Linguistics is a fresh and contemporary introductory textbook for all students of linguistics and language studies. Firmly based around taught courses and catering directly to student needs, it addresses all of the topics that a student will need in their initial and subsequent study of language.

With key terms, further reading, questions at the end of each chapter, exercises and key paragraphs in stand-out boxes, this is a firmly pedagogic text that takes difficult concepts and explains them in an easily understandable way, with examples taken from a range of languages across the world. Global in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage, this is the textbook of choice for linguistics students.

Are you looking for a well-balanced and informative introductory text? The book will make it clear to students what it means to say that linguistics is thee science of language.
M.A.K. Halliday

The text does a good job of explaining and demystifying difficult terms and concepts, and contains exercises designed to sharpen exam technique. It also has a very good supporting companion website with videos, questions, diagrams and other extra material.

Imprint: Continuum
Pub. date: 15 Jan 2009
ISBN: 9781847063670
408 Pages, paperback
£21.99

Linguistics: An Introduction
William McGregor

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Synopsis

A fresh and contemporary introductory textbook for all students of linguistics and language studies.

Description

Linguistics is a fresh and contemporary introductory textbook for all students of linguistics and language studies. Firmly based around taught courses and catering to student needs: it addresses all the topics that a student will need in their initial and subsequent study of language. With key terms, further reading, questions at the end of each chapter, exercises and key paragraphs in stand-out boxes, this is a firmly pedagogic text that takes difficult concepts and explain them in an easy to understand way, with examples taken from a range of languages across the world. Global in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage, this is the textbook of choice for linguistics students.

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Table Of Contents

1. Introduction
I. Language: System and Structure
2. Sounds of Language: Phonetics and Phonology
3. Structures of Words: Morphology
4. Lexicon
5. Structure of Sentences: Syntax
6. Meaning: Semantics and Pragmatics
II. Language: A Human Phenomenon
7. Sociolinguistics: Language in its Social Context
8. Psycholinguistics: Language, the Mind, and the Brain
9. Language Acquisition
10. Language in its Biological Context
III. Language: Uniformity and Diversity
11. Unity and Diversity in Language Structure
12. Language Change
13. Languages of the World
Glossary
References/Bibliography
Language Index
Name Index
Subject Index

About the author

Professor William McGregor is at the University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Reviews

“At last – an introduction to the study of language that is neither theory-neutral nor generative, but one that is cognitivist and functional. It highlights the links of linguistics with psychology, neuroscience and biological evolutionary theory. In addition it is engaging, pedagogically well thought through, lucidly written and nicely presented. The perfect book for beginners!”

Dr Eva Eppler, Senior Lecturer in English Language & Linguistics, Roehampton University, UK

‘’William McGregor’s new textbook is an excellent introduction to linguistics. It is clear, precise and readable, comprehensible and comprehensive, and it is eminently usable as both a core course text as well as a reference work. It also does not neglect the extensions and applications of linguistics in the real world. This book is likely to become the benchmark for linguistics texts in the next few years.’’

Peter Stockwell, Professor of Literary Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK.

“In this introductory text McGregor offers a clear and well-constructed account of core concepts, leading students to explore linguistic diversity with an impressive range of languages and examples, particularly in the later chapters of the book. A reflective student or independent reader with a fascination for the subject will find a wealth of material relevant to basic puzzles about language and more than ample guidance for further study.”

Dr Michael Lumsden, Department of Modern Languages, The University of Hull

“William McGregor has produced a textbook which unfolds the study of language in a refreshing and lively way, positions the subject in relation to adjacent disciplines, and gives the beginning student a general view of the complexity and diversity of the world’s languages.”

Dr David Cram, University of Oxford, UK.

“This book is a superb introduction to linguistics, and cannot fail to entice students to read it. It covers not only the traditional core areas in linguistics of phonetics, phonology, morphology, the lexicon, syntax and semantics, but also highly topical and contemporary areas such as the evolution of language in its biological context, language change, the language and society interface, and how language is acquired, not to be overlooked in any solid modern textbook.

Each chapter is very clearly set out, providing its structure and the objectives to be met at the very start while a concise summary of all the essential facts covered is given at the end, combined with a set of challenging questions and ideas for further reading. An extremely useful glossary of linguistic terms is also to be found at the end of the book. In fact, it is much more astutely organised than other comparable introductory textbooks on the market.

Linguistics: an introduction presents a refreshing new approach to explaining the basic facts about human languages and will undoubtedly prove to be indispensable at university level. Another bonus is that it is completely technically up-to-date with its inclusion of website information and further sets of questions and thus can felicitously cater for today’s enterprising student-internaut.

In short, the book is a gem written by a consummate master of the art and discipline of linguistics, a scholar who has already notched up several decades of experience in empirical research in the field as well as in teaching at university level.”

Hilary M. Chappell, Chair Professor in Linguistic Typology of East Asia, Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l’AsieOrientale, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, France

Linguistics: An Introduction
William McGregor
Publication Date: 15th Jan, 2009

ISBN: 1847063675
ISBN13: 9781847063670

A Critical Introduction to Phonetics
by Ken Lodge

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Synopsis

A new stance on the presentation of basic phonetic skills for students of linguistics, using examples drawn from a wide-range of languages.

Description

Critical Introductions to Linguistics present core areas of the subject from refreshing new perspectives. This book takes a new stance on the presentation of basic phonetic skills for students of linguistics. Using examples drawn from a wide-range of languages Ken Lodge introduces the key aspects of phonetics, examining the difference between speech and writing, the physiology of speech production, basic and detailed articulation, and acoustic phonetics.

This book contains a practical guide to transcriptions from sound recordings, as well as a section on applications of phonetics to fields of study such as language variation and accent. A Critical Introduction to Phonetics provides comprehensive coverage of all the key areas of the field, and contains chapter summaries to help the reader navigate the text. Critical thinking is prompted throughout, and this text should therefore be essential reading for students on introductory phonetics courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

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Table Of Contents

Preface

1. Why phonetics?
2. Articulation
3. The articulators in combination
4. Transcription
5. Segmentation
6. Prosodic features
7. Continuous speech
8. Varieties of English
9. Acoustic phonetics
Glossary
References
Index

About the author

Ken Lodge is Reader in Linguistics and Phonetics at the University of East Anglia.

Reviews

“Lodge uses his practical classroom experience to provide safe guidance, and his theoretical perspective to provide a phonetically more accurate non-segmental foundation to phonetics. I particularly like the extensive introductions to continuous speech, prosody, resonance and segmentation, which will be of interest to phonologists and more advanced students of phonetics as well as beginners” – Professor Jim Scobbie, Speech Science Research Centre, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK.

A Critical Introduction to Phonetics by Ken Lodge
Publication Date: 10th Jan, 2009

ISBN: 0826488749
ISBN13: 9780826488749

Linguistics: An Introduction by Prof William B. McGregor

Publication Date: 15th January, 2009.

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Reviews

“At last – an introduction to the study of language that is neither theory-neutral nor generative, but one that is cognitivist and functional. It highlights the links of linguistics with psychology, neuroscience and biological evolutionary theory. In addition it is engaging, pedagogically well thought through, lucidly written and nicely presented. The perfect book for beginners!” – Dr Eva Eppler, Senior Lecturer in English Language & Linguistics, Roehampton University, UK

‘’William McGregor’s new textbook is an excellent introduction to linguistics. It is clear, precise and readable, comprehensible and comprehensive, and it is eminently usable as both a core course text as well as a reference work. It also does not neglect the extensions and applications of linguistics in the real world. This book is likely to become the benchmark for linguistics texts in the next few years.’’ Peter Stockwell, Professor of Literary Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK

“In this introductory text McGregor offers a clear and well-constructed account of core concepts, leading students to explore linguistic diversity with an impressive range of languages and examples, particularly in the later chapters of the book. A reflective student or independent reader with a fascination for the subject will find a wealth of material relevant to basic puzzles about language and more than ample guidance for further study.” – Dr Michael Lumsden, Department of Modern Languages, The University of Hull

“William McGregor has produced a textbook which unfolds the study of language in a refreshing and lively way, positions the subject in relation to adjacent disciplines, and gives the beginning student a general view of the complexity and diversity of the world’s languages.” Dr David Cram, University of Oxford, UK

About the Author

William McGregor has produced a fresh and contemporary introductory textbook for all students of linguistics and language studies.

‘’William McGregor’s new textbook is an excellent introduction to linguistics. It is clear, precise and readable, comprehensible and comprehensive, and it is eminently usable as both a core course text as well as a reference work. It also does not neglect the extensions and applications of linguistics in the real world. This book is likely to become the benchmark for linguistics texts in the next few years.’’
Peter Stockwell, Professor of Literary Linguistics,University of Nottingham, UK

“At last – an introduction to the study of language that is neither theory-neutral nor generative, but one that is cognitivist and functional. It highlights the links of linguistics with psychology, neuroscience and biological evolutionary theory. In addition it is engaging, pedagogically well thought through, lucidly written and nicely presented. The perfect book for beginners!” –
Dr Eva Eppler, Senior Lecturer in English Language & Linguistics, Roehampton University, UK

Content Review

This textbook has been designed for and is based around taught courses. It is integrally pedagogic. It features Summary Boxes, Full Chapter Summaries, Key Terms, Issues for Further Thought, Study Questions and Further Reading.

It includes examples from languages other than English, including those from the Scandinavian and Australasian regions. It has been extensively student tested and is supported by a Companion Website that features multiple choice questions, sound clips and multimedia.

Description
Linguistics is a fresh and contemporary introductory textbook for all students of linguistics and language studies. It is firmly based around taught courses and caters to student needs: it addresses all the topics that a student will need in their initial and subsequent study of language.

With key terms, further reading, questions at the end of each chapter, exercises and key paragraphs in stand-out boxes, this is a firmly pedagogic text that takes difficult concepts and explains them in an easy to understand way. Examples are taken from a range of languages across the world. Global in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage, this is the textbook of choice for linguistics students.

Contents

1. Introduction
I. Language: System and Structure
2. Sounds of Language: Phonetics and Phonology
3. Structures of Words: Morphology
4. Lexicon
5. Structure of Sentences: Syntax
6. Meaning: Semantics and Pragmatics
II. Language: A Human Phenomenon
7. Sociolinguistics: Language in its Social Context
8. Psycholinguistics: Language, the Mind, and the Brain
9. Language Acquisition
10. Language in its Biological Context
III. Language: Uniformity and Diversity
11. Unity and Diversity in Language Structure
12. Language Change
13. Languages of the World

PB ISBN 978 1 8470 6367 0 Price: £21.99
HB ISBN 978 1 8470 6366 3 Price: £80.00

Davidson, P., Coombe, C., Lloyd, D. & Palfreyman, D. (Eds).
TESOL Arabia, 2007, 342 pages
ISBN: 9948-8566-6-X

This TESOL Arabia publication is a collection of twenty-seven chapters focusing on different aspects of teaching and learning vocabulary. The book is a timely response to an increase in interest in vocabulary as a product of the incorporation of the lexical approach into mainstream teaching, the use of corpora to identify commonly used items and lexical patterns and ongoing research into the effective learning and storage of vocabulary items.

The appeal of this book lies in its diversity. Geographically, there are contributions from Canada, Iran, Poland, Japan and New Zealand amongst others, while in terms of content, the chapters range from theoretical articles and research papers to purely practical classroom ideas. Key areas such as defining vocabulary, learner strategies and assessment are dealt with, along with considerations of corpus linguistics, vocabulary acquisition and integrating vocabulary into the curriculum. There are contributions from well-known names in the field of vocabulary such as Michael McCarthy, Ronald Carter and Averil Coxhead, names from the more general ELT field such as Hugh Dellar, and many others who are more likely to be known only in their local contexts. It is pleasing to see contributions from emerging ELT contexts sitting comfortably alongside those from the UK, USA and UAE. Turkey, in particular, is well represented, with contributions from Adam Simpson, Derin Atay and Robert Ledbury.

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The book is divided into four parts. The first ten chapters deal with the implications of vocabulary research on teaching with an emphasis on advanced levels, lexical chunks and collocations. For the practicing teacher, the second section on strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary is perhaps the most relevant, containing useful hints on areas such as teaching prefixes and suffixes, combining vocabulary learning and reading, designing vocabulary notebooks, and using graded readers. Part three looks at integrating vocabulary into the curriculum, including some insights into the use of technology, while part four is concerned with various aspects of assessing and measuring vocabulary. Sensibly, following an introduction by the editors, there is a short summary of each chapter, enabling the reader to dip into the book according to specific interests.

Although many of the chapters report the findings of projects and research, the style throughout is not overly academic, appealing to both vocabulary specialists and general ELT practitioners looking for ideas to expand their repertoire. A very useful collection indeed.

About the author

Steve Darn is a teacher trainer in Izmir, Turkey. Visit his ELT website.

Differentiating Reading Instruction by Laura Robb

Review by Simon Barrett

OK, so maybe this book does not have mass appeal. It is written by a teacher and aimed at other teachers, the plot, how to entice school kids to read. Reading is the very cornerstone of learning. Without the skill life is pretty darn hard for a school kid, and even worse for an adult.

I am an avid reader, and have been since a very small child. I read for fun then, and I read for fun now. Reading is escapism, reading is learning, reading is the gateway to knowledge. Alas it is also often treated as a boring subject by both teachers and pupils. I know that during my Grammar School (High School in the US) days I hated English Lit, it was taught in an incredibly boring fashion. I defy any 14 year old to get excited about Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Mayor Of Casterbridge,’ or just about anything by William Shakespeare. Kids don’t want to read these books, they are too difficult. With Shakespeare you have to deal with archaic language and metaphors that even well read adults have problems grasping, Thomas Hardy on the other hand just wears you down, page after boring page of dreary narrative!

Maybe the high spot of my school career was Orwell and ‘1984,’ but even this classic was reduced to nothing. It was about 5 years after I finished school that I actually picked up a book for fun. The fun had been beaten out of me by the ridiculous approach taken by the school system.

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Robb is an educator and innovator who has used her teaching experience to create a format where reading can be once again fun. Reading is maybe the most important aspect of teaching, it matters little what the subject is, the pupil needs to be able to read to learn.

One of the biggest issues facing any educator is the wide spectrum of abilities with the kids in the classroom, it may be grade 8, but there will be some kids that read at grade 4 level, there may even be some at grade 10. To aim only at the grade level results in only teaching to a small percentage of the class. Some will be lost and not able to keep up, while others will be bored, not feeling challenged, and generally frustrated.

The key, Robb explains is to develop techniques where everyone wins. Why does the entire class have to read the same book? Why not use a theme rather than a text? And why not engage the class in talking about the theme? By making the class thematic and using multiple texts suddenly you can gear material to the varied abilities of the class, a win-win situation, everyone can operate within their comfort zone, and learn!

Even when it is necessary from a curriculum standpoint to use a standard text, by being creative in your teaching methods everyone can gain.

I am not a teacher, well not by the traditional definition, but I am peripherally involved in the adult literacy arena, and many of Robb’s ideas could be converted to work in the adult world. One of the biggest problems I find with many poor readers is that they can read the words, but cannot assimilate the words into a cohesive idea. Differentiating Reading Instruction is chock full to the brim with strategies to resolve this problem.

This should be a must read book for anyone working within the teaching profession, the ideas are applicable in just about every subject.

About the Author

Simon Barrett is an adult educator in Calgary, Alberta. With the 11 months a year of winter, he reads a lot of books! He is also a contributing editor for Blogger News and maintains a personal blog at Simon B.