German linguistics

This book is aimed at students of German with an interest in linguistics, as well as at general linguists who know German, and introduces the reader to the most important and controversial areas of modern linguistics. Recently theoretical linguistics has become virtually synonymous with generative grammar. This book challenges that view, and presents a theoretical linguistics which is descriptive, structuralist, and dialectical. Topics covered, all with reference to German, include the traditional and familiar parts of speech, passive construction, and irregular verbs; more modern concepts such as the phoneme, the morpheme, and syntax; the methodology of Saussurean structuralism; and areas of vital research such as word formation, and language and politics. A supplementary chapter on generative grammar, using English data, makes plain the error of that methodology. The book renders modern linguistics accessible without compromising on quality. To this end, the recommended literature on each topic has been especially selected for its accessibility, all examples are translated into English, and at key points exercises are provided.