An Introduction to Language [Paperback]

Victoria Fromkin (Author), Robert Rodman (Author), Nina Hyams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 015508481X | ISBN-13: 978-0155084810 | Publication Date: August 2, 2002 | Edition: 7th

AN INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE is ideal for use at all levels and in many different areas of instruction including education, languages, psychology, anthropology, teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), and linguistics. All chapters in this best-seller have been substantially revised to reflect recent discoveries and new understanding of linguistics and languages.

Product Details

• Paperback: 620 pages
• Publisher: Thomson/Heinle; 7th edition (August 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 015508481X
• ISBN-13: 978-0155084810
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun is the theme, February 8, 2006

By 

H. Dong (DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Language (Paperback)

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Moreover since this book was first written in the 70's, there are still many outdated data in the seventh edition, although it has been updated.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.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, Sweet linguisitcs, July 8, 2005

By 

Joseph K. Dittmer (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Language (Paperback)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty solid, December 23, 2005

By 

R. Becker (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: An Introduction to Language (Paperback)

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.