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Title: Language Myths by Laurie Bauer, Peter Trudgill ISBN: 0-14-026023-4 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (9 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Interesting
Comment: This is a collection of essays by today's leading linguists. Their mission is to debunk some of the most popular myths about languages. For example, some of the topics coverd are "Double Negatives Are Illogical," "TV Makes People Sound the Same," and "Some Languages Are Harder Than Others." My favorite essay had to do with the topic of the perception of American dialects.
I think this book is very easy to read and it's not necessary to have a background in linguistics to enjoy it. Also, some of the things you learn by reading this book will give you a chance to get revenge on your high school English teacher. Check it out.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent introduction to the issues
Comment: This collection of essays addresses several longstanding myths and misconceptions about how language works. The contributors are all linguists, yet all write in an accessible manner, which makes this ideal reading for the layperson.
Among the issues addressed are whether "bad grammar" is a sign of laziness, whether "kids can't talk or write properly these days," and whether black children are "verbally deprived". These issues are important because the widespread views are founded on very little evidence, and run contrary to everything linguists know about language. The tone of the essays is remarkably gracious, given that most of the language myths are based on pseudo-linguistic arguments that actually boil down to simple ignorance and prejudice.
Readers who will most benefit are those who have swallowed the insistence of the "language mavens" (to use Steven Pinker's phrase) that we ought all to speak "proper English". Books such as this handy volume will go a long way to correcting such misconceived and potentially damaging polemics. Bravo to Trudgehill et al.
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent for the layman
Comment: In my opinion, how much you like this book will depend on how much you know now. If you are a novice to linguistics or just curious, this book is excellent. It covers a broad range of subjects, avoids heavy use of technical jargon, and gives explanations that anyone can follow. The information is clear, well explained (not just "It's like this because it is because I said so."), and entertaining.
If you have already been doing some reading in linguistics, this book may be a bit simplistic. While I found parts interesting, much I already knew. In other cases, since similar arguments are in many works about linguistics (see "Teach Yourself Linguistics 5e" for much more detail than this book), as soon as the argument started, I could figure out the rest faster than it was explained. So, if you have some background in linguistics, this book is good for either (1) light reading, or (2) good explanations to use when people present the misconceptions described in the book.
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Title: The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax, and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language by Geoffrey K. Pullum ISBN: 0226685349 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1991 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: The Structure of English: Studies in Form and Function for Language Teaching by Jeanette S. Decarrico ISBN: 0472086022 Publisher: University of Michigan Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 List Price(USD): $21.95 |
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Title: The Social Art: Language and Its Uses by Ronald MacAulay ISBN: 0195106571 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: How We Talk : American Regional English Today by Allan Metcalf, Allan A. Metcalf ISBN: 0618043624 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company Pub. Date: 16 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Language Shock: Understanding the Culture of Conversation by Michael Agar ISBN: 0688149499 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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