Discover a foundational study in how language is built from sound to meaning. This work surveys the structure of language, focusing on the feature level that differentiates phonemes and the rules that join them into meaningful units. It blends historical insight with practical analysis of phonology and phonetics, exploring how listeners recognize contrasts, how codes guide perception, and how language evolves across stages from child speech to aphasia. With clear explanations and classic examples, the book traces the twofold nature of language, the role of distinctive features, and the interplay between sound patterns and their symbolic meanings. It also situates these ideas within the broader field of general phonology, offering readers a rigorous framework for understanding how language operates in everyday communication and in specialized linguistic study. Explanations of distinctive features and their operation in speech - Discussion of phonology, phonemics, and the inner approaches to the phoneme - Insights into how message and code shape language processing - Humane examples and historical context that illuminate linguistic theory Ideal for students and readers of linguistics, cognitive science, and the philosophy of language seeking a concise, readable introduction to language’s underlying structure.