The below reading list is meant to be a solid overview of the science of human language, otherwise known as linguistics. The readings below are split into three parts: introductory texts, intermediate examinations of various linguistic phenomena, and deep dives suitable for more expert readers.
Introductory Texts
- Introduction to Linguistics, Marcus Kracht (open-access lecture notes from the course he teaches at UCLA)
- Linguistics, Donna Jo Napoli
- A Practical Introduction to Phonetics, J.C. Catford (Oxford University Press)
- Language Myths, Laurie Bauer and Peter Trudgill (eds.) (Penguin)
Intermediate Texts
- Tense, Bernard Comrie (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Aspect, Bernard Comrie (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Mood and Modality, F.R. Palmer (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Syntax, P.H. Matthews (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Morphology, P.H. Matthews (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Grammar, F.R. Palmer (Penguin)
- Semantics, F.R. Palmer (Cambridge University Press)
- The History and Development of the English Language, Thomas Pyles (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)
- Grammatical Roles and Relations, F.R. Palmer (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Language Universals and Linguistic Typology, Bernard Comrie (University of Chicago Press)
- Pragmatics, Stephen C. Levinson (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Phonology, Roger Lass (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
Deep Dives and Specialist Reading
- Gender, Greville Corbett (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Case, Barry Blake (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Number, Greville Corbett (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Historical Linguistics, Theodora Bynon (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Tone, Moira Yip (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Typology and Universals, William Croft (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- Second Language Acquisition, Wolfgang Klein (Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics)
- The Dyirbal Language of North Queensland, R.M.W. Dixon (Cambridge Studies of Linguistics #9)
- Ergativity, R.M.W. Dixon (CSL #69)
- The Syntax of Negation, Liliane Haegeman (CSL #75)