Book Description
This popular introductory linguistics text is unique in the way various themes are integrated throughout the book. One primary theme is the question, "How is a speaker's communicative intent recognized?" Rather than treat phonology, phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics as completely separate fields, the text shows how they interact in principled ways. Similarly, language variation and acquisition are informed by results in these fields. The text provides a sound introduction to linguistic methodology while also revealing why people are intrinsically interested in language--the ultimate puzzle of the human mind.

The fifth edition has been thoroughly revised. Revisions include, but are not limited to, the addition of "selected readings" sections, updated examples, new discussion on the creative nature of neologisms, and the use of IPA as the primary transcription system throughout. This edition also includes an account of the patterns of occurrence of reduced vowels in English. An understanding of these patterns enables the reader to write a phonemic transcription of any English word. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Great book!
This is a great book... I had to read it in a period of 9 weeks; and that is a lot for me, I like taking my time, but with this book I only wanted to keep going. The definitions were simple and I did not have to go back and read again because I got lost somewhere in the text.

Excellent intro text
This is the second edition and fourth printing of this popular text by Akmajian, Demers, and Harnish at the University of Arizona. Although this text is now over 15 years old, it's still a fine introduction to the subject. One nice thing about the book is that the prose is not too technical for the beginning reader while providing excellent coverage of the important concepts and technical points. This is often a problem with linguistics texts since, unlike other technical subjects, most people have little or no background in linguistics before taking their first real course in the subject, and having previously learned a foreign language isn't as helpful as many students might think since much of linguistics, especially in the transformational grammar and generative grammar and analytical syntax areas, is a highly technical, formal, and even mathematical discipline now.

As I am mainly a neuroscientist and secondarily a linguist, I was most interested in Part 3 of this book. The first two parts present the usual linguistics topics such as phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, language variation, and evolution. Part 3 deals with the area of Psycholinguistics, and there are four chapters discussing language from the standpoint of Cognitive Psychology and Neuropsychology. The four chapters are: Pragmatics: The Study of Language Use and Communication; Speech Production and Comprehension; Language Acquisition in Chimp and Child;, and Language and the Brain. The chapter on the brain might be a little too basic for neuroscience students, but it's an excellent introduction for the linguistics students, and I noticed that a number of the classic experiments such as the famous "Wada test" and dichotic listening experiments were discussed, as well as topics like conduction aphasia, Broca's aphasia, Wernicke's aphasia, hemispheric localization and dominance, and so on.

Overall still a fine text and worth picking up used if you can find it, when it will be bargain for the price.

great book for learning linguistics
As the titele shows, this book is an intro to English linguistics. It covers almost all the fields of linguistics---morphology, phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics. In this book, there are many examples, tables, and exercises. You can learn synthetic concepts of linguistics by reading the book. English is rather easy so even the foreign people can make good use of the textbook. You can rethink about the language and communication and it will be very interesting. ... Read more

Book Description
'Christopher Hall's book is the best new introduction to linguistics that I have seen in decades. It is engagingly written without talking down to the reader and it covers all the subparts of the field in a comprehensive and even-handed manner. I plan to use it the next time that I teach an introductory course at Washington.' Professor Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington

'With apt examples from novels and newspapers, courtroom trials and telephone conversations, the lowly and the mighty, his book repeatedly startles as it casts light on language. This is a bright, humorous, and completely accessible tour of 21st-century linguistics.' Professor Edward Finegan, University of Southern California

This book introduces the fundamentals of human language from a linguistic point of view, using examples drawn from everyday life to aid comprehension, and encouraging critical thinking throughout. Besides presenting the fundamental building blocks of language and explaining how these function, the book also introduces other key elements of the discipline of linguistics, including language acquisition, applied linguistics, psycholinguistics and discourse analysis. Packed full of examples, this is the ideal introduction to language for those who are interested in studying linguistics, have already started a course, or just want to study at home. ... Read more

Book Description
The English Language: A Linguistic History is designed as a core text for classes in the history of the English language, offered through the English or linguistics department. Beginning with a discussion of how language changes, the book examines historical change in English from its
Indo-European past through its major periods (Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English). This is an introductory text: it does not assume any background in language or linguistics. Self-testing exercises are integrated throughout the text, and students are required to
learn to use the International Phonetic Alphabet. Additional pedagogical material, such as lists of related books and Web sites, are also integrated. ... Read more

Book Description
Featuring a completely revised section on morphology and syntax, 18 new and updated readings, and new homework assignments based on the accompanying DVD, the fourth edition of Linguistics of American Sign Language expands its purview as the standard introduction to ASL linguistics available today. The newly revised section offers new units on verbs in ASL, simple sentences in ASL, classifier predicates, syntax, and basic sentence types. The fourth edition also features groundbreaking research on iconic signs in ASL and the relationship between metaphor and iconicity in signed languages; variation in ASL; the different functions of space in ASL; and the artistic forms of ASL, including storytelling, percussion signing, drama, comedy, and poetry.

Updated references and expanded readings delineate all of the linguistic basics, including phonology, semantics, and language use. The fourth edition also provides new homework assignments that correspond to the ASL stories signed on the special DVD enclosed with this new volume.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Advanced ASL Syntax and Structure Book - Not For Beginners
The Linguistics of American Sign Language explains the morphology and syntax of ASL, not so much the 'how' as the 'why.'This book is useful for the advanced student of ASL, but not particularly helpful for a beginner.The authors, all current or former professors at Gallaudet University, explain in great detail the nuances of American Sign Language.

My thoughts
This is a very nice book very informative but more what makes up ASL than how to sign ASL. So if you're looking for what makes up ASL this is your book, but if you're looking for how to form complex sentences and how words inflect this isn't it. But I supposed that's my fault for assuming linguistics=syntax. :D

Definitive linguistic compendium
Written by the team of Clayton Valli, Ceil Lucas (Professor of Linguistics in the department of Linguistics as Gallaudet University), and Kristin J. Mulroney (Assistant Professor of Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics as Gallaudet University), Linguistics of American Sign Language is an in-depth reference and resource for intermediate to expert linguistic students, scholars and professionals, now in an updated fourth edition with an accompanying course DVD. The fourth edition of Linguistics of American Sign Language features an entirely revised section on morphology and syntax, the latest research on main categories of verbs in ASL, insight into artistic forms of ASL such as singing, drama, and poetry, 18 new and updated readings, and new suggested homework assignments based on the DVD, and much more. The first half of the text focuses on the nuts-and-bolts grammar and dissection of ASL; the second half is devoted to supplemental readings by a variety of learned authors, discussing nuances of ASL and its usage, variations in linguistic structure, sub-communities of the deaf such as the black deaf community, and much more. Simple black-and-white diagrams illustrate this definitive linguistic compendium and college-level education and consultation reference. ... Read more

Book Description

This Dictionary is an essential tool for students of applied linguistics, language teaching, TEFL, and introductory courses in general linguistics and explains those difficult theoretical terms which students may encounter accross these fields.

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

Book Description
This accessible new textbook is the only introduction to linguistics in which each chapter is written by an expert who teaches courses on that topic, ensuring balanced and uniformly excellent coverage of the full range of modern linguistics. Assuming no prior knowledge the text offers a clear introduction to the traditional topics of structural linguistics (theories of sound, form, meaning, and language change), and in addition provides full coverage of contextual linguistics, including separate chapters on discourse, dialect variation, language and culture, and the politics of language. There are also up-to-date separate chapters on language and the brain, computational linguistics, writing, child language acquisition, and second-language learning. The breadth of the textbook makes it ideal for introductory courses on language and linguistics offered by departments of English, sociology, anthropology, and communications, as well as by linguistics departments. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

A magnificent introduction and reference.
Along with Paynes "Describing Morphosyntax" (ISBN: 0521588057), this book will help any student -- or entertain any enthusiast --of languages or linguistics.It treats various types of syntactic theory in a manner that (rarely among such useful works) is clear, engaging and (in places) enthralling.While drawing on the familiar "old standards" for grammatic comparison (Russian, Dyirbal, Yakut, Hikxaryana, Japanese, etc), the way comparisons are drawn between systems reveals isomorphisms and patterns that are certainly elegant and perhaps beautiful.Comrie has, as ever, produced a thing of wonder. ... Read more

Book Description
Used with any introductory language and linguistic text, this workbook provides exercise problems from 30 languages, including a significant number in English. ... Read more

Book Description
Spoken Language and Applied Linguistics argues for putting spoken language right at the centre of the syllabus. It brings together a number of separate studies by the author, based on the CANCODE spoken corpus, and weaves them together to illustrate the central role the study of spoken language can play in applied linguistics. After an introduction to the corpus, the author lays out the main components of a theory of spoken genres, with corpus examples. There then follows a broad discussion of what can/should be taught about the spoken language, followed by chapters on discourse grammar and on the sometimes parallel, sometimes different, grammatical patterning of spoken and written texts. The book then turns to lexis, with a general overview of the vocabulary of spoken language and closes with a look at another central area of language teaching, speech reporting. ... Read more

Book Description
This text provides an introduction to the field of linguistic anthropology, which appeals to undergraduates from a wide variety of fields and at a wide variety of levels, from freshmen to seniors. This text comes with access to a companion website designed to make the intersection of linguistics and anthropology accessible and interesting to undergraduate students. In addition to THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF LANGUAGE, Harriet Ottenheimer has also creating a workbook/reader that is a perfect bundle option for this text. See the supplement section for details. ... Read more

Book Description
This book provides a clear and accessible introduction to the main methods of analysing samples of learner language. It examines the theoretical and research bases for the different methods, and thereby serves as an introduction to the field of second language acquisition research.The book is intended for students on postgraduate courses in TESOL or Applied Linguistics, or for teachers wishing to do action research to find out more about how learners learn language. ... Read more

Book Description
This critical volume provides an in-depth analysis of the multiple dimensions of second language reading.The paperback edition describes the complexity of reading and explains how reading differs in a first and second language. The book is broad in scope, covering all major aspects of the reading process and synthesizing all current reading research. The author provides a cross-linguistic orientation, explaining how first and second languages can mutually facilitate one another. This important volume offers strategies for enhancing literary acquisition, second-language learning and bilingual processing, and will serve as a valuable guide for graduate students, professors, researchers and foreign language teachers. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume offers a state-of-the-art picture of work undertaken in the field of computer-aided corpus linguistics. While the focus is on English, central insights can be generalised to other languages, as well. As a work intended to mark the Silver Jubilee of ICAME, the International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English, the book combines surveys of the discipline by some of its major pioneers, including founders of ICAME itself, with cutting-edge work by younger scholars. It is divided into three sections:Overviewing years of corpus linguistic studies,Descriptive studies in English syntax and semantics , andSecond Language Acquisition, parallel corpora and specialist corpora . The book bears witness to the impressive advances that have characterised the development of corpus linguistics over the past few decades from terminological issues to practical applications, from theoretical and descriptive research to applied approaches, from monolingual to multilingual and specialist corpora, from corpus design to corpus exploitation tools.Roberta Facchinetti is Professor of English at the University of Verona, Italy. Her research field and publications are mainly concerned with language description textual analysis and pragmatics. This is done mostly by means of computerized corpora of both synchronic and diachronic English.***Contents***Roberta FACCHINETTI: Introduction ***1. Overviewing 25 years of corpus linguistic studies ***Jan SVARTVIK: Corpus linguistics 25+ years on ***Antoinette RENOUF: Corpus development 25 years on: from super-corpus to cyber-corpus ***Stig JOHANSSON: Seeing through multilingual corpora ***Anne WICHMANN: Corpora and spoken discourse ***2. Descriptive studies in English syntax and semantics ***Michael STUBBS: An example of frequent English phraseology: distributions, structures and functions ***Ylva BERGLUND and Christopher WILLIAMS: The semantic properties of going to: distribution patterns in four subcorpora of ... Read more

Book Description

The provides the instructor with suggested answers and responses to the Application Activities at the end of each chapter.

Linguistics is much more than a study reserved for academicians. Linguistics has real-life applications to effective teachingnow more than ever. With the increased emphasis on phonemic awareness and phonics in the teaching of reading, teachers need to understand how language works. When teachers are familiar with basic linguistic concepts, they are better prepared to make decisions about how to teach reading, spelling, phonics, and grammar to all students, including English language learners.

In this unique linguistics course-in-a-book, David and Yvonne Freeman explain essential linguistic concepts in a thorough, but manageable manner and show the connections between linguistic theory and classroom practice. They demonstrate that the greater a teacher's understanding of basic language structures and processes, the easier it is to make good decisions on tough topics like phonics, spelling, and grammar. They present:

• the basic concepts of linguistics in everyday language
• examples and activities that apply linguistics concepts to teaching reading, spelling, phonics, and grammar to all students, including English language learners
• end-of-chapter applications that link linguistic theory and classroom practice.

Customer Reviews (1)

Great linguistic book for teachers
Freeman & Freeman have hit a great niche with their book. I don't want or need, a complex linguistics book in the style of Chomsky. Freeman & Freeman take language research and package the relevant "real-world" findings so they will be of use for teachers. Although my interest is for English as a Second (ESL) teachers, I believe every teacher is concerned with literacy, and Freeman & Freeman's book covers what teachers need to know concerning phonics v. whole word instruction, spelling, and grammar. Freeman & Freeman seem to belong to the Stephen Krashen school of language and reading. This is a plus for me, but for Krashen-haters, it probably wouldn't be, and they should look elsewhere. This is "baby" linguistics book--you won't get a section on Chomsky's generative grammar here. I think it would be a good companion volume along with VanPatten's "From Input to Output"--which is a slim volume solely concerned with second language acquisition and has the same conversational tone--and--this is important--their teaching advice and philosophy meshes. ... Read more

Book Description
The cross-linguistic aspect of language processing is becominga central question in psycholinguistic research: if the goal ofpsycholinguists is to give a model of the human sentence processor,and not `a language' sentence processor, a test of itscross-linguistic validity is essential.
The chapters address truly fundamental issues about therepresentational primitives of the parsing system and the motivationsfor the essential characteristics of the parser. The volume alsodiscusses important methodological issues in cross-linguisticresearch, such as the choices of linguistic material and experimentalprocedures. It also shows how cross-linguistic research can be pursuedin either a monolingual or multilingual approach.
This volume contains contributions from experimental and theoreticalpsycholinguists, and computational researchers.
Audience: The book is recommended reading for advancedundergraduates and graduate students in psycholinguistics, linguisticsand computational linguisitics, as well as practising researchers inthe same fields. ... Read more

Book Description
This book provides teachers with the background knowledge for understanding the role linguistics plays in literacy development.It fits the linguistics for teachers course, a topic that is front and center of the field's need for pre-service and in-service teachers to understand language development and the role morphology, pragmatics, semantics, and syntax plays in literacy development and language acquisition. ... Read more

Book Description
Thisfourth edition expands its coverage of the fundamental issues in thefield, including language and gender, and language and ethnicity. Now witha built-in Resource Manual and Study Guide, Language, Culture, andSociety is the teaching text for the linguistic anthropology course. ... Read more