LINGUIST List 3.190

Thu 27 Feb 1992

Disc: Introductory Texts

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. "E. Laurencot", Re: 3.172 Responses: Marr, Phonics, Texts
2. "Judith Klavans", Texts

Message 1: Re: 3.172 Responses: Marr, Phonics, Texts

I would just like to "second" anyone's (including V. Fromkin's) suggestion
that Fromkin & Rodman's introductory linguistics text is definitely worth
checking out. That was the text required when I took intro lx, and I
think I finished reading the whole book before we were 2 weeks into the
term. It is informative AND entertaining----and that's the combination
you need to capture the attention of undergrads/students who've never
been exposed to lx before.

As the author of the Chapter on Computational Linguistics in
the textbook Contemporary Linguistics, I was not pleased to
hear that, although the text is popular, there have been problems
with the workbook. In the interest of improvement, it would
be appreciated if those of you who have used the text and have
comments on the workbook could send them to me. I will collate
them and distribute them both to the editors, to you, and to
anyone who requests.

Also, I just read Vicki Fromkin's entry on Fromkin and Rodman, a
text I have used too. The two texts are geared to slightly different
audiences, and cover material in a very different way.
It's hard to recommend a "general text" because it very much depends
on the student type. I'd be interest in hearing comments from
those of you "in the field".
Judith Klavans