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MATHEMATICAL LINGUISTICS by Andras Komai Springer- Verlag, 2008, 289 pp. ISBN: 978-1-84628-985-9
Mathematical Linguistics is a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical study of human languages. This book is written for mathematicians and presupposes no technical knowledge of linguistics or natural language theory. It does, however, require a strong mathematical background. Kornai suggests that the book is accessible to advanced undergraduates but, in my experience, only a special undergraduate with the prerequisite knowledge of algebra, logic, and information theory could truly appreciate its contents. But, for mathematicians and computer scientists, Mathematical Linguistics is an excellent introduction to this important area of applied mathematics.
Kornai organizes the book around the classical subdivisions of linguistics: phonology (the sounds of language), morphology (the words of language), syntax (the sentences of language), and semantics (the meanings of linguistic utterances). He does not address pragmatics (the use of language) but instead offers chapters on some current fundamental linguistic...