R.L. Trask (1994-2004) was the highly regarded Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex. His numerous publications included Language: the Basics (1995) and A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology (1995).Peter Stockwell is Professor of Literary Linguistics at the University of Nottingham and the editor of the Routledge English Language Introductions Series.

• List of Key Concepts (alphabetically arranged), List of Key Concepts (arranged by linguistic sub-discipline), Preface to the revised edition, The International Phonetic Alphabet, KEY CONCEPTS, Bibliography, Index

Praise for first edition:'This is a brilliant book. It combines the readability of Pinker with the breadth and erudition of Crystal, and deserves a place of honour as a summary of the best of twentieth-century linguistics – liberal, scholarly, forward-looking, undogmatic, sensible, practical and above all wide-ranging. Every linguist will be pleased ... Every student of linguistics will cling to it and love it.' – Richard Hudson, University College London, UK