An Introduction to Language (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author), Nina Hyams (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It’s the most comprehensive introduction to linguistics ever, and it never strays far from my elbow."

"I am pleased with the text’s wide selection of topics—I feel like the students are getting more for their money. I encourage interested students to read further in the text—even after the course ends. I think many keep it as a reference for future work."

". . . I appreciate the expertise this text represents. This is a solid scholarly study of linguistics."

"I have used this book for 29 years already and am still very happy with it. So far, new editions have come closer and closer to my ideal textbook. Even now, it’s the only textbook for any of my courses that does just what I want it to do in terms of topics covered and level of difficulty. Just as important, the students find it clear and straightforward, yet fun and intriguing as well. . . ."

"An Introduction to Language is comprehensive and inclusive. It gives students an excellent introduction to language study and outlines the concepts in general linguistics as well as sociolinguistics and recent work in language processing. There seems to be something for everyone." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

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.

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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: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #291,554 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read, especially for any professional communicator., January 10, 2000

By	"artym" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Introduction To Language, 6e (Paperback)

20 years ago, I was toying with the idea of taking the linguistics option as part of my English degree at Oxford University. My course tutor recommended I read Fromkin & Rodman to "see if the subject suited me". F & R hooked me completely: All the major areas are covered, simply presented and introduced by a cleverly chosen cartoon which helps to breaks the ice.

I must have recommended the book to more than 100 people since then and am ordering another copy now because a [former!] friend lost my (heavily thumbed and annotated) original. I now lecture on communications-related subjects and still find myself referring regularly to this seminal work. A must for any serious student of communications science; it draws you gently into a complicated subject and makes the process highly enjoyable.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	H. Dong "David Cornell" (NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the BEST INTRODUCTOR Book of Linguistics., March 11, 1998

By	C. Wang (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: An Introduction to Language (Paperback)

This book uses lots of funny cartoons and its use of words is quite easy and udnerstandable. So it's good for non-English speakers as well as native speakers. This book gave me all the basic concepts of linguisitcs, and no matter you have lingusitics background or not, you will get much through careful reading.