Words in the Mind: An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon

by JeanAitchison (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1994

  $8.78

  This book deals with words, and how humans learn them, remember them, understand them and find the ones they want. It discusses the structure and content of the human word-store or 'mental lexicon' with particular reference to the spoken language of those with English as their native language. Since the first two editions of Words in the Mind were published, work on the lexicon has expanded quickly. This growth is reflected in this third edition, which contains substantial new material. There is an extra chapter on layering and meaning change, and several others have been considerably enlarged. The notes and suggestions for further reading have been updated, and many new references have been included. The book remains accessible in style and easy to read for both undergraduates and non-specialists.

• Used

  Paperback
  1987

  $3.30

  This volume about words, and the extraordinary human capacity to store and retrieve them. We hold effortlessly at least 50,000 of them in our minds, the majority of which can be summoned in a split second. No computer has yet come anywhere near simulating the complexities of the internal word-store. This book provides an up-to-date introduction to man's prodigious mental lexicon . Using evidence from slips of the tongue , the word-finding problems of aphasics, psycholinguistic experiments and the research of theoretical linguists, it describes: how man deals with this fluctuating mass of words; how people use fluid prototypes rather than fixed definitions for coping with meaning; how we extend old words and create new ones. The book compares the verbal resources of adults and children, and assesses recent competing theories as to how we seek out the lexical items we need. It is designed both for students embarking on psycholinguistics courses, and for anyone who has ever puzzled about the human word-store.