Philosophical theorizing about language now involves an increasing emphasis on empirical work and a renewed convergence with philosophy of mind, formal semantics and logic. This new text reflects this evolution.

Philosophical Perspectives on Language is distinguished in several important respects from other introductions to the topic. Rather than looking at philosophy of language as a collection of (at best) loosely related topics—speech acts, demonstratives, sense and reference, truth and meaning, etc.—this book is organized around a unifying theme: language as a system of symbols that is known and used.

Robert J. Stainton is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Western Ontario.

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“Stainton has written an excellent textbook on the philosophy of language. It provides a clear and careful introduction to all the main issues in the area. It can be easily [used in conjunction with] some very good anthologies on the topic. … It’s extremely well-written and very polished; Stainton’s prose just flows smoothly from beginning to end. … It’s a joy to read a textbook that walks the reader through some rather tough terrain, never faltering along the way.” — Reinaldo Elugardo, University of Oklahoma

“This is a very good text indeed. It covers the important issues in contemporary philosophy of language, and is extremely clear. It is written in a chatty, lively style … an excellent resource for those new to the philosophy of language.” — Patricia Blanchette, Notre Dame University