Amazon.com description: Product Description: THIS HANDBOOK OF MODERN LINGUISTICS HAS BEEN PREPARED FOR THE ADULT LAYMAN OR TEACHER WHO NEEDS A GENERAL BACKGROUND IN LINGUISTICS AS WELL AS AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE "LINGUISTIC APPROACH" AS IT IS BEING INTRODUCED IN ENGLISH TEACHING TODAY. THE AUTHORS HAVE TAKEN THE STAND THAT LINGUISTICS IS HERE TO STAY--ALONG WITH THE "NEW MATH," THE "NEW SCIENCE," AND THE "NEW SOCIAL STUDIES." PART ONE DEALS WITH THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF LINGUISTICS AS A DISCIPLINE, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ITS CONTRIBUTIONS "WHEN IT IS DEFINED AS THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES OF INQUIRY INTO THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN HUMAN AFFAIRS." PART TWO DISCUSSES GRAMMAR, USAGE, SEMANTICS, LEXICOGRAPHY AND DIALECT GEOGRAPHY, LINGUISTICS AND READING, AND RELATED FIELDS SUCH AS METALINGUISTICS AND PSYCHOLINGUISTICS.