The present dictionary differs fundamentally from these monumental works. In its scope
and format, it fills a gap which, in spite of David Crystal’s Dictionary of Linguistics and
Phonetics (Oxford 19852), has existed up until now: in a handy one-volume format, this
dictionary provides a thorough overview of all areas of linguistics. Not restricted to
specific theories, it encompasses descriptive and historical, comparative and typological
linguistics, as well as the applied subdisciplines. Along with the traditional core areas
(phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics), interdisciplinary fields
(such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and ethnolinguistics), as well
as stylistics, rhetoric and philosophy of language are represented. In addition, the
dictionary includes basic terminology from logic, mathematical and computational
linguistics as well as applied linguistics; finally, descriptions of individual languages and
language families are provided. With this broad range of content and its succinctly
written articles, this dictionary is meant for both students and professional scholars in
linguistics and allied fields.