The second edition of this hugely successful textbook provides comprehensive coverage of a wide range of topics in theoretical and applied linguistics. Written by leading academics in the field, this text offers a firm grounding in linguistics and includes engaging insights into current research. It covers all the key areas of linguistic analysis, including phonetics, morphology, semantics and pragmatics, and core domains of study, comprising the history of the English language, regional and social variation, style and communication and interaction. Fresh material on research methods outlines key areas for consideration when carrying out a research project, and provides students with the framework they need to investigate linguistic phenomena for themselves. This is an invaluable resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate students on English language and linguistics degree programmes. New to this Edition: - Seven new chapters covering topics such as second language acquisition, corpus linguistics and research methods - A number of chapters have been substantially revised, including those on World Englishes, Literacies in Cyberspace and TEFL, TESOL and Linguistics - Fully updated throughout to reflect the latest advances in the field This comprehensive, well-written and interesting book covers a range of important topics that are central to the study of the English language, including the structure and history of English, its use in speech and writing, and the role it plays in human interaction, teaching and learning.