本教材包含经典普通语言学的基础理论，重点突出，能帮助学生在把握每章节内容全貌的同时拥有自主学习和探索的空问。章节设置按普通语言学分支结构划分，共分为七个章节，包括语言学概述、语音、音位、形态、句法、语义，以及语用。第一章为概述，对语言及现代语言学的概貌进行讲解。学生将在第一章的学习中，了解什么是语言和语言学。第二章对语音学中的音素、发声器官，以及英语元音、辅音音标的不同分类，以及划分标准进行系统的介绍。通过第二章的学习，学生能够站在语音学家研究声音的角度，了解声音是如何发出并被学习和研究的，同时了解人们是如何使用国际音标字母表(IPA)来标记与指代不同语言的各种声音的。第三章着重介绍音位学，包括音素、同位音素等概念，以及语音系统中的语音规则、重音、语调等理论。第四章涵盖形态学的重点内容，学生将从语素着手，学习语素的划分，以及不同类别语素组成单词的规则等内容。第五章包含句法、句子成分，以及句子结构等方面的内容。第六章集中解释自然语言中不同语言单位的语义关系等理论。第七章涉及语用学中的重点理论，对言语行为、言语行为理论、会话规则等内容进行了讲解。

1 Introduction
1.1 What Is Linguistics?
1.2 Descriptivism vs Prescriptivism
1.3 What Is Language?
1.4 Language and Speech
1.5 Language and Medium
1.6 Two-Part Structure of Sign Systems
1.7 Three Substructures of Language
1.8 What Is Grammar?
Summary
Self- Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
2 Phonetics
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Speech Organs
2.3 Sounds of Language
2.4 Vowels
2.5 Sounds beyond Those in English
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
3 Phonology
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Speech Segments
3.3 Allophones
3.4 Phonological Rules
3.5 Suprasegrnentals
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
4 Morphology
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Morphemes
4.3 Morphological Processes: Inflection and Derivation
4.4 Compound Words
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
5 Syntax
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Basic Syntactic Notions
5.3 Word Classes
5.4 Phrase
5.5 Clause
5.6 Sentence
5.7 Deep Structure and Surface Structure
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
6 Semantics
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Semantic Roles
6.3 Semantic Relations
6.4 Figurative Language
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
7 Pragmatics
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Five Linguistic Situations Requiring Pragmatic Inference
7.3 Speech Act Theory
7.4 Cooperative Talk: Conversational Rules
7.5 Syntax vs Semantics vs Pragmatics
Summary
Self-Study Activities
Further Reading
Outline
Glossary
Answers to Self-Study Activities
Bibliography