An Introduction to Language

The book was in horrible condition when I received it. Pages were folded, crinkled and the back cover is being held on by 2 small sloppy pieces of decorative tape. This book needs to be taken out of circulation.

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Moreover since this book was first written in the 70's, there are still many outdated data in the seventh edition, although it has been updated.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

I did not receive the book on the date indicated. i received it three days late and it was on "prime" shipping. The description said it was like new, but the pages are about to fall apart because the book bound is torn. because of its tardiness i could not turn in the first assignment for my class. I did however e-mailed services and they refunded me my [...] dollars.

Loved this book in my first year at university. You get a clear understanding of the field of linguistics. And I was totally ignorant at that age/time. Lent it to someone and it was never returned. Now I'm going to get it back even if I have to buy it used.

This is a really good intro to linguistics. It has all the key terms you need to know and is well written. However, the highlight for me are the comics that they received permission to use. They really lighten up the otherwise heavy reading and in some instances explain the linguistic concepts in even better terms.

As an introduction book this book is perfect; it's written in short chapters(will not make you feel bored) and it has exercises(helps you with understanding) in it. To those who are interested in Linguistics and do not have any prior knowledge this book is The One.

It's excellent, definitive, engaging, and all that -- but, speaking as a professor who needs to assign a textbook for a 10 week course in linguistics, how can I justify this kind of expense for my students? A paperback - over $100?? Come on people, get reasonable, and it will help this great book truly compete with lesser, more affordable titles!

I ordered this book for a linguistics class, and the information in the book is fine, easy to read, etc. But the chapters are out of order! There are several other people in my class who are having this problem. The first chapter should be The Nature of Language, but in my book it is Brain and Language. It caused me to be very confused in class, and also to do the wrong exercises at the end of the chapter. I now know I'm supposed to read chapter 6 instead of chapter one, but this is really screwy and frustrating. I just wanted to inform and warn anyone who is also confused.