International Encyclopaedia of Linguistics - Hardcover

"An essential reference work for linguists of various kinds, for linguistic anthropologists, and for anyone whose work involves regular use of language data. Moreover, the quality, accessibility, and interest of the contents make it enjoyable reading for its own sake."--Anthropological Linguistics"If one wants a single comprehensive work...the choice should be the IEL....Highly recommended for all academic libraries, community college onwards."--Choice"Invaluable for making easily accessible a great deal of factual information."--Times Literary Supplement"The binding and layout are superb, th typography is a pleasure to read, and the diagrams are clear. I expected a great feast of compulsive reading, and I was not disappointed."--Times Higher Education Supplement"This major work is destined to become a classic in the study of linguistics and adjacent fields....Belongs in the collections of all university libraries and in most large public libraries."--Library Journal"An essential purchase for academic libraries supporting teaching and research in this discipline. Other academic and large public libraries should consider purchase for its coverage of interdisciplinary topics."--Booklist/RBB"This is a splendid production. Comprehensive and easy to use, the encyclopedia manages to map the central concerns of contemporary linguistics in such a way that outsiders will not only be able to find what they are looking for but will also be persuaded to explore further....It seems to fill a gap in the reference material available to non-specialist researchers who need comprehensive, contemporary information on any area of linguistics."--Language and Literature"A genuine achievement in information collection and dissemination....It is what an encyclopedia is meant to be."--TESOL Quarterly"This is an excellent work, highly trustworthy, the very best in the field of linguistics but also in comparison with encyclopedias in other domains. It should be present in every library, not only linguistic or general, but also libraries of the social and psychological sciences, and of neurophysiology, mathematics, artificial intelligence, and the like."--Linguistics

Covering the full range of contemporary linguistics - historical, comparative, formal, mathematical, functional and philosophical - this four-volume work offers an interdisciplinary approach. Entries examine such areas as anthropological linguistics, the history of its study, semantics and phonetics, while shorter pieces cover more specific topics, including class dialect, sound symbolism, syntax and leading figures in linguistic scholarship. Particular emphasis is placed on languages and language families, ranging from those as familiar as English and Chinese to Hittite and Yoruba, with numerous language lists giving details of speakers, location and the inter-relation of virtually every known language in the world.