Contemporary Linguistics [Paperback]

William O'Grady (Author), Michael Dobrovolsky (Author), Francis Katamba (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0582246911 | ISBN-13: 978-0582246911 | Publication Date: April 12, 2001 | Edition: 1

This book is a comprehensive, fully up-to-date introduction to linguistics. All the core topics of linguistics are covered, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, the genetic and typological classification of the languages of the world, and historical linguistics. Interdisciplinary areas discussed include language and the brain, psycholinguistics - the study of language processing, first and second language acquisition, language in social contexts and computational linguistics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The material is set out in a highly structured, modular, form so is easy to use as a student's reference book as well as an introduction to linguistics, ranging from simple definitions to advanced conceptualisations."

Language Today  

From the Back Cover

Contemporary Linguistics : an introduction is a comprehensive, fully up-to-date introduction to linguistics. The book covers not only how language is structured, but also how it functions both socially and culturally, and how it is acquired and processed by speakers. It will prepare students to go on to more advanced work and, at the same time, will serve as a basic reference that students can continue to consult throughout their studies.

The text explores all the core areas of linguistics as well as numerous interdisciplinary and related areas.

• Core topics covered include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, the genetic and typological classification of the languages of the world, and historical linguistics.
  
• Interdisciplinary areas discussed include language and the brain, psycholinguistics - the study of language processing, first and second language acquistion, language in social contexts and the fast-growing area of computational linguistics.
  
• Related areas explored include writing systems and animal communication.

 A modular arrangement of the material facilitates the use of the book in courses at varying levels, and with differing emphasis. Each chapter contains basic information - so prior knowledge of the subject is not a prerequisite. However, many chapters include additional material which is flagged as 'advanced', to provide scope and challenge for those readers who wish to take the study further. Each chapter also contains clearly defined headings, a summary and an up-to-date bibliography. Hints which provide a valuable aid for solving analytical problems are included in the appendices, together with end-of-chapter exercises which allow the reader to learn by actually 'doing linguistics'. A detailed glossary of terms enables readers to check definitions and a language index (as well as a standard subject index) are provided at the back of the book.

Originally co-edited by William O'Grady and Michael Dobrovolsky, with contributions from other leading scholars, and published in Canada, this major textbook has beenfully adapted and updated by Francis Katamba for use in Britain and the rest of the world outside North America.

Contemporary Linguistics can be used from first year through to final year as a main text for students taking degree courses in linguistics, English language and cognitive science and by MA students on TEFL courses. It is also highly suitable for students taking language options in media and cultural studies modern language, psychology and philosophy, as well as for speech therapy courses.

William O' Grady is Professor of Linguistics and Graduate Chair in the Department of Linguisitics at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Michael Dobrovolsky is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Calgary. Francis Katamba is a Reader in Linguistics in the Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language at Lancaster University. His other publications include An Introduction to Phonology in the Learning about Language series, and New Frontiers in Phonology co-edited with Professor Jacques Durand, both published by Longman.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 776 pages
• Publisher: Pearson ESL; 1 edition (April 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0582246911
• ISBN-13: 978-0582246911
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,225,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to linguistics, July 11, 2000

By 

whywong - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction (Paperback)

"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.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introduction, November 24, 2001

By 

A. Savona "digitalstone" (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction (Paperback)

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!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Well-Written, Easy-to-understand Intro, February 16, 2007

By 

K. Flegal (Herndon, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction (Paperback)

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.