Interested in discovering how language works? Daunted by the prospect of studying linguistics at university? The English Language and Linguistics Companion is a tool-kit for the novice linguist. Integrating study skills with substantive coverage, it offers an innovative approach to the study of English language and linguistics, helping students see how their chosen discipline 'fits together'.

A one-stop resource, this practical and highly accessible guide:
- Provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary approaches to the study of language and outlines the contribution of significant scholars to the development of the field.
- Introduces the core topics and concepts of linguistics and the study of language and summarizes key issues in applied linguistics.
- Defines and illustrates the key terms and concepts in the discipline of linguistics.
- Offers practical advice on the skills required when studying linguistics and suggests a range of possible career pathways.
- Illustrates approaches to linguistic research and recommends resources for linguistic inquiry and the study of language.

Packed full of information and guidance, this is an essential resource for prospective linguistics students and anyone with an interest in the study of language.

GEOFF FINCH retired from Anglia Ruskin University in 2006, where he was Senior Lecturer in English language and literature, and now works as a freelance lecturer and writer. His is the author of How to Study Linguistics, A Guide to Understanding Language, Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics and Word of Mouth: A New Introduction to Language and Communication.

KEITH ALLAN is Professor of Linguistics at Monash University, Australia. His research focuses on aspects of meaning in Language and his publications include Natural Language Semantics, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language (with Kate Burridge), The Western Classical Tradition in Linguistics and The Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics.

JULIE BRADSHAW is Lecturer in Linguistics at Monash University, Australia. Her main interests are in the sociolinguistic aspects of second language acquisition and use.

GEORGINA HEYDON was Research Fellow in the Linguistics Program at Monash University and is now Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice Administration at RMIT University, Australia. She is the author of The Language of Police Interviewing.

KATE BURRIDGE is both Professor and Chair of Linguistics in the Linguistics Program at Monash University. She is the author of Blooming English: Observations on the Roots, Cultivation and Hybrids of the English Language, Weeds in the Garden of Words: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language, Gift of the Gob: Morsels of English Language History, co-author, with Keith Allan, of Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language, with Kersti Borjars, of Introducing English Grammar and is also a regular presenter of language segments on ABC Radio and television.