Provides an understanding of the way meaning works in natural languages, against a background of how we communicate with language. Examples are chosen mainly from English to provide material for the wider discussion of the principles of the subject, but European, East Asian and other languages also provide illuminating examples. Preface
1. On Entering the Realms 2. Markedness 3. Opposites and Negatives 4. Deixis 5. Orientations 6. Modal Verbs 7. Time: Tense and Aspect 8. Limits to Events 9. Prepositions 10. Reference and Predication 11. Words and Sentences 12. Word Meanings 13. Combining Sentences 14. Meaning and Context 15. Afterwords