Chapter 1 Human Language
1.1 Language and languages
1.2 Language and human beings
1.3 Knowledge of language： endowed or conventional?
1.4 A marvelous scope to explore
Linguistic Stars： F. de Saussure


Chapter2 Linguistics as a Science
2.1 Speculation
2.2 Starting from observation
2.3 Doing your own research
2.4 Three adequacies
2.5 Testing a theory
2.6 The "tourist map" of linguistics
Linguistic Stars ： O. Jespersen】


Chapter3 Speech Sounds and Their System
3.1 IPA
3.2 Articulation
3.3 Consonants
3.4 Vowels
3.5 Phonemes and allophones
3.6 Stress and pitch
Linguistic Stars： YR Chao


Chapter 4 Word-making and Word-marking
4.1 Morphemes
4.2 Morphemes in Chinese
4.3 Compounding
4.4 Idiomatic power
Linguistic Stars ： L. Bloomfield


Chapter 5 Phrase Hierarchy
5.1 Trees
5.2 Merging
5.3 Functional categories
5.4 X-bar trees
5.5 A universal skeleton
5.6 From IP to CP
Linguistic Stars ： N. Chomsky


Chapter 6 From Form to Meaning
6.1 Proposition
6.2 Theta roles
Linguistic Stars ： C. Fillmore


Chapter 7 From Meaning to Function
7.1 Structurizing meaning
7.2 Signifier vs. signified
7.3 Denotation vs. connotation
7.4 Meaning vs. function
Linguistic Stars ： R. Montague


Chapter 8 Functional Structures in Communication
8.1 Given and New
8.2 Theme and Rheme
8.3 Topic-comment and end focus
8.4 A "meaning potential" 
Linguistic Stars ： M. Halliday


Chapter 9 Meaning and Use
9.1 Language games
9.2 Act in words
9.3 What does the speaker mean by saying that?
9.4 Flouting maxims enjoyably
Linguistic Stars ： L. Wittgenstein


Chapter 10 Language Instinct
10.1 The modularity of language
10.2 Clinical evidence
10.3 Species uniqueness
Linguistic Stars ： S. Pinker


Chapter 11 Language Convention
11.1 Noah Websters oath
11.2 Stretching the grammar
11，3 Social imprint
11.4 Tongue and face
11.5 Magic kaleidoscopes
Linguistic Stars ： W. Labov


Chapter 12 Language Acquisition
12.1 Babbling
12.2 Prosodic bootstrapping
12.3 Error-marked creation
12.4 Triggering and choosing
12.5 Critical period
Linguistic Stars ： EH Lenneberg


Chapter 13 Second Language
13.1 Defining L2 acquisition
13.2 Fundamentally different?
13.3 Are you fed up?
13.4 Lado and Corder
13.5 Krashen and Swain
13.6 Interlanguage
13.7 Is UG Still awake?
Linguistic Stars ： S. Krashen


Chapter 14 Universals and Diversities
14.1 Language universals
14.2 Language diversities
14.3 Implications in Translation
Linguistic Stars： JH Greenberg
Chapter 15 Global Language
15.1 Rebuilding the Babel
15.2 Why is it English?
15.3 Teaching English as a foreign language
15.4 Globalized uncertainties
Epilogue
Linguistic Stars ： H. Widdowson
Glossary