Feminism has always recognised the importance of language in both theory and practice; the new feminist scholarship of the last twenty years has made extensive use of theories about language in attempts to understand and transform women's lives. Feminism and Linguistic Theory is a critical introduction to this evolving body of work. Accessibly written and newly revised to take account of recent developments, its scope is broad, encompassing work in linguistics, anthropology, literary and cultural theory, psychoanalysis and postmodern philosophy.