On Language (Masterpieces in Chinese Linguistics) - Softcover

Gao, Mingkai

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1918237336 ISBN 13: 9781918237337

Verlag: European Academic Press, 2026

Inhaltsangabe

On Language by Gao Mingkai is an extensive scholarly exploration of the nature, structure, functions, origins, and historical development of human language. Integrating theoretical linguistics, sociolinguistics, structural analysis, and historical linguistics, the book offers a systematic examination of language as both a social phenomenon and a complex system of signs.

Organized into three major parts, the work develops a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding language and its relationship with human society.

Part One: The Social Nature of Language examines the relationship between language and society, the communicative and cognitive functions of language, and the connections between language, thought, and speech. It also investigates linguistic variation, social classes, dialects, and the role of language in human communication.

Part Two: The Internal Structure of the Language System explores the organization and historical evolution of linguistic structures, including phonology, semantics, vocabulary, and grammar. Through detailed theoretical discussions, Gao analyzes the relationships among linguistic signs, phonemes, morphemes, lexical units, and grammatical systems, while considering the distinction between synchronic and diachronic approaches to linguistic analysis.

Part Three: The Origin and Development of Language investigates theories of language origins, the relationship between language and human labor, the internal and external causes of linguistic change, and the historical processes of language differentiation and unification. Topics include regional and social dialects, language contact, language replacement, linguistic fusion, and the possible future development of a common world language.

Throughout the book, Gao critically engages with major traditions in linguistic thought, particularly structural linguistics and Marxist approaches to language, situating his arguments within the intellectual and historical debates of twentieth-century linguistic scholarship.

Combining systematic theoretical analysis with historical perspectives, On Language provides a substantial resource for linguists, researchers, graduate students, and readers interested in general linguistics, the philosophy of language, sociolinguistics, linguistic structure, and language evolution.

Published as part of the Masterpieces in Chinese Linguistics series, this English edition introduces an important contribution to Chinese linguistic scholarship to an international academic audience.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: European Academic Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2026
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1918237336
• ISBN 13: 9781918237337
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 506
• Herausgeber: Liu Hui
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Printed by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.de/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxemburg