E-Book Overview
Applied linguistics is defined as the theorizing investigation of real-world problems in which language has a central role. Those who regard themselves as applied linguists proceed from the problem to the analysis and the explanation (and possibly the proposals for change), in other words from practice to theory. Those who regard themselves primarily as linguists often proceed in the reverse direction, from linguistic theory to the understanding - and amelioration - of language problems. This further implies that in their applied linguistics, applied linguists take account of a wider range of interests and disciplines than do linguists who are primarily concerned with the development and validation of linguistic theories. Both approaches to applied linguistics, that of linguistics-applied (from theory to practice) and that of applied-linguistics (from practice to theory) are considered in this handbook but greater emphasis is placed on the latter.
E-Book Content
The Handbook of Applied Linguistics
Alan Davies Catherine Elder, Editors
Blackwell Publishing
Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics This outstanding multi-volume series covers all the major subdisciplines within linguistics today and, when complete, will offer a comprehensive survey of linguistics as a whole. Already published: The Handbook of Child Language Edited by Paul Fletcher and Brian MacWhinney The Handbook of Phonological Theory Edited by John A. Goldsmith The Handbook of Contemporary Semantic Theory Edited by Shalom Lappin The Handbook of Sociolinguistics Edited by Florian Coulmas The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences Edited by William J. Hardcastle and John Laver The Handbook of Morphology Edited by Andrew Spencer and Arnold Zwicky The Handbook of Japanese Linguistics Edited by Natsuko Tsujimura The Handbook of Linguistics Edited by Mark Aronoff and Janie Rees-Miller The Handbook of Co