Philosophy of linguistics / edited by Ruth Kempson, King's College London, UK, Tim Fernando, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, Nicholas Asher, CNRS Laboratoire IRIT, Université Paul Sabatier, France.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Linguistics and philosophy / Jaroslav Peregrin -- Structure / Howard Lasnik and Juan Uriagereka -- Logical grammar / Glyn Morrill -- Minimalism / Wolfram Hinzen -- Computational linguistics / Gerald Penn -- The metaphysics of natural language(s) / Emmon Bach and Wynn Chao -- Meaning and use / Robert van Rooij -- Context in content composition / Nicholas Asher -- Type theory and semantics in flux / Robin Cooper -- Language, linguistics and cognition / Gios�u Baggio, Michiel van Lambalgen and Peter Hagoort -- Representationalism and linguistic knowledge / Ronnie Cann, Ruth Kempson and Daniel Wedgwood -- Philosophy of phonology / Philip Carr -- Computational learning theory and language acquisition / Alexander Clark and Shalom Lappin -- Linguistics from an evolutionary point of view / James R. Hurford -- Linguistics and gender studies / Sally McConnell-Ginet -- Anthropological linguistics / William O. Beeman.

Philosophy of Linguistics investigates the foundational concepts and methods of linguistics, the scientific study of human language. This groundbreaking collection, the most thorough treatment of the philosophy of linguistics ever published, brings together philosophers, scientists and historians to map out both the foundational assumptions set during the second half of the last century and the unfolding shifts in perspective in which more functionalist perspectives are explored. The opening chapter lays out the philosophical background in preparation for the papers that follow, which demonstrate the shift in the perspective of linguistics study through discussions of syntax, semantics, phonology and cognitive science more generally. The volume serves as a detailed introduction for those new to the field as well as a rich source of new insights and potential research agendas for those already engaged with the philosophy of linguistics. It provides a bridge between philosophy and current scientific findings, encourages multi-disciplinary dialogue, and covers theory and applications.