Customer Reviews

Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a awesome book to get a grasp of understanding languages and to start you off on a good foot if you are learning, or want to learn to be a linguist or teach english as a second laguage. If you are just wanting to see what languages and linguistics is all about, get this book. It goes over phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and other areas of language.I recommend this book if this field of learning interests you.

This is an excellent book for anyone studying linguistics. It is detailed and easy to read. I have bought a couple of previous editions and the changes are always up to date in the field. I would highly recommend.

Linguistics is not easy, but this book is an easy read. It is nice to have all of the tables and charts in the back. A useful tool that I will continue to reference even after the class is over.

This book offers a unique and broad perspective of human language.
Each topic is covered in depth, with detailed "files" containing
important information, questions, ideas for activities, and
practical hints and suggestions. Some chapter topics such as syntax
and semantics are normally reserved for college-level courses in
linguistics, while others are appropriate for the general reader
interested in speech and language development, speech disorders,
language acquisition or just how different languages came about.
I found the chapter on animal communication refreshingly informative.
A great book that does its job in covering a broad, complex topic!

This is a book I have to read for a course I am taking in linguistics. I find it somewhat dry and hard to read at times. Still, it is required reading and with patience and persistence on my part, it gets the point across. I would not recommend it for personal interest reading.

Having used all the major textbooks on linguistics published in English, I can say that "Language Files" is just ok. Some chapters have nothing but the authors blabbering for ever, most chapters are really boring. I like some of the exercises, though. Overall, I would NOT recommend this textbook. There are better alternatives, e.g. have a look at O'Grady's Contemporary Linguistics or Fromkin et al. An Introduction to Language.

Was delivered right on time and the condition was what I expected. The cover is a little worn, but it's like the description told me and will be fine for my purpose.

I was pleased when this book arrived because I needed it for the semester. I bought it for a much cheaper price compared to buying it from the bookstore. It's easy to read, and very helpful.

This book is a wonderful resource for ESL teachers and Bilingual teachers. I was very surprised to learn all about how phonetics is so different but also similar among the different languages. It has helped me tremendously in my classroom. I recommend this book to anyone that just want to know how different languages are. Great book!!

Got this for my Linguistics course as my needed reading materials. It arrived on time and i tried to read some before classes began- I didn't get very far however, I fell asleep around the 2nd chapter and didn't feel compelled to pick up the book again. I will say it did clear up some things about linguistics for me though!