One of the most important developments of the last fifty years has been the explosive increase in our knowledge about human language. Speech acquisition, reception, and production are arguably the most complex and distinctive operations of the human mind. This is a comprehensive and up-to-date reference resource for this knowledge.

Have you lost track of developments in generative linguistics, finding yourself unsure about the distinctive features of minimalism? Would you like to know more about recent advances in the genetics of language, or about right hemisphere linguistic operation? The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences addresses these issues, along with hundreds of others. It includes basic entries for those unfamiliar with a given topic and more specific entries for those seeking more specialized knowledge. It incorporates both well-established findings and cutting-edge research and classical approaches and new theoretical innovations. The volume is aimed at readers who have an interest in some aspect of language science but wish to learn more about the broad range of ideas, findings, practices, and prospects that constitute this rapidly expanding field, a field arguably at the center of current research on the human mind and human society.