Customer Reviews

Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Contemporary Linguistics" (CL) is a wonderfully clear and accessible introduction to the field of linguistics. The authors begin by introducing the methodological assumptions that underlie present day Chomskyan linguistics and then reserve a chapter each for almost all major research directions within linguistics.

One thing in particular that I liked about the format of CL was the treatment of more advanced material (marked "Advanced") in each chapter. The "Advanced" sections augment the material in the rest of the chapter and are placed in logical sequence with the rest of the material instead of appearing in an appendix at the end of the chapter. For example, a section marked "advanced" on X' (read X-bar) Theory appears fairly early in the syntax chapter. Having some knowledge of X' Theory allows the reader to proceed to examine the rest of the material with the knowledge that there exists an intermediate level of structure between lexical categories (N, V, ...) and phrasal categories (NP, VP, ...).

Most chapters in CL are pretty well written and technical tools to treat linguistic phenomena are almost always introduced at the correct juncture. However, CL does not treat Innateness properly (why Innateness and arguments for and against Innateness), and has a weak chapter on semantics. The reader would do well to augment the material in CL by reading Pinker's "The Language Instinct" or Jackendoff's "Patterns in the Mind" for a non-technical introduction to some ideas in linguistics, as well as sections of De Swart's "Intro to Natural Language Semantics" to get an idea of how semantics is done. If the reader is interested in looking at language from a cognitive science perspective, she would also do well to read most of Gleitman et al's "An Invitation to Cognitive Science: Language".

All in all, CL provides a relatively painless initiation into linguistics and I highly recommend it.

I am not a Linguist, but this book helped me to appreciate all of the differing theories and various fields within what is known as linguistics. If you are seeking a book that is simple to read, yet very comprehensive, I recommend this volume. If you enjoy languages, speech development, regional dialects, language acquisition, theory of language, language trends, and more - this book is for you.

Major disciplines coverd include: phonetics, morphology, syntax, and semantics. Also included in this new addition are new chapters on second language acquisition and psycholinguistics.

One of the best features of this text is how well it is laid out. It is a pleasure to peruse and even study because of it's logical and user friendly format.

If you love anything about language- whether knowing it's origins, or what part of the mouth is used to create certain sounds, or how language changes over time and for what reasons, or a host of other curiosities, you will certainly enjoy the wealth of information within Contemporary Linguistics!

I have an earlier edition of this text that I used in a linguistics course several years ago, and I understand that the 5th edition is very similar.

This book is clearly, simply written, making some very complex and abstract concepts clear and understandable. I'm currently working on my Masters in Linguistics, and I regularly refer back to this text in my higher-level classes for clarification of things like Theta roles and x-bar theory (syntax), morphology, phonology, etc.

The text is fairly comprehensive, covering all the major sub-categories of linguistics. It doesn't pretend to cover any of the subjects in depth, but it does provide an excellent foundation for anyone who wants to understand the basics.

I was required to buy this book for a college linguistics class, and all I can say is that the authors are fortunate that they're being "subsidized" by universities. It's not that the information is bad. You can certainly learn from the book, but only if you're willing to read every section two or three times.

The authors introduce new terminology constantly (often poorly defining the terms) and then move on as though the reader has instantly assimilated the information.

This book is a nice option if you're looking to test yourself on how well you can assimilate information even when poorly presented. And it works if you've also got a decent professor walking you through the information in a classroom environment. It is not, however, the book to buy if you're interested in learning on your own.

I am a Linguistics PhD student, and when I was taking Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics, this was the suggested textbook. The writing is clear and concise, with great explanations and examples. In my upper level classes I find myself returning to this book frequently to clarify concepts. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone studying linguistics at any level. My only qualm is that the book relies heavily on examples from the American English language. I suppose that is fine for beginners, but it is definitely important to have examples from other languages as well. :)

The book came in time for my class and was exactly what I needed. It was exactly as described and the condition was as I expected as well. Thank you!

Although used and a paperback edition, this textbook came in excellent condition. The charts and diagrams are very useful to organize and understand information, and it does a good job of trying to teach concepts as well as definitions. My one gripe is that the beginning rushes the content just a little quickly, but with a good teacher (or other resources if you're learning on your own) that shouldn't be an issue. The book does seem to assume that you have some prior knowledge of linguistics.

As for the body of the book, it is rather serious at times but balances that out with lighthearted, corny moments. There are also asides into topics such as geography and anatomy wherever such understanding helps the reader out--if you enjoy that sort of thing (and linguistics), the book will be very engaging. Otherwise, it may be rather trite.

This was very fast, very good ( new book, but it said good condition because it wasn't wrapped or something)
Got me out of a tight situation at the beginning of a semester.

I purchased several linguistics books to study for the CSET Spanish test in California to become a Spanish teacher. This one was well-written, clear, and understandable. Take notes and then study your notes for your test. This is really a great book on the subject of linguistics, I think. Anyway, this is the linguistics book (out of several that I purchased to study) that was most helpful to me -- and the price was amazingly cheap.

O'grady et al. do a marvelous job of introducing a newcomer to ALL the major subfields of linguistics -- phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, historical & comparative linguistics & language universals, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics, language acquisition & development, sociolinguistics, animal communication, writing versus speech, & computational linguistics. These are covered very clearly and in surprising detail for an overview textbook; each chapter grounds the reader in enough of the basic terminology and concepts to read further on topics that interest them. A great way to bootstrap yourself into the field.

Only two subfields get rather short shrift in this book: (1) discourse analysis/conversation analysis are not covered well, although they at least get some mention under "sociolinguistics"; and (2) and the role of gesture in discourse gets passing reference in the "nonverbal communication" section of "animal communication." A chapter on discourse pragmatics, with a solid description of conversational analysis & a short section on gesture, would be a worthwhile addition I think.

Overall, though, the best introductory textbook out there.