Formalism and Functionalism in Linguistics: The Engineer and the Collector

In her content-filled 118 pages of Formalism and Functionalism in Linguistics, Margaret Thomas provides a lucid, comprehensive and balanced history of a complex subject in contemporary linguistics. She impressively surveys and connects a broad range of studies, past and present, impartially presents the core issues of the debate and invites her readers to draw their own conclusions. Her introductory summary of each chapter forecasts its critical issues, her ample references at the end of each chapter underscore its primary and secondary sources, her appendix of the distinguishing characteristics of formalism and functionalism summarises her relevant points throughout the book and her copious index facilitates her reader's continued research. The book is not only for linguists but anyone curious about the intricacies of language. In addition, the book would serve well as a supplementary textbook for general and specialised courses in linguistics, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels.