Organized into the core subject areas of linguistics, this invaluable book enables readers to contextualize each particular definition and gain a wider understanding of each topic. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the subject it covers, followed by definitions of terms and concepts. Cross-referencing and a detailed subject index allow the book to be used as a quick reference guide, and it can also be used to explore larger topics, including the principal figures of linguistic criticism whose ideas are explained alongside the terms and concepts they use.