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This book covers a wide range of topics-some in depth, and some which give a tantalizing glimpse of results which therapists dream of achieving. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Uneven Excellence
This book provides an excellent overview of NLP and its clinical applications.There is a major problem though: the editing is terrible.By not being reliably accurate, some of the ideas and examples are hard to follow, and one is left wondering what else may be left out or is not communicated clearly.

Best NLP book
I absolutely loved this book. Mr. Lankton balances the theory of NLP with practical and useful descriptions of how to use NLP in therapeutic situations. I especially appreciated him examining many of the techniques of different brands of psychotherapy in the framework of NLP, enabling practitioners of various disciplines to notice that what they already do can be explained and enhanced by NLP.

And as an introduction to each chapter, Lankton narrates a story of a young man that aptly parallels the content of each chapter, so for a quick introduction or review of what goes on in each chatper you can read that section of the story.

This book is by far superior to many of the NLP books that have come out since 1985. It is superior in its logical presentation, inclusion of both theory and example (short transcripts), and its overall presenation such that the reader learns how many apsects of NLP fit and work together in a comphrehensive system. ... Read more

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Product Description
Sign languages are of great interest to linguists because, while they are produced by the same brain, their physical transmission differs greatly from that of spoken languages. Wendy Sandler and Diane Lillo-Martin compare spoken languages with those that are signed, in order to seek universal properties of human languages. No prior background in sign language linguistics is assumed, and numerous pictures are provided to make descriptions accessible to readers. ... Read more

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This student-friendly and well-balanced overview of the field of introductory linguistics pays special attention to linguistic anthropology and reveals the main contributions of linguistics to the study of human communication and how issues of culture are relevant. Its workbook format contains well-constructed exercises in every chapter that allow students to practice key concepts.

Customer Reviews (2)

Great Book
Concise, easy to read and understand.Great examples. Covers a wide variety of topics without losing the jist of Linguistics. Highly recommend for an introductory class.

A great textbook!
I have learned so much from this book. A great textbook for a fun Linguistics class. ... Read more

Product Description
This best-selling dictionary is now in its 4rd edition.Specifically written for students of language teaching and applied linguistics, it has become an indispensible resource for those engaged in courses in TEFL, TESOL, applied linguistics and introductory courses in general linguistics. Fully revised, this new edition includes over 350 new entries.Previous definitions have been revised or replaced in order to make this the most up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary available. Providing straightforward and accessible explanations of difficult terms and ideas in applied linguistics, this dictionary offers:* Nearly 3000 detailed entries, from subject areas such as teaching methodology, curriculum development, sociolinguistics, syntax and phonetics.* Clear and accurate definitions which assume no prior knowledge of the subject matter * helpful diagrams and tables * cross references throughout, linking related subject areas for ease of reference, and helping to broaden students' knowledge The Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics is the definitive resource for students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Useful Reference Work
For the teacher looking to get a bit more into the theoretical side of language teaching and linguistics, this is an indispensible book. It covers a lot the jargon and terminology that go with the territory and gives a good, pithy overview of most things from syllabus design to grammar.

I have found it useful primarily to get my terminology right for assignments, but it is also helps with dealing with other books that have unexplained, but really specialist terminology. For this reason alone, it is really worth the paltry sum needed to get it.

The book is into its third edition now, (to which this review refers), and should be an ongoing classic in the field. I truly recommend this book to you.

Good Solid Specialist Dictionary
The Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics provides a concise place where the language teacher or language researcher can find definitions of terms they don't remember in their field ofspecialization.It gives not only lengthy contextualized definitions butalso provides references for those who want to look deeper into a topic. The dictionary also provides cross references to other relevantdefinitions.

The only thing that might be considered in revision isputting the words into categories under specialization as a possibleappendix (i.e. sociolinguistics, language testing, psycholinguistics). This might help and entice the reader to look at the dictionary as alearning tool as well as a reference tool.This would provide anadditional way to use the dictionary in order to learn specific vocabularyfor a specialization under the umbrella of applied linguistics or languageteaching. ... Read more

Product Description

Case studies of individual language learners are a valuable means of illustrating issues connected with learning, using, and in some cases, losing another language. Yet, even though increasing numbers of graduate students and scholars conduct research using case studies or mix quantitative and qualitative methods, there are no dedicated applied linguistics research methods texts that guide one through the case study process. This book fills that gap.

The volume provides an overview of case study methodology and examples of published case studies in applied linguistics, without attempting to be a comprehensive survey of the innumerable case studies that exist. The case studies presented here involve teachers and learners of English and various other languages in North America and other parts of the world. Advice is also given about how to conduct and publish case studies.

Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics is designed for students, both undergraduate and graduate, as well as other scholars seeking to understand case study methods and their applications in research on language learners and language users in a variety of contexts. Applied linguists working in other subfields will find the volume useful in their own research and in their supervision and evaluation of others' case studies.

Product Description
This is the essential guide to research methods for undergraduate and postgraduate students in applied linguistics and language studies. The "Continuum Companion to Research Methods in Applied Linguistics" is designed to be the essential one-volume resource for students. The book includes: qualitative and quantitative methods; research techniques and approaches; ethical considerations; sample studies; a glossary of key terms; and, resources for students. As well as covering a range of methodological issues it looks at numerous areas in depth, including researching gender and language, language and identity, pragmatics, vocabulary, and grammar. Comprehensive and accessible, this will be the essential guide to research methods for undergraduate and postgraduate students in applied linguistics and language studies. ... Read more

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The Indo-European language family consists of many of the modern and ancient languages of Europe, India and Central Asia, including Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Russian, German, French, Spanish and English. Spoken by an estimated three billion people, it has the largest number of native speakers in the world today. This textbook provides an accessible introduction to the study of the Indo-European languages. It clearly sets out the methods for relating the languages to one another, presents an engaging discussion of the current debates and controversies concerning their classification, and offers sample problems and suggestions for how to solve them. Complete with a comprehensive glossary, almost 100 tables in which language data and examples are clearly laid out, suggestions for further reading, discussion points, and a range of exercises, this text will be an essential toolkit for all those studying historical linguistics, language typology and the Indo-European languages for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Readable and Engaging
In his introduction, Clackson says that he set out to write a book focusing on argumentation and theory rather than presenting masses of data- and he does just that. He focuses on ideas and processes, making this a very clear and easy to read book. The high point is surely the explanation of accent-ablaut variation in nouns, although his treatments of phonology and general morphology are solid. Other parts of the book, namely verbal morphology and syntax, were also very informative although they might have benefited with a couple more sections in each (a clear discussion of analogy for verbs, and generative approaches to syntax). But throughout, the emphasis on focused argumentation makes the book quite followable: Clackson is always talking to you, not writing on the board, so to speak.

The best part about this book is perhaps the exercises. The book at first sight seems not only to avoid masses of data, but perhaps to be data-deficient, with incomplete paradigms and key forms missing. But Clackson usually gives precisely enough information to round out reconstructions in the exercises, and as a student I appreciated the chance to work through things myself (although he's of course done the hard part by selecting and presenting the forms and guiding you through the tricky parts). Obviously this 'hidden data' that you have to work for makes the book less useful as a reference (something it's not claiming to be), but it increases its value as an introduction vastly by allowing the reader to actively engage with the material.

Very Solid Introduction
IE linguistics is a growing and changing field.At any given moment, several theories compete to explain the data.Many authors would simplify the complexity by only presenting "consensus opinions."Clackson presents the data and the guides the reader through the varying theoretical models that interpret it.The text is at once an introduction to IE linguistics and to the intellectual practices of the field.If you are someone fascinated by language, the pages of this book will often present a thrilling read.

Finally, an introduction that is a gentle textbook (complete with exercises) but which includes the very latest research
The past several years have seen the publication of a number of new works summarizing the current state of Indo-European linguistics for those outside the field's inner circles. Benjamin Fortson's 2004 work Indo-European Language and Culture was the field modern textbook (as opposed to handbook) of the methods and the traditional reconstruction. Donald Ringe's A History of English: Volume I: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic gave a cutting-edge reconstruction based on the very latest research, much of which is yet unpublished and passed around the experts in e-mail correspondence.

With James Clackson's INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS: An Introduction, Cambridge University Press has finally added a book on the subject to its fine Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics series. And this textbook really combines the best of Fortson's and Ringe's recent efforts. On one hand, it includes the latest findings that have necessitated (limited) rethinking of the traditional model. On the other hand, it is a textbook with a gentle tone and abundant exercises, assuming some training in basic linguistics but no proficiency in ancient languages.

The view of Proto-Indo-European is the Cowgill model, which has gone from being highly controversial to now perhaps ascendant. According to this conception, Hittite and the rest of Anatolian split off first from the main body of speakers of the proto-language, followed eventually by Tocharian. This view helps explain while Anatolian and Tocharian seem so different from the bulk of the early Indo-European languages in verbal morphology and other features. Also keeping up with contemporary practice, Clackson gives syntax just as much coverage as phonology and morphology. He even briefly touches on comparative Indo-European poetics, launched by Watkins in his '90s monograph How to Kill a Dragon.

My only complaints about the book are that it does not have the usual fascinating description of each ancient language (like Sihler in his NEW COMPARATIVE GRAMMAR), and that it insufficiently covers the work of Lehmann et al. in Pre-Indo-European. Nonetheless, this is a fine introduction to Indo-European linguistics, suitable for classroom assignment. Still, for the individaual (perhaps well-educated amateur) trying to learn about the field, I'd have to say that my favourite introduction remains Lehmann's Theoretical Bases of Indo-European Linguistics, where you learn not only about methodology and the modern reconstruction, but also about the major personalities of the field and even some of the missteps. ... Read more

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LINGUISTICS FOR EVERYONE: AN INTRODUCTION, First Edition contains many elements relating the study of linguistics to the language of communication in the real world. The text is organized to make the material easy to find and the content interesting and relevant to your life. The first chapter gives you the basics such as how to define language, new ways to look at grammar, your innate knowledge about language, animal communication systems, and so on. Later chapters address core linguistics areas in depth (phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics). The many innovative and varied activities help you review and practice the content and offer ample opportunities to apply the knowledge immediately. Anyone with an interest in language will find much to enjoy in this new book by two respected educators. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Terrific survey
Broad coverage of an eclectic field, with more than enough depth to serve as a go-to reference. Organized as a textbook but I found it useful and informative outside of a classroom setting.

Awesome
Perfect condition and delivered quickly, so I had it when I needed it. :) Thanks. ... Read more

Product Description
A translation, revision, and expansion of the German work Sprachlicher Schluessel Zum Griechischen Neuen Testament. Provides grammatical identification of words with information concerning their voice, tense, case, or mood. Provides concise definitions of more importand words in each verse according to context. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A handy little volume
This is a handy little volume. I purchased it when I was studying Greek at Denver Seminary. It goes through the NT verse by verse. Important Greek words are given in Greek letters, with a short definition and sometimes an abbreviated parsing. Short exegetical comments are also sometimes provided. What makes this book valuable is its small size. My edition is 5"x7" with a leather-flex binding. So it is easy to carry.

Of course, with its small size, it is not that detailed. So I did not refer to this volume much as I was working on my Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT). I mainly used more detailed lexicons, but I did refer to this book on occasion. So it was good that I had it on hand.

My favorite Greek tool for last 12 years!
More than any other Greek reference tool, this handy volume has been my steadfast companion to NT. While I still use other Greek reference books, this remains my most treasured book. In sum, these are the reasons why:
1. It is arranged according to the order of the New Testament (book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse). Therefore, it is tremendously easy to use.
2. Every important verbs, nouns, prepositions are mentioned with accuracy and clarity. The definitions are given to understand the meaning of the word in the context.
3. It provides important cultural and historical background of the word used. This is important in exegetical work.
4. The typeset is easier to the eyes.
5. It is portable. This book is light and small, therefore you can carry it anywhere.

NOTE:
(a)The new edition came out, but I quickly went back to this volume. The new edition is large, heavy, and less appealing.
(b) This book is out of print. So you might have to find it in used book sale. I was fortunate enough to find another one (via Amazon.com) since my old one is quickly falling apart.

a very handy and useful tool
This book already has another revised edition but I have found this version to be very helpful when I am attempting an interpretation of a particular passage.Not only is it quite easy to locate the word inquestion because the book is arranged in the order of the New Testament,but you can also be sure that the definition of the word is the intendedmeaning for your specific phrase, and not just a general meaning that mightnot be appropriate.Knowing how to read Greek is definitely recommended,but you can get around that if necessary by simply looking up the word fromyour Bible in Strong's Concordance.A very handy and useful tool.

The best book I have found for study of original Greek words
"A Linguistic Key To The Greek New Testament,"by Rienecker has been a tremendous help to me as a pastor in the study of the New Testament.One of its values in in its ease of use - important words are listed in the order they appear in the text.More importantly, the definitions are very scholarly,accurate and objective, reflecting very little, if any, of the author's prejudices.I have recommended this book to many scholars over the years. ... Read more

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Located at the intersection of sociolinguistics and Hip Hop Studies, this cutting-edge book moves around the world – spanning Africa, Asia, Australia, the Americas and the European Union – to explore Hip Hop cultures, youth identities, the politics of language, and the simultaneous processes of globalization and localization. Focusing closely on language, these scholars of sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, cultural studies, and critical pedagogies offer linguistic insights to the growing scholarship on Hip Hop Culture, while reorienting their respective fields by paying closer attention to processes of globalization and localization.

The book engages complex processes such as transnationalism, (im)migration, cultural flow, and diaspora in an effort to expand current theoretical approaches to language choice and agency, speech style and stylization, codeswitching and language mixing, crossing and sociolinguistic variation, and language use and globalization. Moving throughout the Global Hip Hop Nation, through scenes as diverse as Hong Kong’s urban center, Germany’s Mannheim inner-city district of Weststadt, the Brazilian favelas, the streets of Lagos and Dar es Salaam, and the hoods of the San Francisco Bay Area, this global intellectual cipha breaks new ground in the ethnographic study of language and popular culture.

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Do you believe that Ring Around the Rosie refers to the Black Death? Or that Eskimos have 50 (or 500) words for "snow"? Or that "Posh" is an acronym for "Port Out, Starboard Home"? If so, you badly need this book. In Word Myths, David Wilton debunks some of the most spectacularly wrong word histories in common usage, giving us the real stories behind many linguistic urban legends.
Readers will discover the true history behind such popular words and expressions such as "rule of thumb," "the whole nine yards," "hot dog," "raining cats and dogs," "chew the fat," "AWOL," "under the weather," "in like Flynn," "Dixie," "son of a gun,""tinker's damn," and many more. We learn that SOS was not originally an acronym for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls," but was chosen because the morse code signal (3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots) was easy to send and recognize.Also, "let the cat out of the bag" does not refer to the whip (the "cat") used to punish sailors aboard ship. The term "upset" (to defeat unexpectedly) does not date from the horse race when the heavily favored Man O' War was beaten by a nag named Upset (Upset was the only horse ever to defeat Man O' War, but the word predates the race by half a century). And Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, nor do the words "crap" or "crapper" derive from his name.
As Wilton quashes these word myths, he offers us the best of both worlds: not only do we learn the many wrong stories behind these words, we also learn why and how they were created--and what the real story is. "Think 'hot dog' was coined by a New York baseball vendor, or that a certain vulgarity originated as an acronym? Then you need to read this book, which shows that some of the best etymological stories are just tall tales." --Chicago Tribune (10 Best Books About Language, 2004)
"Most everything you know about word and phrase origins is likely to be wrong, and David Wilton proves it with a light touch and a wealth of fascinating case histories. Absolutely everyone with an interest in language will love this book." --J.E. Lighter, Editor, Historical Dictionary of American Slang ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Eskimos Have 50 Different Words for `Gullible Linguist'
This book is written from the same perspective as Jan Brunvand's The Vanishing Hitchhiker and its sequels.This one focuses on urban legends about the historical origins of words and phrases.Author David Wilton begins with a discussion of how urban legends arise, why we repeat them to one another, and how they should be investigated.

The seven main chapters of the book debunk various linguistic urban legends.Among them are:

- Eskimos have 50 (or 500) different words for snow.
- The "F-word" is a British acronym.
- The Morse code "SOS" stands for "Save Our Ship."
- The flush toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper.
- "Handicapped" derived from "hand in cap" and referred to a beggar.
- President Kennedy said, "I am a jelly doughnut" in German during a speech in Berlin.
- "Spud" comes from the "Society for Prevention of Unwholesome Diet"

This book is recommended for the interesting explanations it presents for commonly-used words and phrases.As others have noted, it could have benefitted from the further attentions of a good editor.

Some interesting information, although written poorly
This book is a good collection of research on the actual origins of many words and phrases which many people only think that they know. It will be entertaining and informative to anyone who has any interest in language, so it could appeal to a rather wide audience. I would recommend it to anyone, with the following single caveat:

The writing in this book is surprisingly poor. Many other reviewers have pointed this out, and I can confirm their observations. The information in the book is very good, but the way in which it is expressed is not. I don't know if it's the principal fault of the author or the editor, but most likely both of them dropped the ball here. Perhaps if you aren't overly critical about grammar you won't even notice, but if you're interested in this book in the first place, chances are good that you have at least dabbled in linguistics. The only thing stopping me from giving a more positive review is that this book is one of the worst I've ever read, not in terms of content but in terms of its language.

Great book!
It's interesting to find out just how little we know about something so intimate in our lives as the words we use.

In this excellent little book, you learn the true stories behind a lot of words and phrases like...

"It's raining cats and dogs"...a reference to the violence of the storm that it sounds like cats and dogs fighting.

"Not worth a tinker's damn"...a really old expression refering to the frequency and little value of the scorn (the damn part) heaped on various things by pots and pans repairmen (the tinker's part).

The true story behind the "ring around a rosie" song.Hint:It does NOT come from the Black Plague.

The truth behind the assertion that Eskimos have more words for snow (they don't).

Though you can easily find many more serious tomes than this little book, this one is both appropriately detailed and of an appropriate length to deal with its subject.

Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends
The book is engaging reading if you are interested in words and their origins. I am not familiar with all of the "urban legends" and enjoy learning new ones is fun. Thanks to the author for his detail and easy to read writing style.Word Myths: Debunking Linguistic Urban Legends

Debunking the Debunkers
Here I deal with one purported myth in Mr Wilton's book. It concerns the link between the girls procured by General Joseph Hooker for his soldiers with the coinage of HOOKER as a word for prostitute. The earliest sure text referring to prostitutes as "hookers" was in the 1914 book of Jackson and Hellyer, "Vocabulary of Criminal Slang, With Some Examples of Common Usages." - Common, that is, among criminals, not to rookies and civilians at large. By "sure reference" I mean that the writer says flat out "hooker means `prostitute'." In "conditional reference" context and inference make clear what the word means, for example, from "Look Homeward, Angel" by Thomas Clayton Wolfe (1929) - "Ain't you got the sense to tell a good girl from a hooker?" The phrase "Pretty hookers" in a letter from 18 November 1845 in no way conditionally or unconditionally attests the word hooker in the meaning `whore' antedating General Hooker's career. The passage has been INTERPRETED to mean `prostitutes' by Professor Norman E. Eliason (1956). His interpretation is repeated as fact, not opinion, by netymologists who use secondary sources, repeating dictionaries printed since Eliason's book "Tar Heel Talk" and the uncritical reviews that appeared immediately after. Eliason generalized from a single text, and one that he misunderstood, that prostitutes were commonly called "hookers" in the USA before the US Civil War. He adduces no corroborating texts. (Find one, post it.) Eliason's own source contradicts the reading as 'prostitute. Student Tippoo Saib Haughton [yep] in a letter to another school boy - and slave owner, who therefore had no need of prostitutes, Bryan Grimes. T. S. Haughton warned that, while dalliance with the girls he termed "pretty Hookers" would be safe sex, prostitutes pose a danger by all means to be avoided: a clap epidemic was in full bloom. In Polly Adler's "A House is not a Home" (1953) the word"hooker" never appears. This was the precursor of Xaviera Hollander, whose "The Happy Hooker" (1971) made hooker a vernacular word.


... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive reference work provides an overview of the concepts, methodologies, and applications in computational linguistics and natural language processing (NLP).

• Features contributions by the top researchers in the field, reflecting the work that is driving the discipline forward
• Includes an introduction to the major theoretical issues in these fields, as well as the central engineering applications that the work has produced
• Presents the major developments in an accessible way, explaining the close connection between scientific understanding of the computational properties of natural language and the creation of effective language technologies
• Serves as an invaluable state-of-the-art reference source for computational linguists and software engineers developing NLP applications in industrial research and development labs of software companies

Product Description
Here is the captivating story of humankind’s enduring quest to build a better language—and overcome the curse of Babel. Just about everyone has heard of Esperanto, which was nothing less than one man’s attempt to bring about world peace by means of linguistic solidarity. And every Star Trek fan knows about Klingon. But few people have heard of Babm, Blissymbolics, Loglan (not to be confused with Lojban), and the nearly nine hundred other invented languages that represent the hard work, high hopes, and full-blown delusions of so many misguided souls over the centuries. With intelligence and humor, Arika Okrent has written a truly original and enlightening book for all word freaks, grammar geeks, and plain old language lovers.
 
  ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Of interest to conlangers and linguists
This is an entertaining book that covers the history of invented languages back to medieval times. Okrent covers the fads and fallacies that motivated hundreds of language inventors in the 18th and 19th centuries, the many attempts to create a "universal" language in the 19th and 20th centuries (including, of course, the most famous one, Esperanto), and naturally includes chapters on Elvish and Klingon as well.

This is a book about history and pop culture, not a serious linguistics text. It's pretty comprehensive and a fairly light read, though a bit dry at times. If you have an interest in linguistics, and especially if you've ever indulged in "conlanging" yourself, you will enjoy it. Some of Okrent's personal anecdotes felt like padding to fill out the book, and the appendices in the back were definitely padding.

"A Nudist, a Gay Ornithologist, a Railroad Enthusiast, and a Punk Cannabis Smoker Walk into a Bar..."
John V. KaravitisI came across this gem of a book in a review that I read on the Internet.I couldn't get my hands on a copy fast enough, and my efforts were greatly rewarded.Arika Okrent, a double-PhD in Linguistics and Psychology, takes us on a historical tour of "invented languages", i.e., artificial languages.I had no idea that so many people over the centuries had gone to, and continue to go to, such extreme lengths to "take care of" natural languages' perceived faults.Starting with Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th century nun, and continuing to the present day, Dr. Okrent shows that the fervor to perfect human language has never stopped.We see three main periods of artificial language contruction:(1)the 1600s, where John Wilkins' attempt may have led to Roget's Thesaurus 200 years later;(2) the 1800s, which saw the birth and rise not only of Esperanto, but also modern-day Hebrew (!) - and both from the same historical causes; and (3) the modern age, where the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis in the 1950s led to Lojban today, and where Blissymbolics stands out as a partial success.Dr. Okrent takes the reader on a tour of the centuries, ending with her successful attempt at learning basic Klingon.At the end is a list of 900 of these artificial languages, along with examples of the Lord's Prayer and a section of the Bible dealing with the Tower of Babel, both translated into some of these artificial languages.As Dr, Okrent herself states, even though language is seen as imperfect and messy, every natural language is part of some human society and some particular culture and time.Our languages are messy because they rely on the speakers negotiating terms and meanings, and they also rely on situational context.Perfect man-made languages have good intentions at heart, but ultimately fail as they try to anticipate and write down in stone every possible situation and idea (e.g. Lojban as the most extreme example of this).As those of us who live and breathe in the real world know, language will always be messy.But if you want to "explore the possibilities", it makes for good fun!I enjoyed this book, I rate it FIVE STARS!John V. Karavitis, John Karavitis, Karavitis, KC9ISD, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, BigSight.

Wonderful, readable book
This is a great introduction to constructed languages written by a skeptical practitioner, who has actually made the effort to begin learning several of the most popular languages and thus brings a realistic perspective to the topic. Okrent is neither a propagandist nor a scoffer, and she presents each language with wit and accuracy. I especially appreciated her treatment of Esperanto, warts and all. Great book.

Delightful tour of a bizarre world
I found this book delightful, a very enjoyable read. That's no doubt in part because I've played with conlangs myself, and have corresponded with, or in one case shaken the hand of, some people mentioned in the book.

This is a journalistic exercise in exploring the history and modern existence of a subculture, the subculture of language-makers. Any good journalist could write a sympathetic, entertaining book about modern-day Klingon- or Lojban-speakers, but only a journalist who is also a linguist could really dig in and understand what they and other language-makers are trying to do. Only a linguist can really appreciate and convey the near-obsessive level of effort required to make a new language, or the joy it can bring to its maker. And only a linguist who is a dedicated researcher could explain the history of language-making, and properly relate the efforts of, say, a Wilkins to a Zamenhof to a Brown.

Okrent has done the hard slog of journalism, going to the conventions, meeting and interviewing the survivors, digging up the original documents and the period press reports. She's also done the slog of academic research, finding the primary source materials in university libraries and the Library of Congress and immersing herself for days at a time in study of the early languages.

Finally she has put her materials together in a highly readable, amusing, intriguing account of the people, and the very human process, of creating language from whole cloth.

Unfair, inaccurate, mean-spirited.
This book is terrible on many levels. First, it is more of a pop-science polemic than a fair treatment of the material discussed. Okrent panders to the demographic that will scoff at constructed languages, and tries to sell her book by laughing at others' expense.

She includes languages in her chapter "A History of Failure" that don't belong there; for example, Lingua Ignota was never intended to be used by anyone but its creator, so it cannot rightly be called a failure. In addition, Okrent makes Esperantists out to be crazy, and although she sympathizes with them to some extent, a large section of the book deals with the so-called "failure" of Esperanto. Esperanto is a living language spoken by a vibrant community of 2 million people across the entire world, and is anything but a failure.

Okrent also seriously neglects the vast majority of constructed languages: artistic languages, designed not for serious use or to facilitate international communication, but for the aesthetic pleasure of the creator. Tolkien and the hundreds of other "artlangers"--whether famous or unknown--are crammed into a few pages in the last chapter, despite the fact that artlangs account for some of the most interesting and important constructed languages.

Don't get this book. It's filled with misinformation, distortions, and gratuitous mocking. ... Read more

Product Description
In this introduction to the use of linguistics in biblical interpretation, Peter Cotterell and Max Turner focus on the concept of meaning, the significance of author, text, and reader, and the use of discourse analysis. ... Read more

Product Description
This accessible guide and introduction to critical applied linguistics provides a clear overview, highlighting problems, debates, and competing views in language education, literacy, discourse analysis, language in the workplace, translation and other language-related domains. Covering both critical theory and domains of practice, the book is organized around five themes: the politics of knowledge, the politics of language, the politics of texts, the politics of pedagogy, and the politics of difference. It is an important text for anyone involved in applied linguistics, TESOL, language education, or other language-related fields.
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Customer Reviews (1)

who saves us from deconstruction?
While his previous work revealed many interesting facts about ELT, Pennycook's post-modern ideology leads to disaster in "Critical Applied Linguistics". Indeed, the book's structure is so postmodern that there is hardly any frame left for reader to cling to. The only overarching structure is Pennycook's construction of the four schools of applied linguistics and this classification is extremely questionable. Often one scholar is taken as representing a whole school. In the case of Widdowson, his argument is misrepresented to suit the construction of "liberal ostricism".

But the basic fallacy of the book is Pennycook's attitude towards research.Pennycook argues that, as objectivity is not possible, there is no need to try to be objective. While it is certainly true that notions such as "objectivity" and "rationalism" are often biased, the answer is not to discharge these notions but to use them while being aware of their problematic nature. ... Read more

Product Description
Ottenheimer's authoritative yet approachable introduction to the field's methodology, skills, techniques, tools, and applications emphasizes the kinds of questions that anthropologists ask about language ? and the kinds of questions that intrigue students. The text brings together the key areas of linguistic anthropology, addressing issues of power, race, gender, and class throughout. Further stressing the everyday relevance of the text material, Ottenheimer includes "In the Field" vignettes that draw you in to the chapter material via stories culled from her own and others' experiences, as well as "Doing Linguistic Anthropology" and "Cross- Language Miscommunication" features that describe real-life applications of text concepts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Highly recommended
The content is substantial, well organized, and visually appealing. The author does an outstanding job in connecting the material to real-life issues.

For use as a textbook, ideally it should have more exercises and questions for students. The "student activities" section at the end of each chapter merely points the reader to the companion workbook, which admittedly has some great stuff, but too often the exercises in it are just "go to these websites and write an essay about them".

hello, anyone there?
I needed to get in touch with the vendor who sold me this because the edition they sent was not the correct one, so now i have a book that is useless and no one to respond to me email. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a comprehensive introduction to theoretical linguistics. It presupposes no previous knowledge and terms are defined as they are introduced; but it gives a rigorous and technical treatment ofa wide range of topics, and brings the reader to an advanced level of understanding. Since its first publication in 1968 Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics has been one of the classic introductions to the discipline. In a field which is often seen as rapidly moving, it will continue to be used by students seeking an overview of the central areas of linguistics - phonetics and phonology, grammar and semantics - and to be of great value to anyone interested in the ways in which theory can help to explain the key problems of human language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great classic
I've read lots of both applied and theoretical linguistics books and this one is by far the best intro to the theoretical areas. I haven't read any high-level intro books on theory recently, so I can't state categorically that this is the best that's ever been written, but when I was studying the field a number of years ago, this was the best book I'd ever seen.

Lyon's book is very well written and understandable despite the quite substantial level of technical discussion and scholarship. He takes the reader from the beginning concepts to a very impressive level of technical and theoretical knowledge, which will be adequate to begin reading the professional literature in just one book, an impressive feat just by itelf. After reading this book you will be in excellent shape to tackle more advanced topics and books, which is what I did after reading it. From here I went on to read Robert B. Lee's important early work in transformational grammar, "The Grammar of English Nominalizations," as well as others.

Lyons covers all the major areas, from phonetics to structural linguistics and transformational grammar. Important classical concepts such as de Saussure's dichotomies of parole vs. langue, diachronic vs. synchronic, and syntagmatic vs. paradigmatic are treated in detail. Although I enjoyed these chapters and the chapters on phonetics and phonology, for me the real meat of the book were the chapters on structural linguistics, universal grammar, and generative and transformational grammar.

To give just one example of the many discussions I enjoyed in this book, there was the section in which Lyons discusses ergative languages, such as Eskimo, and the concepts of ergativity vs. transitivity. Linguists have established that many, perhaps most languages, have the transitive pattern. The many Indo-European languages, of which English is a member, have the familar nominative-accusative pattern--with rare exceptions--such as Basque--which is thought to be more related to Sanskrit or the original pre-Indo-European language than to its current neighbors in Europe. In fact, Basque is the only ergative language in Europe. It also lacks the passive voice, and the usual reflexive pronouns such as myself/himself/herself/ourselves/themselves.

But getting back to ergative languages in general, a number of languages are now known to have an ergative-absolutive declension pattern, which are of interest to linguists since they reverse the typical pattern found in most other languages. In ergative languages, the direct object of a transitive verb is declined the same way as the subject of an intransitive verb, with the subject noun usually being marked with an agentive suffix or prefix. Linguists have documented a number of languages that do this, including Eskimo, many Austronesian family and Pacific island languages such as Ilocano and Kapambangan, and the Caucasian languages of Georgia and southern Russia such as Chechen and Ingushta. Recent research has elaborated on this concept even further with the idea of "active" languages, which are languages where the subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs which are considered agents semantically are marked the same grammatically, in contrast to non-agentive subjects and direct objects, which are marked differently.

Lyons also has an excellent chapter on probably the most difficult subject in the book, Chomsky's transformational grammar. But Lyons makes this topic approachable as well by placing it in the context of generative grammars as a whole and proceeding on from there to the specific features of Chomsky's proposal. These include the idea of a deep as opposed to a surface grammar which are mapped onto each other through the use of transformation rules, the idea that syntatic rules are prior to semantics in speaking language, as in his famous example, "Colorless green ideas sleep furiuosly," and so on.

I could go on and on about all the great things I learned from this book, but I have to stop somewhere. Overall it's a superb introduction and although now a true classic (having been published in 1968), one which I've never seen surpassed. (If any of you linguistics fans out there know another, please email me, I'd be interested in reading it. You can get my email address by making me an Amazon "Friend" in your Amazon personal reviewer area).

The best intro on the subject
I've read lots of both applied and theoretical linguistics books and this one is by far the best intro to the theoretical areas. Very well written and understandable despite the quite respectable level of technical discussion and scholarship. After reading this book you will be in excellent shape to tackle more advanced topics and books. Lyons covers all the major areas, from phonetics to structural linguistics and transformational grammar. To give just one example of the many discussions I enjoyed in this book, there was the section in which Lyons discusses ergative languages, such as Eskimo, and the concepts of ergativity vs. transitivity. Altogether a superb introduction and although now a true classic (having been published in 1968), one which I've never seen surpassed. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a textbook for courses in language and culture for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students. It starts from a theoretical viewpoint of both language and culture as conventionalized forms of situated practice and uses this as a unifying framework to cover the full range of topics normally treated under the rubric of language and culture.

An important orientating strand in the book is the tension between innatist or universalist versus relativist approaches to anthropological linguistic phenomena: various topics like kinship, color, classifiers or the effects of literacy are discussed from these contrasting viewpoints to provide a richer understanding of their implications. The book is organized so that in a modular way individual instructors may use or omit sections to fit into their overall teaching design. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A superb textbook within its area
A comprehensive introduction to key concepts in the area of anthropological lingusitics. It treats many of those classical questions that always arise once language as language use and its role in society andculture is discussed. The text is comprehensive and the words flowsmoothly. ... Read more

Product Description
In Basic Linguistic Theory R. M. W. Dixon provides a new and fundamental characterization of the nature of human languages and a comprehensive guide to their description and analysis. In three clearly written and accessible volumes, he describes how best to go about doing linguistics, the most satisfactory and profitable ways to work, and the pitfalls to avoid. In the first volume he addresses the methodology for recording, analysing, and comparing languages. He argues that grammatical structures and rules should be worked out inductively on the basis of evidence, explaining in detail the steps by which an attested grammar and lexicon can built up from observed utterances. He shows how the grammars and words of one language may be compared to others of the same or different families, explains the methods involved in cross-linguistic parametric analyses, and describes how to interpret the results. Volume 2 and volume 3 (to be published in 2011) offer in-depth tours of underlying principles of grammatical organization, as well as many of the facts of grammatical variation. 'The task of the linguist,' Professor Dixon writes, 'is to explain the nature of human languages - each viewed as an integrated system - together with an explanation of why each language is the way it is, allied to the further scientific pursuits of prediction and evaluation.'

Basic Linguistic Theory is the triumphant outcome of a lifetime's thinking about every aspect and manifestation of language and immersion in linguistic fieldwork. It is a one-stop text for undergraduate and graduate students of linguistics, as well as for those in neighbouring disciplines, such as psychology and anthropology. ... Read more