Nature of Language: Psycholinguistic Perspectives on Words (Linguistics in the World) - Softcover

Libben, Gary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470655453 ISBN 13: 9780470655450

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2026

Synopsis

A student-friendly introduction to the field of psycholinguistics, offering an exciting overview of the cognitive processes behind language processing

Nature of Language: Psycholinguistic Perspectives on Words presents an accessibleoverview of the dynamic field of psycholinguistics. Requiring no previous background in linguistics or psychology, this student-friendly textbook emphasizes the integrated nature of language processing and highlights the complex interactions between comprehension and production in human language. Clear, easy-to-read chapters define and explain all concepts with an engaging narrative style―providing students with the intellectual foundation necessary to explore the cognitive processes of language behavior, consider new linguistic phenomena, and think critically about unsolved problems. Throughout the text, students engage with overarching questions about the nature of language as they learn how psycholinguistics uses data to translate conceptual questions into specific research questions.

• Explores how traditional linguistic notions both help and hinder understanding of how people do language
• Investigates social and cultural aspects of psycholinguistics, such as how people use language to influence others
• Describes the nineteenth-century foundations of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics
• Offers new perspectives about the future of words and the future of language
• Features helpful pedagogical tools including numerous images, charts, diagrams, and boxed sections designed to enhance the reading experience and provide context for key concepts and developments

Nature of Language is an excellent primary textbook for undergraduate courses in psycholinguistics and psychology of language, and a valuable supplement for students of cognitive science, applied linguistics, and speech language pathology. It is also an informative resource for anyone interested in the mysteries of words, language, and the mind.

About this title

About the Author

GARY LIBBEN was Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Ontario, Canada. He was Director of the Words in the World Partnership project, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and co-founder of the journal The Mental Lexicon. His research focused on the development of new models of words in the mind and the development of new laboratory methods. He was the author of more than 100 articles and books on language and language processing.

From the Back Cover

What are words and how are they represented in the mind and brain?

How is the human ability to conceptualize the world shaped by linguistic abilities?

In what ways are listening, speaking, reading, and writing distinct and related?

Why and how does language processing differ across languages, individuals, and tasks?

In Nature of Language, author Gary Libben introduces students to psycholinguistics, the study of the psychological aspects of language and speech. Assuming no background in linguistics or psychology, this accessible textbook describes the complex interactions of human language processing with a lively, easy-to-understand narrative approach. Students engage with overarching questions about the nature of language and develop the intellectual foundation required to explore the cognitive processes of language behavior as well as the social and cultural aspects of language comprehension and production.

Nature of Language is an ideal primary textbook for undergraduate courses in psycholinguistics and psychology of language and an excellent supplement for students across cognitive science, applied linguistics, and speech language pathology programs.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470655453
• ISBN 13: 9780470655450
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144