Discovering Language is designed for an introductory linguistics course at college and university level in Taiwan. The book aims to challenge students and stimulate their interest in the nature of language and how it fits into their lives, opening their eyes to their own beliefs about language. It is shorter and easier to read than most linguistics textbooks, with much more content related directly to the lives of students in Taiwan, such as examples from Mandarin, Taiwanese and an indigenous Austronesian language. Review questions allow students to check on their learning, while classroom-tested activities give them opportunities to apply and consolidate what they have studied. Material for small-group projects in which students observe some aspect of language directly is also included.

Chapter 1 – What Are We Talking About?
PROPERTIES OF LANGUAGE
　Displacement
　A Series of Levels
　Productivity
　Conventionality
　Discreteness and Contrasts
　Social Behavior and Cultural Transmission
　Change
　Gesture
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO STUDY?
PRACTICAL USES OF LINGUISTICS
THE PRESENTATION OF LINGUISTIC EXAMPLES
SUMMARY: What Are We Talking About?
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 2 – Psycholinguistics
FOUR PRESSURES ON LANGUAGE
　Be Clear
　Be Processible
　Be Quick and Easy
　Be Expressive
UNIVERSAL OPERATING PRINCIPLES
　A. Pay attention to the ends of words
　B. There are elements of language, grammatical markers, which show the relations between words
　C. Avoid exceptions
　D. Basic elements of meaning should be marked openly and clearly
　E. The use of grammatical markers should make sense
GRAMMAR GROWS
COMPREHENSION OF SPEECH
SPEECH PRODUCTION
GESTURE
SUMMARY: Psycholinguistics
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 3 – Sociolinguistics
THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC VIEW
MUTUAL INTELLIGIBILITY
VARIETIES OF LANGUAGE
LANGUAGE AND SOCIAL GENDER
POLITENESS
　A Cross-cultural Comparison
　Compliments
SUMMARY: Sociolinguistics
ACTIVITIES
　Your Language(s)
Chapter 4 – Phonetics and Phonology
PHONETICS
Consonants
　Vowels
　Syllables
　Suprasegmentals: Elements of Sound that Interact with Syllables and Longer Units
PHONOLOGY
　Interaction between Phonology and Other Parts of Grammar
SUMMARY: Phonetics and phonology
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 5 – Morphology
BASIC CONCEPTS
DERIVATIONAL MORPHOLOGY
INFLECTIONAL MORPHOLOGY
　Inflections on Nouns
　Inflections on Verbs
　Agreement and Government
　Types of Inflectional Morphology
　Mapping
INTERACTION BETWEEN MORPHOLOGY AND PHONOLOGY
WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER: COLLOCATIONS
SUMMARY: Morphology
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 6 – Syntax
WORD CLASSES
　Nouns
　Verbs
　Adjectives
　Adverbs
　Adpositions
PHRASES AND HEADS
　Head-initial and Head-final Languages
　Head-marking and Dependent-marking
CLAUSES AND SENTENCES
　Other Ways of Creating Complex Sentences
CONSTITUENTS
SYNTACTIC RELATIONS
SYNTACTIC PROCESSES
　The Passive
　The Causative
　Other Processes
SUMMARY: Syntax
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 7 – Semantics, Pragmatics, and Discourse
THOUGHT
MAPPING MEANING ONTO LANGUAGE
WORD MEANING
　Features
FROM WORDS TO LONGER EXPRESSIONS
　Prototypes, Stereotypes, and Relational Meaning
　Reference and Sense
PRAGMATICS AND DISCOURSE
MARKEDNESS
SUMMARY: Semantics, Pragmatics, & Discourse
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 8 – Language Change
SOUND CHANGE
MORPHOLOGICAL AND SYNTACTIC CHANGE
WORD CHANGE
HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS
SUMMARY: Language Change
ACTIVITIES
Chapter 9 – Writing and Language
TYPES OF WRITING SYSTEMS
　Morphosyllabary
　Syllabary
　Abjad
　Alphabet
　Abugida
HangulHOW WRITING REPRESENTS LANGUAGE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WRITING AND LANGUAGE AND SPEECH
　Writing Systems, Scripts, and Orthographies
　Rate of Change
　Physical Existence
　Features of Writing Unrelated to Speech
　Social Aspects
　Dependence on Technology
SUMMARY: Writing and Language
ACTIVITIES
　
Review Questions on Each Chapter
Project Descriptions
References
Index