Formalism and Functionalism in Linguistics: The Engineer and the Collector (Routledge Focus on Linguistics) - Hardcover

Thomas, Margaret

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1138316113 ISBN 13: 9781138316119

Publisher: Routledge, 2019

Synopsis

This volume is a concise introduction to the lively ongoing debate between formalist and functionalist approaches to the study of language. The book grounds its comparisons between the two in both historical and contemporary contexts where, broadly speaking, formalists’ focus on structural relationships and idealized linguistic data contrasts with functionalists’ commitment to analyzing real language used as a communicative tool. The book highlights key sub-varieties, proponents, and critiques of each respective approach. It concludes by comparing formalist versus functionalist contributions in three domains of linguistic research: in the analysis of specific grammatical constructions; in the study of language acquisition; and in interdisciplinary research on the origins of language. Taken together, the volume opens insight into an important tension in linguistic theory, and provides students and scholars with a more nuanced understanding of the structure of the discipline of modern linguistics.

About this title

About the Author

Margaret Thomas is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures at Boston College, USA.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1138316113
• ISBN 13: 9781138316119
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 126