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
"Statistical natural-language processing is, in my estimation, one ofthe most fast-moving and exciting areas of computer science these days.Anyone who wants to learn this field would be well advised to get thisbook. For that matter, the same goes for anyone who is already in thefield. I know that it is going to be one of the most well-thumbed bookson my bookshelf." -- Eugene Charniak, Department of Computer Science,Brown University

Statistical approaches to processing natural language text have becomedominant in recent years. This foundational text is the firstcomprehensive introduction to statistical natural language processing(NLP) to appear. The book contains all the theory and algorithms neededfor building NLP tools. It provides broad but rigorous coverage ofmathematical and linguistic foundations, as well as detailed discussionof statistical methods, allowing students and researchers to constructtheir own implementations. The book covers collocation finding, wordsense disambiguation, probabilistic parsing, information retrieval, andother applications.

More on this book ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Highly recommended if you are designing data-driven NLP softwares.
I purchased this book when designing my first POS tagger for English language.
Since my major is neither NLP, computer science nor mathematics, I had at first had
difficulty in genuinely understanding the core concepts, for example, modeling natural
language "event" such as tagging, parsing or translation, but my second reading
started to be paying off by reading this together with books on statistics, calculus, and algebra.

I recommend this book if you are a patient reader, since, as mentioned above, mathematical
background is prerequisite, which is explicitly written on the preface.

This book was especially helpful when writing POS tagger and syntactic parser. But if you are
eager to learn subject about translation decoder or word alignment model trainer, I
recommend that you also purchase Koehn's book.

Good book for people interested in Natural Language Processing.
This is a good book for people who are interested in computational linguists, machine
learning experts who are looking for new application domains and in general for someone who wants an introduction to statistical computational linguistics.

The book is self contained and very well written. It treats most of the general statistical approaches to language processing such as language models, smoothing, etc.. in an excellent, but introductory manner. The book is a good start for any one looking to enter statistical nlp, however for advanced readers who would like to see the cutting edge of statistical computational linguistics they should look somewhere else.

fastest delivery
I have never received anything so quick buying off the internet. Few days and I had the book in my hand. I was pleasantly surprised.

very definitive, really a must read
this is an import pre-req to any research/inquiry into this field.

Very technical
Only buy this book if you want a very technical book about this subject. I bought this book because I was generally interested in this research field... and I never read it. If you are a researcher or a student studying this field, then this might be a good book. Otherwise, there are books that you will probably enjoy more. ... Read more

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

Customer Reviews (3)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Product Description
This book is about how language is used in the context of schooling. It demonstrates that the variety of English expected at school differs from the interactional language that students use for social purposes outside of school, and provides a linguistic analysis of the challenges of the school curriculum, particularly for non-native speakers of English, speakers of non-standard dialects, and students who have little exposure to academic language outside of schools.

The Language of Schooling: A Functional Linguistics Perspective builds on current sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic studies of language in school, but adds a new dimension--the framework of functional linguistic analysis. This framework focuses not just on the structure of words and sentences, but on how texts are constructed--how particular grammatical choices create meanings in the different kinds of texts students are asked to read and write at school.

The Language of Schooling: A Functional Linguistics Perspective

*provides a functional description of the kinds of texts students are expected to read and write at school;

*relates research from other sociolinguistic and language development perspectives to research from the systemic functional linguistics perspective;

*focuses on the increasing linguistic demands of contexts of advanced literacy (middle school through college);

*analyzes the genres typically encountered at school, with extensive description of the grammatical features of the expository essay, a gatekeeping genre for secondary school graduates;

*reviews the grammatical features of disciplinary genres in science and history; and

*argues for more explicit attention to language in teaching all subjects, with a particular focus on what is needed for the development of critical literacy.

This book will enable researchers and students of language in education to recognize how the grammatical and discourse features of the language of schooling construct the content areas, role relationships, and purposes and expectations of schools. It also will enable them to better understand the nature of language itself and how it emerges from and helps to maintain social structures and institutions, and to apply these understandings to creating classroom environments that build on the strengths students bring to school. ... Read more

Product Description
Mäori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, is an endangered, minority language, with an important role in the Mäori community's culture and identity. This comprehensive overview looks at all aspects of the Mäori language: its history, its dialects, its sounds and grammar, and the efforts being made by its speakers to ensure its survival. A succinct survey of a language with a wealth of interesting features, it will interest anyone wishing to study the structure of a minority language, as well as those interested in endangered languages and their preservation. ... Read more

Product Description
Only a few hundred of the world's 6,000-7,000 languages have any kind of official status, and it is only speakers of official languages (speakers of dominant majority languages) who enjoy all linguistic human rights. As many of the collected papers in this book document, most linguistic minorities are deprived of these rights. This book describes what linguistic human rights are, who has and who does not have them and why, and suggests which linguistic rights should be regarded as basic human rights.

Linguistic Human Rights introduces a new area and minority concerns with human rights. Discrimination against language minorities is widespread, despite national and international law prohibiting this. The book analyzes language rights in many countries worldwide, including North and Latin America, several European states, the former USSR, India, Kurdistan, Australia and New Zealand. ... Read more

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
Silva provides guidance for the study and use of biblical Hebrew and Greek which are often presented in studies on the languages of the Old and New Testaments. His work is a must for all serious students of biblical Hebrew and Greek. This is a Lightening Print, Inc., print-on-demand title and can be ordered only from Spring Arbor / Ingram. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Concise and Powerful Survey of Language
Professor Moisés Silva in "God, Language and Scripture" furnishes concise and thought-provoking essays on the historical, theological, and practical relationship of linguistics as well as its proper exercise concerning biblical languages. The linguistic dilettante usually takes much for granted in the power and working of language and this can include many exegetes. Thus Dr. Silva (b. 1945, professor: Westmont College (1972-1981), Westminster Theological Seminary (1981-1996), and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (1996-2000); received a PhD at the University of Manchester in 1972; was a translator of the New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version) discusses how language is frequently distorted and misapplied particularly in biblical interpretation and exposition.

With precision and scholarly care Dr. Silva converses the following topics:

- The beginning and advancement of modern linguistics
- Literary criticism, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy in relation to the study of language
- Semantic and stylistic aspects of grammar, syntax, pronunciation vocabulary, sound and discourse
- Biblical language transmission of scripture in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek
- Textual criticism and translation of scripture
- Habitual exegetical errors.

Some may deem the author's mild emphasis on the importance of Aramaic as unfounded forasmuch as the bulk of Jewish works from the era of the New Testament are written in Hebrew (Mishnah/Talmud), Jesus spoke to Paul in Hebrew in the Book of Acts (yes many assert that Hebrew=Aramaic), first century ossuaries and coins have Hebrew inscriptions. Either way the NT writers had a Hebrew/Aramaic mindset and the word order in the Gospels often follows Hebrew. This type of research is fascinating and educational; nonetheless God's word is infallible and authoritative.

This exacting volume is potent in its precision, brief (160 pages), and accessible to the non-scholar. "God, Language, and Scripture" is an excellent resource for ministers and commentators and all those who yearn to rightfully utilize language. It makes an outstanding escort to Poythress's book on language.
The Necessary Existence of God: The Proof of Christianity Through Presuppositional Apologetics

Silva on Language: what a treat
Reformed scholar has written a wonderful and blessed book on language. not only is God-talk intelligible, but God is the being who makes language unavailble as he sustains the elements we need for communication we all take for granted. not just the hardware, but the software as well - plus other non-phycical entities which need theism.
This may not be the last-word on words, but it is a great start.
Read all you can from this guy - check the web for his many articles.

Rightly dividing the Word of Truth
Why would anyone want to learn biblical Greek and Hebrew?

Some think the biblical languages hold the key to deep understanding. Others that a good English translation is all any scholar really needs. In God, Language and Scripture, Moises Silva reveals the truth somewhere between these two extremes.

This is a pretty easy read: a brief, semi-popular overview of linguistics in biblical interpretation. Silva provides many pointers to understanding the connection between language and hermeneutics. The book is non-technical, entertaining at times, and accessible even to beginners. I highly recommend it.

God speaks! Human language capable of God-talk.
Silva takes on the whole idea of language in relationship to God and concludes not only that God has chosen to use human language to communicate with humans, He has also allowed people to use language to talk to and about Him. Silva provides a health-giving antidote to the unscientific views of Hebrew and Greek which are often presented in studies on the languages of the Old and New Testaments. A must for all serious students of biblical Hebrew and Greek. ... Read more

Product Description
What biological factors make human communication possible? How do we process and understand language? How does brain damage affect these mechanisms, and what can this tell us about how language is organized in the brain? The field of neurolinguistics seeks to answer these questions, which are crucial to linguistics, psychology and speech pathology alike. This textbook introduces the central topics in neurolinguistics: speech recognition, word and sentence structure, meaning, and discourse - in both 'normal' speakers and those with language disorders. It moves on to provide a balanced discussion of key areas of debate such as modularity and the 'language areas' of the brain, 'connectionist' versus 'symbolic' modelling of language processing, and the nature of linguistic and mental representations. Making accessible over half a century of scientific and linguistic research, and containing extensive study questions, it will be welcomed by all those interested in the relationship between language and the brain. ... Read more

Product Description
This translation of the highly regarded second edition of the Lexikon der Sprachwissenschaft by Hadumod Bussmann has been specifically adapted by a team of over thirty specialist linguists to form the most comprehensive and up-to-date work of its kind in the English language.

In over 2,500 A-Z entries, this work provides an exhaustive survey of the key terminology and languages of more than 30 subdisciplines of linguistics. Entries include: applied linguistics, artificial intelligence, basic terminology, computational linguistics, conversational analysis, discourse analysis, graphemics, language change, logics, morphology, neurolinguistics, phonetics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, rhetoric, semantics, semiotics, sociolinguistics, stylistics, syntax, text linguistics, transformational grammar, typology, universals and much more. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Good Book for the Non-Specialist
This book is helpful to the person who is taking a Linguistics Course as part of a core curriculum.The book is fairly easy to comprehend and presents a decent survey of the important issues in Linguistics studies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

not what I expected
This book devotes a chapter each to 7 outstanding public school foreign language programs in the United States.

I purchased this book, hoping to find research evidence in favor of early foreign language experience.(I was arguing with teachers who thought they were wasting time teaching ESL in kindergarten.)

Rather, the bulk of the text is devoted to:
--the history of each program
--a description of the schools in each program
--how the classtime is apportioned in each school
--introduction to the teachers in each program
--how each program is funded
--involvement of the school board, the school adminstrators, and the parents

This information may serve as a guide for a school administrator.
It may also serve as a guide for a person wishing to petition for foreign language instruction in the local school district.
If you fit either category, and you are interested in such information, then go ahead and buy the book.

However, this information is of very little practical use for a foreign language teacher, like myself.

In all fairness, the summary chapter is worth reading.
The summary chapter notes that:
--all of the programs are coordinated with the other academic subjects
--all of the programs take advantage of the latest technology
--all of the programs use songs, manipulative activities, and other fun activities
--none of the programs use foreign language textbooks
--none of the programs involve rote repetition

These observations could well be valuable guidelines for a foreign language teacher. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is about investigating the way people use language in speech and writing. It introduces the corpus-based approach to the study of language, based on analysis of large databases of real language examples and illustrates exciting new findings about language and the different ways that people speak and write. The book is important both for its step-by-step descriptions of research methods and for its findings about grammar and vocabulary, language use, language learning, and differences in language use across texts and user groups. ... Read more

Product Description
New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms brings together various approaches to the contextualized teaching of grammar and communicative skills as integrated components of second language instruction. Its purpose is to show from both theoretical and practical perspectives that grammar teaching can be made productive and useful in ESL and EFL classrooms. In this text:
*First-rate scholars approach the teaching of grammar from multiple complementary perspectives, providing an original, comprehensive treatment of the topic.
*Discourse analysis and research data are used to address such pedagogical areas as grammatical and lexical development in speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
*The communicative perspective on ESL and EFL instruction that is presented provides ways for learners to enhance their production skills, whereas the meaning-based grammar instruction can supplement and strengthen current methodology with a communicative focus.

This volume is intended as a foundational text for second language grammar pedagogy courses at the advanced undergraduate and master's levels.
... Read more

Product Description
This book represents a major statement of the current research being conducted into the learning of second languages from a sociocultural perspective. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An Excellently Edited Collection of Sociocultural Articles for SLA theorists and Pyscholinguists
Lantolf is probably the foremost authority on Sociocultural theory and its Vygotskyan psychological approaches to Second Language Acquistion. I used this volume for a comparison of Chomskyan UG and Vygotskyan Sociocultural theory for a Masters level final essay and received 93% for my efforts, much of the cited material came from this volume. Highly recommended!
Together with Dorothy Robbins' comprehensive review of Vygotsky in "Vygotsky's and A.A. Leontiev's Semiotics and Psycholinguistics : Applications for Education, Second Language Acquisition, and Theories of Language (Contributions in Psychology) (Hardcover)", these two books provide more than sufficient research in this interesting and innovative approach to SLA.

Review of Lantolf
The main force behind Lantolf's book is to broaden the base of theories for second language acquisition (SLA). A major theme running through the text is the inadequacy of popular interactionist theories of SLA for explaining and describing language development, and the need for a research framework that accounts for the role of social context and collaborative dialogue. The text starts with a good overview of sociocultural theory, outlining the major aspects of the theory, including activity theory, inner/private speech and the zone of proximal development. The relevance of these areas are then discussed by a number of SLA theorists/researchers, with the aim of calling for a deeper, contextual and qualitative analysis of language learning interactions/tasks, and asserting the efficacy of sociocultural theory in facilitating and explaining effective language learning. A very readable book. ... Read more

Product Description
What can wordplay--as understood in the broadest sense--teach us about language, its functions, characteristics, structure, and workings? Using Lewis Carroll's Alice as a starting point, Yanguello takes the reader on a vivid and unconventional voyage into the world(s) of language, charting the major themes of linguistics along the way. This is an entertaining and original introduction to the nature of language that will appeal to students and teachers alike. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

contacto desde punta arenas CHILE familia JAGUELLO
HOLA SOMOS FAMILIA JAGUELLO DE PUNTA ARENAS CHILE QUEREMOS SABER TU DESCENDENCIA FAMILIAR CON NUESTRO PADRE Y ABUELO LADISLAO JAGUELLO VON PETRA FAVOR RESPONDER MUCHAS GRACIAS ... Read more

Product Description
This best-selling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Assuming no prior knowledge in the subject, Yule presents information in short, bite-sized sections, introducing the major concepts in language study - from how children learn language to why men and women speak differently, through all the key elements of language. This fourth edition has been revised and updated with twenty new sections, covering new accounts of language origins, the key properties of language, text messaging, kinship terms and more than twenty new word etymologies. To increase student engagement with the text, Yule has also included more than fifty new tasks, including thirty involving data analysis, enabling students to apply what they have learned. The online study guide offers students further resources when working on the tasks, while encouraging lively and proactive learning. This is the most fundamental and easy-to-use introduction to the study of language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (19)

Fun, enticing reading
I very much enjoyed this book, as introductory material for language training.
I definitely see it being used in classrooms, as it brings many exercises and topics for discussion.

Good
Book came with the first chapter highlighted but other than that was in perfect condition.

I wouldn't know because I never received it
I only gave this 2 stars because I never received it. I complained to the buyer, AllNewBooks, that my shipment was greatly delayed and that I was disappointed. In response, they refunded the money I paid WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, and requested the book back once I received it. AllNewBooks sent the book from New Jersey and I'm in Virginia (a couple of states south of NJ) and the book is still not here...today is June 12 and I ordered the book on May 10. Over 1 month and still not here.

Regardless, I never got to enjoy the book and I'm barely passing my college course without the book. The semester is almost over so I suppose I'll continue on without it.

Very disappointed with the seller and with 84% positive feedback...that's still a 16% NEGATIVE feedback rating that Amazon should consider. The seller might need to be removed from Amazon and unable to sell under their current name, address, phone number, etc.

Great Book. Fast Shipping
This book is great. Very informative and helpful. Very good quality when shipped. Shipping was fast. Great overall.

Great book
I feel that this a great book. One thing thats great is that the chapters are short enough to get through, especially for those that use the book for college. ... Read more

Product Description

What makes human language unique?
Do women speak differently from men?
Just what is the meaning of "meaning"?

Language: The Basics provides a concise introduction to the study of language. Written in an engaging and entertaining style, it encourages the reader to think about the way language works.

It features:

* chapters on 'Language in Use', 'Attitudes to Language', 'Children and Language' and 'Language, Mind and Brain'
* a section on sign language
* a glossary of key terms
* handy annotated guides to further reading.

Providing an accessible overview of a fascinating subject, this is an essential book for all students and anyone who's ever been accused of splitting an infinitive.

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Introduction to Language
This is an introduction to language: what it is, how we learn it, how we use it, how it changes and our attitudes towards it.I found that only humans can speak about things that are not here and now, signing is a language that happens to use gestures instead of speech, some questions can't be asked because they are grammatically impossible to construct, children can create a language that their parents can't understand, how one can lose the ability to speak but still understand language and how language can so strongly define identify that it led to the "War of the Aitches".On the lighter side, I learnt not to worry about splitting infinitives and that it is OK to say, "It's me," instead of "It's I!"

Unfortunately, I didn't find out why English is English other than the fact that it was and is spoken in England.There is also an occasional over-long list of words (linguists do love words) to prove a point.

Trask writes enthusiastically and lightly about language; he means to educate people about the subject and he uses technical jargon sparingly and presents different viewpoints where necessary.Each chapter describes a topic in sufficient detail to intrigue but not bore the reader, and there are numerous references at the end of each chapter for an enthusiast to explore.

Kam-Hung Soh, 1 November 2005.

Excellent introduction to linguistics
This book is ideal for the layman coming to the study of language for the first time. I sympathize with another reviewer who protested that he wanted something a little less basic, but I was delighted to see that Trask foresaw this and offers a list of recommended reading at the end of each chapter, and then a short list of more in-depth books on the subject at the end of the book.

I must admit, I had a few chuckles as I read this book, though linguistics may not at first glance appear to be a likely subject for humour. I laughed more than once because language, perhaps like no other phenomenon, is so widely misunderstood, and discussed and dissected by ignoramuses in a way that defies all common sense (see Harry Blamires' "Guide to Common Errors in English" for a case in point). Trask has a hard time concealing his derision for the self-appointed gatekeepers of the English language (who wouldn't get the time of day from anyone who knew the first thing about linguistics), but does so humorously.

Trask has an accessible and pacey style that made reading the entire book in just two or three sittings seem effortless. One really gets a sense for the miracle of human language and its vast complexity. This simple introduction left me wanting more, and I was grateful that Trask pointed me to the right resources for satiating this desire. Yes, it is basic, but it is exactly what is called for for the first-time reader.

It really is the basics
This is a survey of modern linguistics aimed at the general reader.It does not assume any familiarity with the subject.It covers its subject nicely, albeit necessarily superficially.I gave it four rather than five stars because, as someone with an amateur interest in linguistics, I found it *too* basic.I really wanted a book taken up about two notches.Is this a fair objection?Absolutely not:it is purely visceral.For someone approaching modern linguistics for the first time this book is ideal.

What makes human language unique.
This was a pretty good survey of several aspects of human language from language development physiology and history to phychology of language.

The author attempts to talk about language in general and thefirst half of the book does avery good job of not focusing onIndo-european langues.The examples from Basque, Native American lanuages,Pacific Island languages, and Native Austrailian are very interesting andinsightful.But eventually and unfortunately the author (especially in thelast half of the book) does revert to talking specifically about English.specifically. ... Read more

Product Description
The Intertext series has been specifically designed to meet the needs of contemporary English Language Studies.Working with Texts: A core introduction to language analysis (second edition, 2001) is the foundation text, which is complemented by a range of 'satellite' titles.These provide students with hands-on practical experience of textual analysis through special topics and can be used individually or in conjunction with Working with Texts. The Language of Children: *introduces the key theories of language acquisition and provides a historical overview of the subject *looks at all the ways children learn to communicate, from writing and talking to playing and using computers *includes a wide variety of real texts and data, from children's hand-written stories to emails and records of babies' first words *explores the language of children from a range of backgrounds and abilities, including deaf and bilingual children *is user-friendly and accessible, and provides a full glossary. ... Read more