Product Description

Product Description
This study presents the findings of a major investigation of second language proficiency in various groups of school-aged learners, and invites a frank appraisal of the research from an outside panel of experts. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are the subject of a lively debate focused on three main research issues: the nature of second language proficiency, the impact of classroom treatment on second language learning, and the role of social and individual factors in bilingual development. This original collection of articles will be of interest to all those concerned with policy and practice in second language education. ... Read more

Product Description
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

Product Description
Directed towards general introductory linguistics courses, as well as courses in language acquisition, this textbook introduces the fundamentals of syntax and semantics in generative grammar and applies them to the study of child language. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, it represents the theory of Universal Grammar and shows how the theory has proved helpful in understanding the process of language acquisition.

Edited by two of the foremost researchers in the field, the book benefits from their insight into conceptual issues, their understanding of experimentation, and their own pioneering research. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

We are born to talk and this book proves it.
Most parents think that teaching their kids to talk is the one thing they got right. This book springs the knowledge on us that talking is as natural as walking. The book offers proof and even defines where in the brain lies the innate talking rules.

The book is valuable for what it teaches, but it's explanations and demonstrations to prove its points are lengthy and repetitive. Unless there will be a test, feel free to skim many of the chapters. ... 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
This book focuses on the languages and linguistics of Africa. Covering the major themes that are dealt with in university courses, and making extensive use of linguistic symbols and diagrams, this is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate linguistics students in South Africa and Africa as a whole, as well as for students of African studies worldwide. Its topics include general descriptions of African languages, the nature of languages in contact and in competition, language in education, and the need for governmental intervention in linguistic issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good introductory text
This is an introductory text to African languages and linguistics written by a Kenyan and a South African from their conceptual framework and perspective. The book gives a fairly decent overview of some of the problems that occur in Africa due to language barriers; that is many of the languages of power are English, French and Portuguese which most African's don't speak and the low esteem of native African languages among their speakers.

The authors state in their introduction that the book is:

An introductory text
It is written from an African orientation
It is aimed at students of linguistics and emphasizes the technical discipline
It presents a holistic picture

The book comes at the subject from a general point of view in order to provide a broad framework and as you get into the book the subject becomes more narrowly focused.

If you have an interest in linguistics and Africa, this text will provide you with an interesting perspective that you may not have thought of with regards to language development, power and cross communication problems. ... Read more

Product Description
Steven Pinker meets Bill Bryson in this landmark exploration of language.

In the author's own words, "How Language Works is not about music, cookery, or sex. But it is about how we talk about music, cookery, and sex-or, indeed, anything at all." Language is so fundamental to everyday life that we take it for granted. But as David Crystal makes clear in this work of unprecedented scope, language is an extremely powerful tool that defines the human species.

Crystal offers general readers a personal tour of the intricate workings of language. He moves effortlessly from big subjects like the origins of languages, how children learn to speak, and how conversation works to subtle but revealing points such as how email differs from both speech and writing in important ways, how language reveals a person's social status, and how we decide whether a word is rude or polite.

Broad and deep, but with a light and witty touch, How Language Works is the ultimate layman's guide to how we communicate with one another. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Shallow and Long
This book aims to be a good strong everyman's introduction the field of linguistics, but it really is too long, too simplistic, and too shallow.There really isn't much science in the book, and a lot of the book is obvious.For a good book that explores the development of reading from a science perspective, read "The Proust and the Squid."

Broad but shallow
This book is a survey of linguistics, suitable for high school students. He tells us a great many things about languages, and some are interesting, but far too often they are things already known or obvious to most educated adults.

Panoramic overview onto the world of language...
Maybe it will sound strange, but what I liked most about the book was not its content but its form: what a concise, structured, balanced and nearly perfect syntax! The sentences, paragraphs, sub-sections and chapters are of a perfect size and everything is written in a clear and comprehensible manner. The indentation and the typography for both text and titles were carefully designed and the kind of paper and the binding are of excellent quality, so the book is a pleasure to read and handle.

The book is an excellent introduction to linguistics or to how language works, starting from the anatomy of the vocal apparatus to how we produce sounds, from how we articulate them into a language to how we hear and distinguish language from noise; then it turns to how different parts of our brain process language to how we assign meaning and how languages are structured to better convey this meaning (how grammar serves semantics). It also includes sections on how languages are born, how they evolve and how they die, as well as how the currently existing languages belong to certain language families. Finally it concludes with how we can take care of languages in order to preserve the language diversity (and therefore the cultural heritage) of the world, since languages are extinguishing at an extremely fast pace, maybe even faster than that of the extinction of animal species.

The author covers a lot of topics, but for the same reason he delves not too deep into any of them. Regarding the topics that interested me most, I would have liked greater detail, but this is probably not possible in a book with such a wide scope. This book will probably lead you to some more specific sources in some linguistic area. Regarding the evolution and constant change of languages, as well as some specific examples of how these language shifts occur, I highly recommend The Unfolding of Language: An Evolutionary Tour of Mankind's Greatest Invention. For a deeper explanation of how the brain processes language The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by S. Pinker is a good choice, although I still need to read The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language (P.S.), which is probably better. Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition gives you an excellent overview of the evolutionary steps that led from apes to modern humans - vocal apparatus included -together with the changes in the representation modes (and thereby memory) involved in these steps (from episodic to mimetic to narrative or linguistic and finally to symbolic, which allowed for written language).

Beautiful Layout, Good Overview
This book is really beautiful - the fonts used and the layout are very distinctive. A++ on that.

The book itself is a series of short chapters on a wide variety of language topics each of which could stand alone. It is interesting and well written, if a tad dry, but not too deep on any one topic. Think of a series of magazine articles in a magazine devoted to a particular interest, where the level of vocabulary assumes some knowledge of the topic. The chapters are all cross referenced - it would easily move to a web article.

The breath of topics is very wide - from sounds and physiology to computer translation by way of grammar and language families. Overall it is very informative, but a book to take in small doses.

One more step towards clarity
We may all have an instinct for language but we can enjoy our use and perception of language far more with the help of such an astute observer and analyst as David Crystal. For anyone interested in using spoken-written language to convey meaning to other people, How Language Works, is well worth having read.I had to put forth more than ordinary effort to read this wonderful book, but I believe I have been well rewarded. ... Read more

Product Description
In the latest book in the series, editor Nicholas Wade and several award-winning New York Times journalists explore the mysterious roots of language. Their coverage ranges from the efforts to chronicle ancient languages to the examination of fossil records to determine whether Neanderthals had language, and around the evolutionary bend to the study of chimpanzees and their ability to "talk" using sign boards to convey fear, hunger, and their deceptive sense of humor. Chapters expound upon: "The History of Language"; "Archaeology and Language," which includes the findings in the Tarim Basin of China that reveal remains of Caucasian mummies dating from 2,000 to 600 B.C., and their written language; "Language in Other Species," in which the subsonic songs of female African elephants are detected traveling up to two miles through the ground to announce herd movement and mating possibilities, and the rich rhyming schemes of the seasonal songs of humpback whales are described; "Language and Learning"; "Language and the Brain"; and finally "Language and Society," which addresses contemporary concerns of our own multilingual nation. With detailed illustrations that appeared in the original articles, and insightful introductions to each chapter by Nicholas Wade, this book is sure to fascinate anyone who has an interest in language and culture.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A hasty cut & paste effort
This book contains articles and stories from the New York Times that deal with Linguistics. This book might have made an interesting overview or introduction to the field had it been more rigorously complied. Articles frequently refer to research recently published, but no references are provided that might allow the reader to follow up the reports. Phrases like "in this month's 'Nature'" are useless if neither the date of the NY Times article, nor the publication it references are provided.

Interesting Questions, Partial Answers
The book is a collection of essays from the 1990s, covering a range of subjects--from Nostratic theory to how babies learn language to whether language is hard-wired in the brain. How did the human animal populate the globe--by conquest or by farming? And when chimpanzees talk to us--using various symbolic methods--are they really talking? Did the Neanderthals speak? And did all human languages derive from a single, primordial language?

This book will not give you the answers to any of these questions. What it does offer is a tantalizing glimpse into many of these questions and the controversies that swirl around them. What the book lacks is a passion for any of these ideas. So and so says this; the critics say that. To be sure, there is a fine line in such a presentation between getting too technical and not being technical enough--leaving the reader with a vague impression of a complex subject. Unfortunately the essays in this book tend to be excessively balanced, hence superficial.

If you know a little bit about some of the controversies raging in the linguistic field; and if you would like to learn just a little bit more-- well, this may be the book for you. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber. ... Read more

Product Description
In this, the first of two ground-breaking volumes on the nature of language in the light of the way it evolved, James Hurford looks at how the world first came to have a meaning in the minds of animals and how in humans this meaning eventually came to be expressed as language. He reviews a mass of evidence to show how close some animals, especially primates and more especially apes, are to the brink of human language. Apes may not talk to us but they construct rich cognitive representations of the world around them, and here, he shows, are the evolutionary seeds of abstract thought - the means of referring to objects, the memory of events, even elements of the propositional thinking philosophers have hitherto reserved for humans. What then, he asks, is the evolutionary path between the non-speaking minds of apes and our own speaking minds? Why don't apes communicate the richness of their thoughts to each other? Why do humans alone have a unique disposition to reveal their thoughts in complex detail? Professor Hurford searches a wide range of evidence for the answers to these central questions, including degrees of trust, the role of hormones, the ability to read minds, and the willingness to cooperate.

Expressing himself congenially in consistently colloquial language the author builds up a vivid picture of how mind, language, and meaning evolved over millions of years. His book is a landmark contribution to the understanding of linguistic and thinking processes, and the fullest account yet published of the evolution of language and communication.

"A wonderful read - lucid, informative, and entertaining, while at the same time never talking down to the reader by sacrificing argumentation for the sake of 'simplicity'. Likely to be heralded as the major publication dealing with language evolution to date. Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington ... Read more

Product Description

This landmark volume provides a broad-based, comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge and research into second language teaching and learning. All authors are leading authorities in their areas of expertise. The chapters, all completely new for Volume II, are organized in eight thematic sections:

• Social Contexts in Research on Second Language Teaching and Learning
• Second Language Research Methods
• Second Language Research and Applied Linguistics
• Research in Second Language Processes and Development
• Methods and Instruction in Second Language Teaching
• Second Language Assessment
• Ideology, Identity, Culture, and Critical Pedagogy in Second Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Planning and Policy

Changes in Volume II:

• Captures new and ongoing developments, research, and trends in the field
• Surveys prominent areas of research that were not covered in Volume I
• Includes new authors from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America to broaden the Handbook’s international scope

Volume II is an essential resource for researchers, faculty, teachers, and students in MA-TESL and applied linguistics programs, as well as curriculum and material developers.

Product Description

Serious work using computers to support language teaching and learning began in the 1960s, but it was not until the beginning of the 1980s when microcomputers began to proliferate that groups of practitioners began forming professional groups and a formal identification of the field occurred. Although the early promise of computer-assisted language learning (or ‘CALL’), to revolutionize second-language learning has not been met, the past quarter century has seen a fascinating range of growth. This is not only because of lessons learned from research and practice, but also due to the rapid and continuing shifts in the technology itself.

Nominally a branch of applied linguistics, 'CALL' is truly interdisciplinary, drawing its core concepts not only from linguistics, but also from computer science, speech engineering, psychology, sociology, second-language acquisition, and general education.

This new four-volume title from Routledge will allow 'CALL' practitioners, researchers, and students to easily access the best and most influential foundational and cutting-edge scholarship. The is also a comprehensive introduction to critical concepts in 'CALL' for applied linguists and language educators interested in the growing role of technology in second-language acquisition.

Product Description
Linguistics: An Introduction to Linguistic Theory is a textbook, written for introductory courses in linguistic theory for undergraduate linguistics majors and first-year graduate students, by twelve major figures in the field, each bringing their expertise to one of the core areas of the field - morphology, syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, and language acquisition. In each section the book is concerned with discussing the underlying principles common to all languages, showing how these are revealed in language acquisition and in the specific grammars of the world's languages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Intro to Linguistics
I thought this book was very good.My friend who has a master's in linguistics recommended it to me for an overview of the field.Anyone wanting to know about linguistics should read this, but it is very academic for those of you who do not like reading textbooks.

Very Helpful Book
This book is very helpful for people who are doing Linguistics for the first time.What is really amazing about this book is that its progressive, you can use it after you finish your undergraduate program.This book is very practical in its approach which makes learning linguistics an enjoyable experience.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in keeping a really great linguistic book in their personal library [or public library] and for anyone who has no clue about linguistics and is planning to either do a course or just for general knowledge. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the long-awaited third edition of Chomsky's outstanding collection of essays on language and mind. The first six chapters, originally published in the 1960s, made a groundbreaking contribution to linguistic theory. This new edition complements them with an additional chapter and a new preface, bringing Chomsky's influential approach into the twenty-first century. Chapters 1-6 present Chomsky's early work on the nature and acquisition of language as a genetically endowed, biological system (Universal Grammar), through the rules and principles of which we acquire an internalized knowledge (I-language). Over the past fifty years, this framework has sparked an explosion of inquiry into a wide range of languages, and has yielded some major theoretical questions. The final chapter revisits the key issues, reviewing the 'biolinguistic' approach that has guided Chomsky's work from its origins to the present day, and raising some novel and exciting challenges for the study of language and mind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

not for the curious amateur
I'm a scientist with a background in (analytic) philosophy, and am used to technical writing and complex ideas; I picked up this book on John Searle's recommendation in an article in the New York Review of Books. I don't know what Searle was thinking; I found these lectures impenetrable.

Chomsky's examples are far from illuminating and get bogged down in details -- examples of phonological or syntactical transformations involve piles upon piles of poorly introduced material, and it's frustrating to get a page and a half through some dense presentation only to discover that he then invokes some principle you've never heard of and he doesn't explain. It's claimed that these lectures are for a "general" audience, which I think must mean "a general audience of linguists".

I came out the other end with barely more understanding of Chomsky's linguistics than I did coming in -- after many hours of trying to parse his rather tortured prose.

I do not recommend this book to someone outside linguistics trying to get a feel for things like universal grammar and innate structures. There is some interesting material (on things like innate knowledge and the history of philosophy) that isn't compromised by Chomsky's poor sense of audience -- but it's not particularly well organized, and I'm sure there must be better coverage elsewhere, in or out of Chomsky's oeuvre.

Essential Chomsky
It's a basic text for the students of social sciences, though not for beginers.

Relatively accessible foothold to an earth-shaking analytic thinker and creative, imaginative genius.
Chomsky can be anesthetizing as a lecturer, so a brief appetizer such as this collection of essays should be chosen ahead of any visual or aural recordings.Don't expect complete clarity, full explanations, or satisfying closure, but do expect provocative insights and deeply resonating ideas that take us ever closer to the center of human consciousness without the religious-mystical jargon.He and Jacques Derrida practically share honors as the two most important thinkers of the last half of the preceding century.

At a time when the rage is "diversity," "multi-culturalism," sectarianism, Balkanization, inviolable walls and boundaries, whether for protection or transgression, both thinkers trace the source of such reductive constructions to linguistic impoverishment, whether externally or internally imposed.Moreover, both offer avenues out of the fixed, repressive syntax and limited, distorted semantics that amount to denials of human birthrights and potentials--God-given or otherwise.Whereas Derrida concentrates on the effects, a close reading of Chomsky will disclose that his actual object is their source, the originating organ itself.In his linguistic theory as well as his politics, the "deep structural" archetypal odyssey is ultimately of the subject seeking to understand itself better as object, of mind in pursuit of itself.

Recommended for college libraries and language studies shelves
Now in an updated third edition, Language and Mind presents Linguistics Professor Noam Chomsky's groundbreaking classic essays on linguistic theory. First published in the 1960s, Language and Mind includes the essays "Form and meaning in natural languages"; "The formal nature of language"; "Linguistics and philosophy"; and "Biolinguistics and the human capacity". An index rounds out this scholarly, heavily researched and annotated dissertation of the nuances of long-standing linguistic theoretical questions, problems, discoveries and issues, recommended for college libraries and language studies shelves.

Chomsky's minimalist project: can it get smaller?
This work covers Chomsky's theory of the nature of language over the last 50 years, bringing it up to date with a new chapter on his latest ideas.Chomsky still thinks that all languages are governed by a universal grammar that is connected with our genes.He still says that infants understand grammar and work out which language they are learning.The latest development of his theory, referred to in this work, is called the "minimalist project".It is based on faith: the theory is bound to be right, therefore it would work in practice, but we're not going to do that as it would be too complicated.
So, for Chomsky, grammar is still a part of biology, rather than a set of abstract terms, and meanings are still hiding somewhere in sentences a bit like phlogiston in combustible materials.The Chomskyans actually believe sentences contain their meanings, but the only real form of the meanings of sentences lies in electrochemical events in our brains, and you're not going to be able to analyse one of those and say it's the meaning of the sentence "Let's go to the bookshop." The meanings of sentences, in terms of concepts, are not objectively discoverable.Since therefore there is no objectively definable relationship between the form of any sentence and what it means, a scientific approach to grammar, in the style of Chomsky, is a non-starter.Better to read Wittgenstein, who says that sentences do not contain their meanings, but only express them.
Chomskyan linguistics is an odd phenomenon that has some parallels in academic history.It is completely wrong, yet became fashionable, at least in some anglophone countries.It was and is the sole concern in the professional lives of many academics.So it is dying with difficulty, since so much is invested in it.Yet dying it is.Did it do any damage?Yes.Those who were persuaded by Chomsky's theories that language was something it is not had a wrong view not only of language and how to treat it, but also of themselves and of others as language-users, and thus as human beings, since language is so much a part of our humanity.
The publicity for this edition underwent a change.To start with, it advertised "two brand-new chapters", and you still find that in some advertisements.Later it became "an additional chapter".For this new edition, Chomsky sent two articles that had already been published elsewhere in 2005 and were available gratis on the Internet, one of which repeated verbatim three quarters of the other.The publishers discarded one of them. ... Read more

Product Description
This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language presents a mass of new information and introduces the subject of language to a fresh generation of students and general readers.Probably the most successful general study of language ever published, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language covers all the major themes of language study, including popular ideas about language, language and identity, the structure of language, speaking and listening, writing, reading, and signing, language acquisition, the neurological basis of language, and languages of the world.Exposing this work to a new generation of readers, the Second Edition extends the range of coverage to include advances in areas such as machine translation, speech interaction with machines, and language teaching.There is new material on acoustics, physiological concepts of language, and World English, and a complete update of the language distribution maps, language-speaking statistics, table of the world's languages, and further reading.All geopolitical material has been revised to take account of boundary changes.The book has been redesigned and is presented for the first time in full color, with new pictures and maps added.Amazon.com Review
The most diverse, enjoyable, and thought-provokingencyclopedia on language. Though not an alphabetical encyclopedia, the coverage of the 65 thematic chaptersis encyclopedic--ideal for anyone interested inwords, speech, writing, and thought, and certain to be a continualpoint of reference for any writer for years to come. Very HighlyRecommended. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

The best comprehensive introduction to language--we'd love a new edition!
Based on this and his many other excellent books, David Crystal is a world heritage treasure!This book provides a stimulating introduction to language in a comprehensive way that I have found nowhere else.However, since its 1997 publication date there are exciting new developments in understanding language and its origins, including language acquisition, neurolinguistics, and semantics.We would love a new edition and hope the marvelous author has nothing else to do for the foreseeable future! Please convince him, Cambridge University Press!

Awesome!!!
This is a useful, complete and wonderful book, which person interested in language should have. It's topics are simply great!!

Olga Ocaña

An unmatched linguistic compendium
Everything that you could ever have wanted to know about the way language works is in here (along with many other things that you probably had never even thought of). From the minds ability to comprehend certain sights and sounds as forms of communication and how it deciphers them to writing styles, changes and progression in languages and grammatical structures and nuances in voice level and tone used to alter understanding of a particular syllable, this book's got it all. I have to confess to being overawed when I first opened the book and then marvelling at the detail contained therein. Be warned though, this book is not for beginners in any field of study. Those with a strong interest in linguistics though should definitely invest in this treasure. There's so much in here it's staggering.

excellent overview of language
David Crystal's Encylcopedia of Language is an excellent and readable book for lay-people like myself. I often come to it for information on a particular language-related question, or else I'll just open it up at random and see where I land.

There are plenty of diagrams and coloured pictures throughout, as well and quite a few interesting stories placed in vignettes.

As other reveiwers have pointed out, a huge range of topics are included here. I'm yet to find an aspect of language that hasn't been covered in some way.

A brief comment
This book is a linguaphile and language lover's delight, to read or just to browse like a coffee table book. It covers just about every major topic in the study of language you can think of, from traditional classical and comparative philology and linguistics to modern developmental and neurological studies of language.

The book is comprised of 11 major sections and 65 smaller sections, with 8 appendices devoted to various topics, and there is an extensive glossary of linguistic terms as well as a table giving essential information about almost 1000 of the world's languages. Although a scholarly book, it's well written and Crystal never gets overly pedantic or dry. This is no doubt one of the most comprehensive and detailed compendia of information for the general reader about the subject of language ever written.

After reading this, you'll be more than ready to tackle a formal or more technical introductory text in linguistics, if you want to continue your studies. If you do, I highly recommend David Lyons's classic, Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, now out of print but worth getting if you can find a used copy. If you can't find that there are several other recent texts that are quite good. But if you decide to stick with this book, you'll still have learned a lot. Whichever way you decide, good luck and happy reading. ... 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
African American language is central to the teaching of linguistics and language in the United States, and this book covers the entire field--grammar, speech, and verbal genres. It also reveals the various historical strands that must be identified in order to understand the development of African American English. These are the social and cultural history of the American South, the urban and northern black popular culture, as well as policy issues. The current heated political and educational debates about the status of the African American dialect are also addressed. ... Read more

Product Description
This book outlines the major issues and terminology used in the field of historical linguistics. Central issues of historical linguistics are addressed, including change, reconstruction of older languages, language birth and death, and relationships among languages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great intro, bridges the gap between the layman and the novice scholar.
I recently purchased this book, and I'm definitely very happy with it. As mentioned, at ~100 pages it's reasonably short, but I don't find this a problem at all. In fact, it being concise means that Schendl really only gives you what you need to know. Something I really dislike is authors who don't highlight important aspects. The author here outlines every single aspect of historical linguistics so that the reader can then build upon their knowledge and move forward in specific areas if they wish.

The book is to the point and very clear. I'm not sure why it has been said that you need familiarity with linguistics; there isn't a linguistic term or idea in the entire book which isn't defined in the glossary or in the paragraph itself. Perhaps previous reviewers haven't noticed the glossary (which, by the way, is immensely helpful as it allows the author to use linguistic terms, but have them defined for you on-hand)?

The bibliography is great in that it's also a brief literature review; all pieces of literature are ranked according to how approachable they are (on a scale of 1-3).

The only criticism I have about the book is its take on diachronic vs synchronic linguistics. Schendl talks a few times about how the two approaches need to be combined, but there's very little evidence of synchronic linguistics being used. That being said, the book is obviously about diachronic linguistics, and there is another book in the series by Spolsky on socio-linguistics, which covers this area.

Plenty of examples from a reasonably wide-range of languages are used, although some may argue that the book focuses perhaps too much on European languages. If you're looking for specific diachronic information on a specific language, this is obviously the wrong place to look. Rather, consult this book if you need an overview of the topic.

I can definitely recommend this book as a starting point - it is a great allround introduction to the topic of diachronic linguistics, definitely give it a go if you're starting out!

What's within is unobjectionable, but too short for the price
Herbert Schendl's HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, part of the Oxford Introductions to Language Study series, is a concise summary of the main themes of the diachronic study of language. Departing little from other textbooks of historical linguistics, it presents the comparative method, details the process of lexical, morphology and syntactical, and phonological change. Contact phenomena are discussed in one brief chapter, and the book ends with various explanations for why languages change.

Schendl's book is not written for the layman, for his discussion of the topic expects some prior knowledge of general linguistics. However, unlike many introductions to historical linguistics which use the whole Indo-European family as the chief example, Schendl seems to realize not all students of general linguistics are proficient in the ancient languages, and so he uses a large amount of English data which anyone who has read Shakespeare and Chaucer can appreciate. However, with this particular angle I don't think that Schendl's book fulfills any real niche. If one already knows something about linguistics, one could just pick up Hock's magisterial PRINCIPLES OF HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS (The Hague: Mouton de Gruyter, 1991), which costs just a few bucks more and is eight times the size. This tiny guide, barely over a hundred pages, doesn't seem much of a good value in comparison. ... Read more

Product Description

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 state-of-the-art exploration of language, culture, and identity is orchestrated through prominent scholars’ and teachers’ narratives, each weaving together three elements: a personal account based on one or more memorable or critical incidents that occurred in the course of learning or using a second or foreign language; an interpretation of the incidents highlighting their impact in terms of culture, identity, and language; the connections between the experiences and observations of the author and existing literature on language, culture and identity.

What makes this book stand out is the way in which authors meld traditional ‘academic’ approaches to inquiry with their own personalized voices. This opens a window on different ways of viewing and doing research in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. What gives the book its power is the compelling nature of the narratives themselves. Telling stories is a fundamental way of representing and making sense of the human condition. These stories unpack, in an accessible but rigorous fashion, complex socio-cultural constructs of culture, identity, the self and other, and reflexivity, and offer a way into these constructs for teachers, teachers in preparation and neophyte researchers. Contributors from around the world give the book broad and international appeal.