Language: Its Structure and Use [Paperback]

Edward Finegan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0838407943 | ISBN-13: 978-0838407943 | Edition: 4

Finegan's best selling text, LANGUAGE: ITS STRUCTURE AND USE, Fourth Edition maintains its relevance with new emphasis on the political and social aspects of language including "Applications to the Professions."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Clarity, thoroughness of coverage, comprehensibility, excellent examples, logical order of presentation--all are excellent. Finegan understands the level of knowledge and sophistication of his/our audience of students and is therefore able to communicate effectively throughout the text."

"One of the most striking things about Finegan's writing is that it is very reader friendly. He attempts to reach the students rather than show his own erudition through the use of jargon. This is one of the main strengths throughout the book."

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 4 edition (October 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0838407943
• ISBN-13: 978-0838407943
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introductory Text, June 26, 2007

By 

M.L. Steltson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Language: Its Structure and Use (Paperback)

This is a very accessible text. Many students find linguistics an intimidating subject to tackle, but this book makes it manageable. At the same time, Finegan does not just give students the "right" answers when discussing issues in linguistics--he presents those issues, then expects students to think for themselves, and draw their own conclusions. He is definitely not unbiased, but he also doesn't claim to have all the answers. Finegan presents students with a number of opportunities to connect what they are learning in this book to their own experiences and knowledge. It fulfills the purpose it was meant to serve as a textbook.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An effective text for a difficult topic, May 9, 2005

By 

Lisa K. Miller "Information Goddess" (Arizona) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Language: Its Structure and Use (Paperback)

I recently completed an Introduction to Linguistics course; this book was the text. I found it not only extremely readable but up to date, informative, and scholarly. It made more clear what was for most of us an inaccessible topic. The examples were real world and timely. Small units on Computers and Linguistics at the end of each chapter explained how these two fields intersect. The study questions and examples provided pertinent review of what the chapters covered.

BTW, I found the tone of the last review "pompous and patronizing", to use his own words. Why are there so many intellectual snobs among linguists?

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Language: Its Structure and Use, February 13, 2009

By 

Logan "LR" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Language: Its Structure and Use (Paperback)

It is a good entry book for linguistics. The text is easily to follow. Provides a fair number of exercises. However, I would recommend choosing a different textbook for students in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), as the book lacks sufficient information in SLA.