The framework for linguistics described in this book is not an introduction to linguistics in the conventional sense. Rather, it is an invitation to those entering the discipline to become intrigued by things lingual. Working from the premise that linguistics is not many disciplines, but one, however much it is sometimes divided up into formal ("theoretical") and sociolinguistic camps, it is designed to provide insight into phenomena operating within the lingual dimension of our experience, that circumscribes the field of linguistics. The framework allows young scholars entering the field to gain an understanding of why and how the discipline is academically sustainable, a perspective that is likely to be useful beyond the shifts in linguistic paradigms that they will no doubt experience in their academic lifetimes.

Albert Weideman is professor and head of the Department of English, University of the Free State. He is currently chief executive of the Inter-institutional Centre for Language Development and Assessment (ICELDA), a partnership of a number of multi-lingual universities (Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Northwest, Free State). He has published widely in his field. He is the author of Academic literacy: prepare to learn (2007) and Beyond expression: A systematic study of the foundations of linguistics (2009). His main research interests lie in assessing academic literacy, and in the foundations of applied linguistics.