kognosko
Price: £29.97
In stock
10 used & new from £5.00
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Introducing Linguistics (Introducing...)
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Introducing Linguistics (Introducing...) [Illustrated] (Paperback)

by Larry Trask (Author), Bill Mayblin (Illustrator) "Human beings have probably been speaking for as long as we have existed, but it was only around 3,000 years ago that anybody began to..." (more)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Available from these sellers.


3 new from £14.95 7 used from £5.00
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Paperback (New edition) 33 used & new from £1.21

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Language: The Basics (Basics (Routledge Paperback))

Language: The Basics (Basics (Routledge Paperback))

by R. L. Trask
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £11.99
Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

by P. H. Matthews
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  £4.78
The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left

The Fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left

by David Crystal
4.2 out of 5 stars (6)  £4.39
Introducing Chomsky (Introducing...)

Introducing Chomsky (Introducing...)

by John Maher
Introducing Semiotics

Introducing Semiotics

by Paul Cobley
4.0 out of 5 stars (4) 
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Icon Books Ltd; illustrated edition edition (1 Oct 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1840461691
  • ISBN-13: 978-1840461695
  • Product Dimensions: 21 x 14.1 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 531,494 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

More than anything else, language is what makes us human. Linguistics, the discipline which studies the structure, function and phenomena of language, has uncovered many surprising and fascinating things about the nature of our human language faculty. But these findings are often presented in opaque technical terminology which hides their simplicity and beauty. "Intoducing Linguistics" demystifies the subject, presenting a clear account of what linguists do, how they go about it, and what they have achieved so far. A summary of the history of linguistics, from Aristotle to Chomsky, includes the chief contributions of its leading figures - Saussure, the Prague Circle, the American structuralists, Sapir, Bloomfield and others. Illustrated by Bill Mayblin, this book provides a review of the most recent and dramatic advances in the field, such as first-language acquisition by children, language in the brain, sign languages, language change and linguistic prehistory, men's and women's language, language engineering and the universal properties of languages. Here is the ideal companion to related titles in this series on Chomsky, semiotics, mind and brain and consciousness.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Human beings have probably been speaking for as long as we have existed, but it was only around 3,000 years ago that anybody began to be curious about language and to start examining it. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Introducing Linguistics (Introducing...)
66% buy the item featured on this page:
Introducing Linguistics (Introducing...) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1)
Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
14% buy
Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
£4.78
Language: The Basics (Basics (Routledge Paperback))
11% buy
Language: The Basics (Basics (Routledge Paperback)) 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£11.99
The Study of Language
6% buy
The Study of Language 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£14.25
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

1 Review
5 star:
 (1)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a perfect story-like introduction/ summary of linguistics, 22 Dec 2001
By A Customer
Like the rest of this series (and in fact a whole sub-genre of books), what first impacts about this book is the use of pictures. And fine pictures they are, aiming more for a photographic than a cartoony effect and all the better for it. Generally, though, they more break up and enliven than illustrate the text, with the 'faces of linguistics' with speech bubbles being used more than graphs/ charts/ maps etc. It is in fact the text that sets this book apart. It freely wheels through the history of linguistics before splitting off into the definition and origins of language, variation and sociolinguistics, semantics and pragmatics, language planning, speech disorders and neurolinguistics, and the purposes of language. When I say it wheels freely, I mean somehow it manages to fuse these into a single narrative that it is quite possible (and maybe preferable) to read through in one or two sittings. The amount of text and the simple style certainly make this possible.

Obviously in such a short book they can't cover everything equally, and if you are familiar with the 'Introducing......' range of books you will be unsurprised that they give the most coverage to the people and ideas that have the most relevance to philosophy. In fact the two figures who are given most prominence, Saussure and Chomsky, have books in the series dedicated to them. Generally, though, they deal with every figure/ school of thought in a balanced way.

The book doesn't contain a contents page or glossary, but it doesn't really need these due to the way it's written. What it does have is a very useful 'suggested reading' list, which actually tells you something about the books rather than just listing them.

I'd recommend this book to anyone with an interest in this subject. I have professional reasons for reading more, but I'm fairly sure I would have followed up their reading suggestions anyway. When I've done so, I very much intend to read this book again to provide a neat little summary of whatever I've read.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject













i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.