The Structure of Modern English: A linguistic introduction

The Structure of Modern English is an extensive introduction to all aspects of Modern English structure, including: • Phonology • Morphology • Lexical and sentence semantics • Syntax • Pragmatics This text is for advanced undergraduate (and graduate) students interested in contemporary English, especially those whose primary area of interest is English as a second language, primary or secondary-school education, English stylistics, theoretical and applied linguistics, or speech pathology. Focus is exclusively on English data, providing an empirical explication of the structure of the language, rather than exploring theoretical questions ortheory for theory’s sake. The text does use linguistic theory but presupposes little or no background in linguistics or any particular linguistic predilection.The textbook begins with units on English phonology and morphology, including a full discussion of the grammatical categories of English. A section on lexical semantics follows which examines structural semantics,modal auxiliaries, lexical aspect and related topics. The next section analyzes — in detail — English syntax from a broadly generative perspective. Then there is an examination of the interaction of syntax and semantics with respect to thematic roles and event structure. A final section covers the study of information structuring, speech act theory, and conversational maxims. Accompanying the text is a pedagogically useful CD-ROM that is a complete workbook with numerous self-testing exercises. Additionally, the CD presents suggestions for pedagogical applications of the material in the textbook in a teachers section.

Review :
We are not really educated until we understand the language in which we speak, write, and think. No one can work with language or literature who does not know how language works. Laurel Brinton’s textbook The Structure of Modern English tells how the English language works, and does so with clarity, comprehensiveness, and interest. This is a first-rate introduction to the most basic of human abilities and the most important of human capacities: language. It involves its reader with a skillful system of self-correcting exercises on CD-ROM. This is a linguistic textbook for the 21st century. As somebody who has been experimenting with finding the ideal textbook for classes on the structure of English for about ten years, I truly welcome Brinton's contribution to this genre. Brinton's textbook is unique in its combination of density and breadth of topics, lecture style and self-assessment, and its richness of data from contemporary English.