Product Description
Ten years of research back up the bold new theory advanced by authors Thomason and Kaufman, who rescue the study of contact-induced language change from the neglect it has suffered in recent decades. The authors establish an important new framework for the historical analysis of all degrees of contact-induced language change. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Read it, but critically
This book is a milestone in contact-linguistics. However, it is worthwhile to read Uriel Weinreich's 1953 Languages in Contact first, which is not outdated despite its date. Thomason & Kaufman are at times simplistic in their discussion of social factors as the primary determinant of language change outcomes, and the linguistic factors they accept as important in determining the outcome of language-contact should not be taken without a grain of salt. For example, 'universal markedness' is a concept which should be booed at every time it is used.
On the whole, however, this book is a clear, insightful and complex discussion of the mechanics of language-contact (incidentally, it is much better than Thomason's later book on the same subject, Language Contact: An Introduction).

Fantastic
This is the most important book about language contact and historical linguistics ever.It's very well written, and data-rich.Every historical linguist and sociolinguist should read it. ... Read more

Product Description
Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, AN INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE, Ninth Edition, is appropriate for a variety of fields--including education, languages, psychology, anthropology, English, and teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)--at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This completely updated edition retains the clear descriptions, humor, and seamless pedagogy that have made the text a perennial best-seller, while adding new information and exercises that render each topic fresh, engaging, and current. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

appallingly overpriced
It's excellent, definitive, engaging, and all that -- but, speaking as a professor who needs to assign a textbook for a 10 week course in linguistics, how can I justify this kind of expense for my students?A paperback - over $100??Come on people, get reasonable, and it will help this great book truly compete with lesser, more affordable titles!

Fast delivery
I am very pleased with the delivery and condition of this book. The book arrived sooner than expected. Thanks sooo much!!!

Great Book on the Subject of Linguistics
"An introduction to Language" is a great book. As professional speaker it is of the utmost importance that I understand how to create compelling speeches that resonate with an audience. "Language" is a crucial text for anyone interested in improving his or her understanding over the linguistic nature of speech. This is a very deep book, so buckle up and enjoy. - Edward T. Lyles

Make sure to get the right edition
I am wading my way through this book for an up-coming on-line class, only to discover that I now need the new edition.It seems to me that they come out with a new edition every year, and of course professors in order to receive their kick backs from the publishing company, make you buy the new edition. (Hey professors, you know those free tickets to Disneyland you just got from the publishing company for switching editions, those tickets might not cost you anything, but they are going to cost me. Thanks a lot cabron!) The differences between this edition and the old one (from what I can tell) are not much, but the university I am receiving an on-line degree from is very particular about details and having little differences in the new edition can make a big difference in my test score.I find the information presentation fine, but difficult to grasp at times.For example, I find their on-line quizzes very easy because they seem only to skim the surface of the material. I also know that I will be expected to know much more detailed information for my class.Basically like many students, I am tired of text book companies coming out with so many editions and professors expecting us always to buy new books, and thus not be able to sell back old books.If you can't get it right the tenth time, well that should say something about the text!

Cover ripped off
This was just a text book for a linguistic class. I expected it to be the right one for my course, indeed it turns out to be. However the cover was missing, but I got a 20% discount from the seller; so it was not bad at all. I received $18.75 refund for the inconvenience... ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (32)

Fascinating And Delightful
If you've ever wondered how languages develop and change, why every language seems in its own time to have deteriorated from previous elegance and greatness, how abstract concepts come to be expressed with the simplest of thing-words--well if you've ever wondered about any of these things, you will love this book.

In the most entertaining way, author Guy Deutscher shows how language is continually created, destroyed and re-created by the same simple mechanisms. Yes, language is mankind's greatest invention, but it was never invented. Author Deutscher packs a tremendous amount of technical linguistic information, theory, and history into this volume, and makes it, mostly, quite understandable. More information is packed into a series of appendixes, which, this reviewer admits, he didn't read (at least, not yet).

If the book has any flaw, it would be wordiness--long, rambling sentences that are sometimes a little hard to wade through. The author tries to maintain a cheerful, conversational tone, and he sometimes uses ten words where three would have done nicely. But hey,it's still a great book for the amateur linguist. I recommend it highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

Fascinating book
The book provides a fascinating description on the birth and history of human languages. On top of the bare facts, the writer's remarkable teaching and story telling talents capture the reader. Anecdotes and facts are combined perfectly and the book is easily readable without compromising intelligence.
It left me hungry for many other linguistics books, hoping they would stand up to this level of interest.

An excellent book showing how languages evolve over time
Before reading this book I naively thought that language changed with new technical words and borrowings from foreign languages.
Quite wrong. Deutscher shows that it has been undergoing fast evolution in its basic elements from the earliest times, and he traces the changes using written texts from 5000 year old Sumerian cuneiform to the present day.
Evolution involves destruction and differential survival with the constant creation of new words. He shows convincingly how people have always looked for the easiest (most lazy) way to speak, giving a language of ever shorter words. Fortunately language is saved by a counterbalancing "word inflation" involving the stringing together of separate words to give more emphasis. He gives a good example of the erosion / inflation process with the French for "today": LATIN... hoc die > hodie > hui > OLD FRENCH... au jour d'hui MODERN FRENCH... aujourd'hui > aujour d'aujourd'hui.
It's also interesting that traditional and newer expressions co-exist (compete?) until one or the other fades out, eg. "I haven't got anything" vs "I haven't got nothing" or the way a simple idea like the "s" for plural in English eg. duck - ducks, can overwhelm earlier variants.
The book isn't an easy read but it's changed the way I look at language.

Fascinating and Intelligent
Dr. Deutscher has done a scholarly, thorough discussion on the roots of language, but I believe he started too late in time. I'm of the persuasion that language involves more than the spoken word. I find body language (which proponents argue communicate half of what we speak), facial expressions (think FACS, FBI, microexpressions), movement to be as telling of a person's intentions as words. Sometimes more so. Yet, he argues language was born when we could prove it was born--"...for how can anyone presume to know what went on in prehistoric times without indulging in make-believe?" "...impressive range of theories circulating for how the first words emerged: from shouts and calls; from hand gestures and sign language; from the ability to imitate...The point is that as long as there is no evidence, all these scenarios remain 'just so' stories." Or deductive reasoning. Something the modern brain excels at. This despite the fact that his cover includes the popular ape-man image.

Still, he adds humor and a highly intelligent discussion I thoroughly enjoyed.

A book of stunning erudition
I rarely give 5 stars, but occasionally I encounter a book of such stunning erudition that the commendation is deserved. The Unfolding of Language by Guy Deutscher is one of those rare books that have the potential to open up a vast new field for mental exploration, or if the topic is already somewhat familiar, to completely change how you look at it. I would be the first to admit that I am new to linguistics and so everything here could already be well known to interested readers. That said, few books on advanced topics that are meant for general readers are so well written, comprehensive and thought provoking. This book surely stands apart.

Why do some languages have such complicated case structures and verb conjugations? Why are some so irregular with so many exceptions to every rule? Why do English and Turkish arrange words in the opposite sequence in sentences? Why do Hebrew and Arabic have such a complex and remarkable system of verbs? Why do Indians often say that Sanskrit is the most precise of all languages? And finally, the fundamental question, how did language evolve?

Deutscher tackles all these issues directly and draws on examples from languages as diverse as Tamil and Jemez. He explores the common origin of many currently very different languages in Proto-Indo-European. He compares language to an architectural achievement that has produced complex and magnificent structures capable of expressing every nuance of thought. Reading the book I could not help but think that language is more like life itself, with new species constantly arising, evolving and often declining. In Deutscher's metaphor processes of erosion and addition constantly hone language to the needs of each generation of speakers.

Most of us recognize that sculpture, music, painting, not to mention science, have all become progressively more advanced over the millennia, apart from an occasional setback such as after the fall of the Greco-Roman world. Counter-intuitively, the opposite seems to have happened with language. Though our knowledge of the world is much more complex, our modern languages actually are simpler than the recorded languages of the ancient world like Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit and even Gothic, as students of these languages know. Astonishingly, the few written records from the dawn of history 5000 years ago reveal fully developed languages with almost the full set of complex features of modern languages. In today's world primitive societies do not have simpler languages than industrialized societies. On the contrary, the opposite is likely to be true. These are some of the fascinating topics discussed in the book.

Deutscher poses some hard questions when he sets out to explain how language developed, why old languages seem so much more complicated and how languages change over time. All these issues are addressed in a straightforward and organized fashion with enlightening, illustrative examples. This dazzling book was a joy to read. ... Read more

Product Description

There are approximately six thousand languages on Earth today, each a descendant of the tongue first spoken by Homo sapiens some 150,000 years ago.While laying out how languages mix and mutate over time, linguistics professor John McWhorter reminds us of the variety within the species that speaks them, and argues that, contrary to popular perception, language is not immutable and hidebound, but a living, dynamic entity that adapts itself to an ever-changing human environment.

Full of humor and imaginative insight, The Power of Babel draws its illustrative examples from languages around the world, including pidgins, Creoles, and nonstandard dialects.

Customer Reviews (58)

Great book about linguistics
John McWhorter is a professor of linguistics at Berkeley, and in this book he tries to shed some light on his fascinating occupation, presenting some aspects of linguistics in a popular and very readable style. The main focus of the book is the evolution of language, which the author tries to parallel to biological evolution. Much of the book discusses how languages change by combining, splitting, simplification and so on, with many examples taken from a multitude of languages - some well known, and some most people have never heard of.

A fascinating topic in linguistics is pidgin and creole languages. Since there are relatively many examples of the formation of such languages in recent history (mainly after the beginning of the European expansion in the 15th century), the topic has been studied well, and the author dedicates many pages to it.

Another thing I found really interesting is the discussion of the relative complexities of languages. Modern languages (especially the European ones) are much simpler than many primitive languages. As the author says (and his examples powerfully demonstrate), some of the world' languages are so complicated that one has to wonder how anyone is able to speak them. One example is a native-American language spoken in the north-western part of the U.S.A. that's so convoluted that children learn to fully speak correctly it with all the nuances only at the age of 10. There are actually reasons for this being so, and they are presented in the book.

A very good read
Good book.

Some reviewers say it is lengthy and that it wonders a little.

Maybe, but the enthusiasm of the author more than makes up for it.

I have read many popularization books about linguistics, this is
probably one of the best written---if you are willing to forgive
the author for an occasional joke or two.

The only thing I would suggest the author is to make more clear
at the beginning what the book is exactly about. If you are not
fascinated by the nuts-and-bolts of the dynamics of language change, then this book
is probably not for you...

There's Babel in the Power of Babel
Thought this would be an interesting read but barely got past the introduction before consigning it to the recycle bin.

First of all, the author's comments on evolution and mutations have been overtaken by important new discoveries.There's much more involved than just mutations.Second, the author states several times as fact that there once existed a single language possessed by the humans who migrated out of Africa to populate the world.I don't question the migration but the idea that there once existed a single spoken language used by all living humans is absurd.This idea implies, and the author directly implies this idea since he states it several times, that a single mutation brought the human power of speech into existence.Although I'm not going to attempt to provide any proofs here, the development of human language must have been a progressive process taking unknown hundreds of thousands of years to reach its full powers as we know of it today.

I love it already.
I only started reading this book and I love it already. Prof. Mc Whorter takes complicated lingustic material and makes it easy to understand. I want to read all his books.

Unsuitable for interested amateurs
I've been reading books about language and linguistics for many years and have rarely been as disappointed by a book.

If you extract all McWhorter's own self-referential little comments about his childhood, stories about television shows and comic books, and "cute" footnotes (example: 6. "Hats off to the 'Simpsons' house composer...." 7. "I like that one too." 9. "Dino fans: Yes, I know....", to take just one chapter), there is scarcely any new or interesting information in his book.

Who is the book aimed at? On one hand, the overly colloquial style ("Make no mistake: I love written language deeply and enjoy few things more than composing prose on the page" !!) argues that it is aimed at a reader who knows nothing whatever about the subject and needs to be pulled in by things like analysis of a McDonald's ad in German.

On the other hand, the long, long, long sections about creoles and pidgins seem to be aimed at a reader who is already fascinated by that subject. Well, at any rate this book was NOT aimed at me-- an interested and educated amateur. ... Read more

Product Description
"The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" represents a unique collaboration of over hundreds of scholars from around the world, the "Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" covers all relevant aspects of the study of Arabic and deals with all levels of the language (pre-Classical Arabic, Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic vernaculars, mixed varieties of Arabic). No other reference work offers this scale of contributions or depth and breadth of coverage. "The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" is set to become an essential reference work for students and researchers in the fields of linguistics, Islamic studies, Arabic literature and other related fields. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A wonderful masterpiece!!
This encyclopedia is the wonderful product of many eminent contributors from all over the world.
I have three of its volumes and am waiting impatiently for the fourth that will come out any day now.
The work is a must-have for any researcher in the field of Arabic culture, languages and linguistics and anyone interested in this field.

Joyce Akesson

Author of Arabic Morphology and Phonology: Based on the Marah Al-Arwah by Ahmad B. Ali B. Masud (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics)

seriously?!
only two hundred sixty seven dollars for this masterpiece? what a steal. but there's only one copy left at amazon. don't all rush to order it at the same time! ... Read more

Product Description
Lexical acculturation refers to the accommodation of languages to new objects and concepts encountered as the result of culture contact. This unique study analyzes a survey of words for 77 items of European culture (e.g. chicken, horse, apple, rice, scissors, soap, and Saturday) in the vocabularies of 292 Amerindian languages and dialects spoken from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. The first book ever to undertake such a large and systematic cross-language investigation, Brown's work provides fresh insights into general processes of lexical change and development, including those involving language universals and diffusion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great book!
You have probably read the bible. You have probably read the Koran. You have probably read at least 3 books. Well, hold on to your hat. This book rings and rings with truth and beauty. If you don't buy it you are a dear person. Why not. Ok. Go for it. ... Read more

Product Description
In spite of the rapid growth of interest in the computer analysis of language, this book is one of the first to provide an integrated introduction to the field. Inevitably, when many different approaches are still being considered, a straightforward work of synthesis would be neither possible nor practicable. Nevertheless, Ralph Grishman provides a valuable survey of various approaches to the problems of syntax analysis, semantic analysis, text analysis and natural language generation, while considering in greater detail those that seem to him most productive. The book is written for readers with some background in computer science and finite mathematics, but advanced knowledge of programming languages or compilers is not necessary and nor is a background in linguistics. The exposition is always clear and students will find the exercises and extensive bibliography supporting the text particularly helpful. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Computational Linguistics
The fields of Computer Science and Mathematics allow us to explore the capabilities of the human brain. Part of this exploration includes the understanding of spoken languages processing and the automatic interpretation of these via computational machines.This book gives a solid foundation of the field and allows new researchers to put into perspective all new publications related to compilers design materials. I found a number of confusing concepts in new publications so I needed to buy this book to clear in my mind other author's ideas.

This is a book that I strongly recommend to anyone who is serious about languages, compilers, interpreters, etc.

Stavros Vlachoyannis
CS Graduate Student
Polytechnic University

A nice and concise introduction to rule-based NLP
Grishman offers a readable account of the issues faced by Natural Language Processing research.The discussion is bolstered by examples from some of the more interesting NLP systems.These examples are shallow, permitting alight read and keeping the focus of the book on linguistic issues.Themajority of the book covers standard syntactic and semantic parsingtechniques, while discourse analysis, anaphora resolution and textgeneration receive only a quick treatment.Although some attention is paidto alternative approaches, Grisham chooses to phrase most of his discussionin transformational terms.

The most serious weakness of this introductionis its age.Certain assertions, such as the claim that "afinite-state network (regular grammar) is unsuitable" for languageprocessing (p. 18) are seen in hindsight as questionable.Further, thecurrent trend towards statistical analysis is unaddressed.

Warning: someunderstanding of predicate calculus is necessary to follow the sections onsemantic analysis. ... Read more

Product Description
The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition presents an integrated discussion of key, and sometimes controversial, issues in second language acquisition (SLA) research.

Written by twenty-seven of the world’s leading scholars, the chapters reflect the diversity and technicality that have come to characterize SLA research. Topics discussed include the biological and cognitive underpinnings of SLA; mechanisms, processes, and constraints on SLA; the level of ultimate attainment; research methods; and the status of SLA as a cognitive science.

This volume is an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of human cognition, including those in linguistics, psychology, applied linguistics, ESL, foreign languages, and cognitive science. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good intro to Second Language Acquisition
I had to read about half of this book for a graduate seminar in SLA this semester. Some of the chapters get a bit challenging to read, but overall, it's a good intermediate introduction to the subject.

A must have for FL/SL professionals
This is an affordable, authoritative resource on SLA research.Chapters from leading research figures, including Long, DeKeyser, Nick Ellis, and Peter Robinson will prove invaluable for the language teacher, graduate student, or researcher.The chapters are broadly representative of major approaches to language acquisition research. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Brief History of the Spanish Language
It's the best available, with a minimum of technical terms. Some terms are difficult, but can't be avoided. Set up to be used as a textbook.

Untangles History:Spanish
David Pharies' "A Brief History of the Spanish Language" (2007 298-page paperback) will soon become a languages study classic.In this handy quick-read the good professor presents the etymology for the language spoken by 325 million people in 21 countries.This authoritative study is convincing and well researched with six pages of bibliography, an eleven-page glossary of Spanish words, nine helpful maps, and a usable 18-page "Index of Spanish Words Cited".

Beginning his history of Spanish, Dr. Pharies reviews hundreds of its words with regard to syntax, grammar, conjugations, lenition, vocalic merger, declensions, and much more.This "romantic" language has it roots in ancient Latin, is influenced by the early medieval Visigoths and Muslims, matured by Renaissance French, and polished by modern English.Pharies deduces that much has been adopted from other languages because Spanish authorities have been tentative in establishing language boundaries.

Aside from the significant history proffered here this great little book is readable and quickly accessed.Pharies' scholarship is directly presented and easily found.The non-Spanish speaker will find helpful his translation for all Spanish quoted.Native speakers will be delighted by the discussions for the origins of long used words (from Latin's "bracchia" to Spanish "brazos" for "arms") and beloved phrases (from "Et pues que entro en..." to "Y despues gue entro en..." for "And after he entered...").The perplexing disappearance, in recent years, of "vosotros" is carefully offered.

Pharies reviews Visigothic (in Spain form 629 to 711), Arabic (Muslims occupied the peninsula from 718 to 1492), and Castilian (united Spain in 1492) contributions to Spanish.The "reconquesta" of the Iberian Peninsula completed by the late 15th century "Reyes Catolicos" is effectively analyzed.The author considers Spanish's development from its prominent authors (king Alfonso, Juan de Mena, Fernando de Rojos, Miguel Cervantes, etc.).The elusive history of Sephardic Spanish is presented.Finally, this book dispels the myth of the lisping king Felipe 2 as the origin of "th" sound for "s".Pharies untangles confusion about Spanish

Although much of Pharies has a technical edge, the linguistically untrained will find here much of interest.This book is recommended to everyone with an interest in Spanish, history of Spain, or language development.
... Read more

Product Description
This is the first textbook dealing specifically with British sign linguistics. It provides essential support for learners of British Sign Language and others interested in the structure and use of BSL, and assumes no previous knowledge of linguistics and sign language. Technical terms and linguistic jargon are kept to a minimum. The book contains over three hundred illustrations and an index of signs and sign phrases. There are also exercises and a reading list for further independent study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brilliant, for bsl learners/users/teachers or people with an interest in linguistics
This book formed the basis of one of my Linguistics modules at University, the structure of BSL. It was easy to read and informative; it has pictures of sign in-use and explains linguistic concepts in basic terms so that people without linguistics degrees would be able understand it and get a lot out of it.

When I started the course I had hardly any knowledge of BSL, I am now studying my level 2. This book gave me a very good idea of the grammatical scaffolding of BSL, onto which, I now just need to build my vocab.

My only problem with the book is that there isn't a sequel. ... Read more

Product Description
Two of Chomsky's most famous and accessible works, back in print in one affordable, attractive volume. Restoring to print two of Chomsky's most famous and popular books in one omnibus volume, On Language features some of the noted linguist and political critic's most informal and highly accessible work, making it an ideal introduction to his thought. In Part I ("Language and Responsibility") Chomsky presents a fascinating self-portrait of his political, moral, and linguistic thinking. In Part II ("Reflections on Language") Chomsky explores the more general implications of the study of language and offers incisive analyses of the controversies among psychologists, philosophers, and linguists over fundamental questions of language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Two Classics
Noam Chomsky is a renowned linguist who has taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1955.He developed a theory of transformation grammar which has changed the study of language.He is also very active in politics and has several books on a variety of political issues."On Language" contains two of Chomsky's classic works, "Language and Responsibility", and "Reflections on Language", and while these books deal mainly with Linguistics, there are a couple of sections which cover his political thought.

"Language and Responsibility" was first published in 1977 in France and 1979 in the U.S., and it is a conversation between Chomsky and Mitsou Ronat, the French transformationalist.While the conversation opens with politics, the greater portion of this book is about Generative Grammar.

"Reflections on Language" was first published in 1975 and is an important work in the field of Linguistics.The section titled "Problems and Mysteries in the Study of Human Language" covers interesting aspects such as the philosophy of language and the acquisition of language.Chomsky also spends some time discussing other Linguistic works and where he agrees and disagrees with them.

This book would not make a good choice for someone unfamiliar with Linguistics.However, the "Language and Responsibility" section does serve as an excellent introduction to Chomsky and his thoughts.While one may not agree with all of his political positions, Chomsky does provide some excellent points and forces the reader to re-examine their own position.His Linguistic theories are important to any study of the subject, and "Reflections on Language" is probably the best way to learn about his position.
... Read more

Product Description
It is commonly agreed by linguists and anthropologists that the majority of languages spoken now around the globe will likely disappear within our lifetime. The phenomenon known as language death has started to accelerate as the world has grown smaller.

This extinction of languages, and the knowledge therein, has no parallel in human history. K. David Harrison's book is the first to focus on the essential question, what is lost when a language dies? What forms of knowledge are embedded in a language's structure and vocabulary? And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever?

Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight. He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage (oral histories, poetry, stories, etc.) but very useful knowledge about plants, animals, the seasons, and other aspects of the natural world--not to mention our understanding of the capacities of the human mind. Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very Interesting and Rather Sad
The author is a linguist specializing dying languages.As Harrison points out, a very large fraction of the world's extant languages are spoken by very small groups and are being displaced by absorption into more common languages.These vanishing languages are invariably from oral cultures in which language is the primary repository of considerable inherited knowledge.One language of mountain farmers in the Phillipines contains a remarkably detailed vocabulary for rice cultivation and rice strains, a language in the Solomon Islands is particularly rich in terms for fish behavior, and many of these languages encode impressive geographic knowledge of their regions.When languages are lost, inherited knowledge, along with religious and many other cultural traditions are lost with them.Harrison argues well that language loss is significantly diminishing our cultural and scientific patrimony.

In addition, Harrison argues well also that language diversity is scientifically important in understanding not only human language capacity per se but important aspects of human cognition generally.The great diversity of languages provides raw data for looking at human cognitive capacities.Harrison shows very nicely the diversity of counting systems, grammatical systems, topographic knowledge encoded by language, and other features that reveal the impressive diversity of language capacities.Without efforts to preserve or record these dying languages, potentially important data about the human mind will be irretrievably lost.

Beyond these scientific reasons to be interested in dying languages, Harrison shows very well how language death reduces cultural diversity and our general cultural patrimony.Harrison presents some powerful vignettes about what is lost with the death of language and some particularly poignant stories about the efforts of speakers of dying languages to hold onto their languages.

Compelling Reading
David Harrison's book brings attention to the critical matter of disappearing languages and the knowledge about mankind being lost with them. Better and more tragic than a novel!

excellence!
the book came quickly and was in perfect condition - would definitely buy from again

Two thought-provoking arguments for language preservation
Every two weeks, a language dies. Over the past several years there have been several books written about this sad phenomenon, ranging from popular works such as Mark Abley's Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages to more academic coverage like Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World's Languages by Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine. K. David Harrison's When Languages Die has a universal appeal. The author, a professor of linguistics at Swathmore College, writes in an approachable style that emphasizes the human element of language death, the last speakers of languages who feel great pain at their loss, while giving a rigorous argument for language preservation.

One common point in favor of language preservation is that certain possibilities of human language are found only in small indigenous languages, and were they not attested there, we would not know the human brain could accept such features. Urarina, a language spoken in the Amazon that has OVS word order, is the standard example and is present here. Harrison, however, gives some original arguments. His fieldwork has taken him to several smaller populations of Eastern Europe, Siberia, the Philippines and Mongolia. He has visited populations who maintain a traditional way of life with complex folk techniques. Harrison's first argument for language preservation is that the switch from an indigenous language and its useful terminology for local industry to an outside language creates inefficiency. He observes that older reindeer herders among Siberian peoples speaking their own language are able to express themselves about their duties much more concisely than a younger generation speaking Russian, who must resort to circumlocution. I like this argument. It does not resort to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language determines what you can say, for the younger generation can still speak of the details of reindeer herding, but it sees value in a language that can encode such information more efficiently.

Harrison's second argument for action against language death is that traditional languages pass down useful knowledge through the generations simply by being used, and this knowledge is lost through adopting an outside language. He gives exhaustive coverage of various calendar systems throughout the world, where names for months are tied to the agriculture or hunting cycle. Simply by growing up speaking such a language, a young person is endowed with knowledge of the plant cycle or the breeding habits of local wildlife. He gives examples of Siberian populations who no longer remember details of certain natural phenonmenon because they have lost their traditional calendar and use only the Russian one. While in many cases this is applicable, this argument doesn't hold when local peoples simply cease caring about traditional views of the natural environment. The same forces which encourage language shift, industrialization and urbanization, are those which tend to replace traditional ways of life altogether. When people are living in large blocks of flats in the city, going to work in offices or factories, is the traditional calendar any more meaningful than the new one?

In fact, this ties into one major objection I have to pleas for language preservation as usually formulated. As linguists, we can agree with languages are interesting and worthy of preservation. We might agree that some of what indigenous populations do, such as their agricultural lore, should be preserved. However, I don't see how we must all believe that all indigenous ways of life are worth maintaining. This is especially true with regards to religion. Whatever your spiritual beliefs are, religion is usually an issue of what is right against what is falsehood, and it doesn't make sense to call for relativism. Have some priorities here, people. While less critical of missionary efforts than other books on this subject, even Harrison succumbs to this, writing on page 153 'We should be sensitive to the impending loss of so many more religions and worldviews as languages die.' I would like to make linguistics my life's work, but there's no way I buy that.

The book is lavishly illustrated with photos of the speakers of threatened languages and with various diagrams. The author even includes sign languages alongside spoken languages, which no other work on the subject to my knowledge has done. Of the books I've read on the general phenomenon of language death and the worthiness of language preservation, Harrison's When Languages Die is, while by no means perfect, probably the best.

The Sad Extinction of Culture
"When Languages Die" illuminates one of sad the results of centralized governments and the emergence of a world monoculture. It should be required reading for high school history students. Another fine book on the topic of the loss of language and culture to monolithic government is "The Discovery of France" by Graham Robb, which details the intertwined maze of languages and cultures in what is now known as France, that was dismantled and destroyed after the French Revolution. It gives a better perspective to viewing the plight of politically marginal cultures like the Basques and the Kurds, just to mention a couple famous groups. Did you know, for instance, that the Languedoc region of France (translate Languedoc to Langue d'Occ) was once the center of the second great language of France, Occitan, and that it is still spoken in France? You'll be led into studying the story of the destruction of the native Christian culture of the Cathars of France by the crusades and The Inquisition. Another fascinating addition to "When Languages Die" is a book and CD published by Ellipsis Arts called "Deep In the Heart Of Tuva: cowboy music from the wild east", a small book and large recording of the music and unique language of the region of Mongolia named Tuva, which was central to "When Languages Die". We can conserve lost animals in cryobanks and zoos; but you'd better take a close look at these cultures before they're gone. Oh, yes, also read about the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq, killed off and dispersed by Saddam; a culture of 500,000 to 1,000,000 persons dating back to the Sumerians. ... Read more

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This volume is an introduction to the linguistic structure of the French language.It illustrates the different ways to approaching and explaining issues of interest in French linguistics and looks at how the language is structured and varies depending on gender, medium, register, age etc. The earlier sections describe the basic 'facts' about phonology, phonetics, morphosyntax, the lexicon and semantics. Discussion of problematic issues, with contrasting different approaches to these issues then follow along with references to recent research. ... Read more

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"Understanding Language" is an introduction to linguistics aimed at non-major undergraduate students who are new to the subject. The book is comprehensive in its coverage of the key areas of linguistics, yet explains these in an easy to understand, jargon-free way. Pictures, jokes, diagrams, tables and suggestions for further reading make this an accessible, student-friendly guide which should enable students to navigate this often complicated area of study. Topics covered include language acquisition; speech sounds; the make-up of words; grammar; meaning; communication; the history of English; language variation and change. This is an essential introduction for students who are taking linguistics at university, whether as their core subject of study, as a non-major or as a bridge between school and undergraduate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A hopeless mess.
Linguistics may be the most difficult of all fundamental disciplines.After a fifteen-year hiatus (I took a course in general linguistics at university and enjoyed the challenge of it), I wanted to turn my attention back to language studies, and thought a good place to start would be an up-to-date general survey.This book had a reasonable sounding editorial review and was about the right length for an introduction to a non-specialist.

However, the essential topics at the heart of general lingustics - phonics, phonemes, morphology, syntax and semantics - are only given a scant third of the text.The most interesting and challenging material is heavily watered down.Worse, key terms are never plainly defined.This is becoming distressingly common for contemporary survey texts - the most important and difficult material is stripped down and smoothed over, leaving no handhold for the inspired reader to climb to the next level.The halfhearted attempts to provide context leave any thoughtful reader either no more enlightened or without any really useful way to organize the material presented.This is combined with a full half of the book being dedicated to essentially empty discussions of material (such as the relationship of animal communication to human language) that does not seem to fit properly into the survey of linguistics, nor aid in understanding the core material.

Winkler's clearly a thoughtful person, with a great deal to say about language.The issue is, she can't decide if she wants to write a survey of the basic and intricate building blocks of the study of language, or if she wants to present a survey of language theory and development.My (admittedly groundless) suspicion is that the publisher demanded a book that could be used by arguably every basic linguistics instructor at every university in the English-speaking world.The result, unfortunately, seems of little use to anyone.

Straightforward and interesting (as much as a linguistics book can be...)
I read this book to prepare for the California English CSET and found it very helpful.

4 Stars:
- Very straightforward; no ramblings or lengthy examples
- Doesn't assume prior knowledge, therefore fully explaining all terms and concepts
- Pop culture references and examples are interesting and make the content more accessible
- Covers a lot of material; I feel like I have a decent grip on basic linguistics now

Minus a Star:
- The sections on grammar trees became a little tedious and slightly difficult to understand at parts.
- It's about linguistics; over 200 pages about words and language. While Elizabeth Grace Winkler does a good job on making the information as stimulating as possible it is still a book on linguistics.

Great study tool!
... 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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This fourth edition expands its coverage of the fundamental issues in the field, including language and gender, and language and ethnicity. Now with a built-in Resource Manual and Study Guide, Language, Culture, and Society is the teaching text for the linguistic anthropology course. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good overview of linguistics, but often too detailed.
This textbook will give students a thorough overview of linguistic anthropology, but is often "dry" and long-winded.While the basic information is interesting and enlightening, the details are what detracts from what otherwise is a good text.Some of the information covering obscure languages and/or cultures goes into such lengthy detail that it's worth skipping over and getting to the subject matter that really pertains to the subject you're studying.As with many textbooks, the instructor may have had no choice in which book to use.In any case, if you have to buy this book, do so...but be prepared to skim over the chapters first and find what is pertinent to your individual class/instructor and what you need to know.I can only generously give this textbook three stars. ... Read more

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This is the first ever book-length study of the nature and significance of the linguistic contact between speakers of Old Norse and Old English in Viking Age England. It investigates in a wide-ranging and systematic fashion a foundational but under-considered factor in the history and culture of the Vikings in England. The subject is important for late Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age history; for language and literature in the late Anglo-Saxon period; and for the history and development of the English language. The work's primary focus is on Anglo-Norse language contact, with a particular emphasis on the question of possible mutual intelligibility between speakers of the two languages; but since language contact is an emphatically sociolinguistic phenomenon, the work's methodology combines linguistic, literary and historical approaches, and draws for its evidence on texts in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin, and other forms of linguistic and onomastic material. ... Read more

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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

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This book argues that language is a network of concepts which in turn is part of the general cognitive network of the mind. It challenges the widely-held view that language is an innate mental module with its own special internal organization. It shows that language has the same internal organization as other areas of knowledge such as social relations and action schemas, and reveals the rich links between linguistic elements and contextual categories.

Professor Hudson presents a new theory of how we learn and use our knowledge of language. He puts this to work in a series of extended explorations of morphology, syntax, semantics, and sociolinguistics. Every step of his argument and exposition is illustrated with examples, including the kind mainstream theory finds it hard to analyse. He introduces the latest version of his influential theory of Word Grammar and shows how it can be used to explain the operations of language and as a key to understanding the associated operations of the mind.

Networks of Language will interest all those concerned with the acquisition and everyday operations of language, in particular scholars and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. ... Read more