An Introduction to Language Reviews

• Miserable to learn from, and miserable to teach from

  
  By on 2002-05-26
  Those other bad reviews are right on the mark. I have taught from this book a couple of times at the university level, and I found it a shameful piece of junk. There are many cartoons included in it,which make it appear user-friendly at first glance, but it is so poorly written, and it explains things so poorly, that even many of my brighter students had trouble understanding it. (One colleague of mine, who insists on using it, feels the need to hand out copious explanatory notes with each chapter.) The book is full of glaring errors -- not only in linguistic matters but even in general knowledge, such as in the meaning of certain common acronyms (just one example). Even though these errors are easily spotted and corrected, they remain in the book from one edition to the next. The section on Language and Gender (among others) is pitiful, consisting mainly of research from the 1970s on language phenomena that have probably not been common since the 19th century. (When is the last time you heard a prostitute called a "laundress" or a "needlewoman"? The book goes out of its way to explain how unjust such monikers are, even though they are dead. Besides, my grandfather could recount cases from the turn of the century of call girls claiming they had arrived at Mr. So-&So's apartment to "take the laundry.") Some portions of the book are so inaccurate and badly written that I suspected that they were written by textbook editors and not by linguists. My students found this book a torment to learn from, and I found it a torment to teach from. An instructor would be better off choosing Finegan's "Language: Its Structure and Use" or Yule's "The Study of Language". While these texts have their own problems, they are infinitely better than this one.
  
  

• A must-read, especially for any professional communicator.

  
  By A2HMJYTVCBGZU7 on 2000-01-10
  20 years ago, I was toying with the idea of taking the linguistics option as part of my English degree at Oxford University. My course tutor recommended I read Fromkin & Rodman to "see if the subject suited me". F & R hooked me completely: All the major areas are covered, simply presented and introduced by a cleverly chosen cartoon which helps to breaks the ice.

  I must have recommended the book to more than 100 people since then and am ordering another copy now because a [former!] friend lost my (heavily thumbed and annotated) original. I now lecture on communications-related subjects and still find myself referring regularly to this seminal work. A must for any serious student of communications science; it draws you gently into a complicated subject and makes the process highly enjoyable.
  
  

• Great book!

  
  By A3V10TJNFQM3ZG on 2002-03-10
  I was a little shocked to read some of the bad reviews other people gave this book. Although it's not my major, I took an introductory linguistics course using this book for a general education requirement. I have really enjoyed the book and the writing style, and find myself reading chapters for fun which weren't even assigned! Well done.
  
  

• Great book for introductionary purposes

  
  By A1S4D18VXJCOTX on 2000-06-14
  At the university I attend we have uses this book in an introduction course for linguistics. It is rather good for in introductionary purposes but it does not go in great depth with the subjects. Use it to figure out whether linguistics is something for you, but if you already are interested in linguistics this book will be to shallow.
  
  

• This is the BEST INTRODUCTOR Book of Linguistics.

  
  By A27J2DTTBMVDQD on 1998-03-11
  This book uses lots of funny cartoons and its use of words is quite easy and udnerstandable. So it's good for non-English speakers as well as native speakers. This book gave me all the basic concepts of linguisitcs, and no matter you have lingusitics background or not, you will get much through careful reading.
  
  
• Horses for courses
  By AMIEB1LUXEC2D on 2004-08-25
  If you're looking for a college-level textbook - look elsewhere! As the 1-star reviews make clear, this is not aimed at you, despite the upmarket cover...
  
  On the other hand, if you're looking for a 'Linguistics for Dummies' book without the gaudy yellow-and-black cover to give you away, this book should do the trick nicely :) It's a pleasant stroll through the main areas of linguistics, livened up with cartoons - just enough to give you a taste of the subject without bogging you down in erudition. I don't know enough about linguistics to comment on the criticisms of some readers (though rejecting an entire field of study on the basis of one book seems a little...childish to me!), but any book that can turn a dry academic subject into an entertaining read gets my vote.
  
  
• Sweet, Sweet linguisitcs
  By A2C8L0B7FCF4JC on 2005-07-09
  I find it odd that some people didn't like this book, for I thought the action thereof was exceedingly sweet. I guess different strokes for different folks. Anyway I took an Introductory linguistics course that used this textbook, and found myself enjoying the reading assignments. I even read chapters I wasn't assigned to and ended up reading the whole thing. The book was easy to follow, entertaining, and really taught me a lot about linguistics.
  
  
• Fun is the theme
  By A24L1T7O4CQO00 on 2006-02-09
  This book might be the most used introductory linguistics book in the world. I am very glad to have read its seventh edition. The number of editions might be proof of the quality and popularity of this book. How many textbooks can be in print for such a long time?
  
  The theme of this book is to make linguistics fun, and accessible. The use of cartoons, the quotes from famous authors, paragraphs discussing everyday use of language, and many more, all make the reader enjoy reading and studying linguistics.
  
  But on the other hand, the effort to make it fun will probably turn those serious students away. Anyways they are here for a university level course on the science of linguistics, where they expect to see compelling arguments, and serious discussions, rather than cartoons and funny word games.
  
  Moreover since this book was first written in the 70's, there are still many outdated data in the seventh edition, although it has been updated.
  
  The chapters on the core fields of linguistics, i.e. phonetics/phonology, syntax, semantics, and historical linguistics, seem to be a little too thin. While chapters on sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and writing systems can be interesting, students still need to be solidly grounded in the core fields of linguistics before they can successfully tap into the more interdisciplinary fields.
  
  Overall, this is one of the best introductory linguistics textbooks, although it tends to be not very serious, and in-depth, which could be excused for an intro textbook.
  
  
• One of ten books I'll keep forever
  By A210NVN74SDDFJ on 2002-11-27
  A college professor first introduced me to AN INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE (3rd edition) in 1984, and I am still a fan. In fact, it is one of my ten favorite books. For a holiday gift this year, I will be receiving the 6th edition, and I am already looking forward to the updates from the previous editions. This text is a fascinating trip into the intricacies of language acquisition and use. Although probably not for everyone, if you loved diagramming sentences in school, and you actually appreciate that your father insisted you take Latin, then this book is probably for you.
  
  
• The best basic level introduction, but overpriced
  By A1MS5QQTJ9PJZP on 2006-12-12
  This is, hands down, the best book to take a rank beginner and introduce him or her to the science of linguistics. The price, however, has placed it out of reach of my introductory courses in linguistics. It's sad that such an important volume has become unavailable as a text in many courses.
  
  
• A real loser
  By A1PGHTE2BLE3BC on 2002-05-13
  Priscilla Oppenheimer says it all. I couldn't wait to give my copy away. The phonetics chapter is such a disaster that I had to ask a friend to teach me phonetics! I hope that a publisher comes out with an alternative so the beginning linguistics students don't have to suffer anymore.
  
  
• Pretty solid
  By AUC0P9LHL0AWH on 2005-12-24
  Given that it is designed for intro courses in linguistics, this is a good textbook. It's pretty readable for a textbook, too; after slogging through my dry, jargon-laden statistics and education texts, this book was a breath of fresh air.
  
  
• Linguistics
  By on 2002-01-08
  This book is unimaginably boring and stupid. It is filled with cartoons and the text is redundant. What this text really amounts to is a class in common sense. I am a CS/Math major and had been led to believe that Linguistics was a real science, probably because Noam Chomsky teaches at MIT, but I discovered that it is actually a wretched humanity (U Chicago agrees) and that little could be gleaned from a text in such a muddled discipline such as this one. Don't make the mistake I made! Take Physics instead!
  
  
• Continuing Education
  By A1D5MI23I2KTUC on 2006-03-14
  For those of us wishing to continue learning, this is a very educational book. It is written so that you can consume small chunks, digest them, and come back for more.
  
  
• IT IS A GOOD BOOK
  By AIDGTAESM0003 on 2007-07-05
  I LIKE THE BOOK BECAUSE IT HELPED ME A LOT IN MY CLASS... IT HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT IS VERY USEFUL...
  
  
• : )
  By A2NFF30S8BYFOR on 2007-07-16
  I had to buy this book for school, but I actually enjoyed it. I don't usually read text books, but this was one worth reading. Very interesting facts, and really helps to spark interest about language.
  
  
• It's an Introduction book
  By A3PE2H51K3ATZ on 2003-11-05
  As an introduction book this book is perfect; it's written in short chapters(will not make you feel bored) and it has exercises(helps you with understanding) in it. To those who are interested in Linguistics and do not have any prior knowledge this book is The One.
  
  
• Thanks!
  By A2BCVTRW8YWWO6 on 2007-09-23
  The book came very quickly. The book's condition was very good. I really appreciate it.
  
  
• A+
  By A2XAC7FN91GMLZ on 2008-08-13
  thank you!! i saved so much money on my textbooks!! item was as promised!! would recommend to friends. Thanks again!!
  
  
• Good Intro/Intermediate Linguistics Book
  By A2IIWY5LMIEUKX on 2008-09-23
  I started an MA program in Linguistics with a concentration in TESOL. The intro class required this text as its only text. The price on amazon.com was approx. $20 less than the bookstore/other store prices. It is a good value for the Amazon price.
  
  Aesthetics: It's a softcover book so it will get wrinkled at some point. There are cartoons in the chapters that break up the text and illustrate some go points.
  
  Info: The information is in an easy to comprehend format that is organized well. As you move on past morphology into syntax, the the info becomes more technical and complex. I suggest taking notes as you go so you can process the info better. The info is presented in a way that is as clear cut as they can get. My one gripe is that they constantly reference later chapters for info they bring up earlier.
  
  Overall: If you need to get this for a linguistics course or as a supplement, it's a good deal. If you are just dabbling, beware that the book gets technical and slightly confusing at chapter 3 or 4.
  
  
  
  

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