Preface Paragraph 1. & Paragraph 1 T

The study of language is pertinent to many fields of inquiry. It is relevant to psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and medicine. It encroaches upon the humanities, as well as upon the social and nature sciences. We may pursue investigations that concentrate on what man has done with or to specific languages; or we may regard language as a natural phenomenon-an aspect of his biological nature, to be studied in the same manner as, for instance, his anatomy. Which of these approaches is to be chosen is entirely a matter of personal curiosity. This book is concerned with the biological aspects of language.

語言學對許多領域的探索是相關的。語言學與心理學、人類學、哲學及醫學相關。它不但侵入人文學科也和社會及自然科學相關。我們要進行的研究集中於人類如何處理語言;或是把語言視為一種自然現象---一種生物的自然面，而它研究的方法就像研究它的解剖學一樣。研究方法的選擇完全出自於個人好奇心。這本書是關注於語言的生物層面。