (5) |
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63 Why do we need translators if we have dictionaries? |
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316 | (5) |
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64 How are endangered and sleeping languages being revitalized? |
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321 | (6) |
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65 Can you use language to solve crimes? |
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327 | (4) |
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66 How can you keep languages in a museum? |
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331 | (4) |
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| Index |
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335 | |
