Date: 11-Dec-2011
From: Robert Cote <rcotehct.ac.ae>
Subject: An Introduction to Linguistics and Language Studies
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Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/22/22-1754.html
AUTHOR: Anne McCabeTITLE: An Introduction to Linguistics and Language StudiesSERIES TITLE: Equinox Textbooks and Surveys in LinguisticsPUBLISHER: Equinox Publishing Ltd.YEAR: 2011
Robert A. Cote, Sharjah Women's College, United Arab Emirates
SUMMARY
''An Introduction to Linguistics and Language Studies'' by Anne McCabe is awell-written classroom text covering the essential topics of basic linguistics. The chapters adopt a somewhat unconventional format (see “evaluation” below formore discussion), which should make the book more accessible to the non-academicreader. The book explores various fundamental aspects of language study,including pragmatics, syntax, morphology, semantics, sociolinguistics andpsycholinguistics. In addition, the author provides many practical exercisesthroughout the textbook to assist in the learning process by allowing the readerto put theory immediately into practice.
Chapter 1 introduces the basic but essential terminology that undergraduatelinguistics majors, non-academic readers or novices to the fields of languagestudy, communications or education must possess. This meta-language, whichMcCabe describes as meeting the need of ''a language to talk about itself'' (p. 2)ranges from simple terms like parts of speech, mood and register to the morechallenging concepts of Saussure's 'langue' and 'parole', Noam Chomsky'slinguistic performance, competence, I-language and E-language, and M.A.K.Halliday's systemic functional linguistics (SFL). A brief biography of the threeincluding their historical role in the shaping of modern linguistics closes outthe chapter.
Pragmatics is the first focus of Chapter 2, entitled ''A focus on spokeninteraction'', which contains clear explanations of speech act theory, Grice'sconversational maxims, politeness, conversation analysis and the many featuresnecessary ''to achieve our communicative needs in spoken interactive situationssuch as spoken discourse markers, vague language, ellipses and intonation'' (p.16). The section on turn-taking offers examples of adjacency pairs, gist andupshot as well as insertion and side sequences. Phonetics and phonology make upthe second half of the chapter with most of the emphasis on articulatory andauditory phonetics. There are numerous tables and explanations of theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as it relates to English in addition tointeractive exercises on place, manner and voicing of consonants. There is nomention, however, of acoustic phonetics.
Chapter 3, ''Analyzing written language'', commences with the different ways ofexploring how a text is organized from the macro-level (genre) to themicro-level (lexicogrammar) and how text variations, which follow prescribedpatterns, are based on social and cultural contexts. Examples include recipes,directions, job reference letters and academic articles. McCabe continues bydescribing various patterns of organization in texts including narrative,problem-solution, goal-achievement, opportunity-taking, desire-arousalfulfillment and gap in knowledge-filling, all interactive in nature and with thegoal of evoking some response from the reader (p. 92). The majority of thechapter addresses Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) through a somewhat novelapproach, beginning with a brief explanation of rank, defined as the differentlevels of choices available to us ''when we use language to achieve ourcommunicative purposes'' (p. 101). The chapter's emphasis is on phase/group andclause as they occur in English ''in terms of what they consist of and how theyfunction in language to contribute to different kinds of meaning'' (p. 101).McCabe goes on to discuss nominal, verbal and prepositional groups as well asthe three metafunctions of language: textual, ideational and interpersonal, thelast of which is divided into experiential and logical subfunctions. These arethen examined further as clause as message, representation and exchange. Thenumber of different subtopics of SFL presented in the chapter is taxing, soreaders interested in this topic may wish to refer to a more conventional text(e.g. Eggins 2005.) Generally speaking, this chapter gives the reader a glimpseinto syntax, presented formally and in detail in the next chapter.
In Chapter 4, ''Language and mind'', McCabe examines morphology, syntax andsemantics. Free, bound, root, inflectional and derivational morphemes arediscussed in detail, tree diagrams are presented and definitions of isolating,agglutinating and fusional or inflecting languages are provided. The chapter'scontent becomes more challenging with the introduction of formal syntax, whichthe author states is used ''to explain the rules of language use that we hold inour heads and describe the way natural language works'' (p. 188). McCabe thenoffers a clear, well-written discussion of the reasons behind Chomsky's theoryof transformational generative grammar which began in response to shortcomingshe identified in phrase structure theory. These deficiencies include differencesin implied meaning between surface and deep structure in sentences, finiteness,active-passive constructions and ambiguity, for which McCabe uses humorousexamples to get her point across. There is a brief mention of Government andBinding Theory (see, for example, Haegeman 1994) which leads to explanations ofthe transformational aspect of Chomsky's theory by exploring passivization andmovement via the analysis of numerous tree diagrams. Presenting the conceptsvisually greatly aids the reader in comprehending the theory. The chapter endsby highlighting some of the major players in the field of semantics, defined as''the study of meaning independent of situational context'' (p. 203) including''semiotics (see Chandler, 2007), sense and reference, semantic relations amongwords, componential analysis and thematic roles'' (p. 203).
Chapter 5, ''Language change'', presents the many reasons why, and methods bywhich, languages evolve over time by analyzing five areas: lexicon, semantics,phonetics, morphology and syntax. The chapter begins with a brief explanation ofthe comparative method of studying the development of languages throughouthistory with English as an example (see Hickey 2010). Providing language treeswould have been useful to show to what extent the world's languages, past andpresent, are related. The section on lexis explains the numerous ways new wordsare added to languages: conversion, derivation, compounding, blending,back-formation, acronyms, eponyms, clippings and loanwords (pp. 240-243). McCabeoffers a few paragraphs to explore shifts in meaning by showing variousconsequences of semantic change including specialization, generalization,pejoration and amelioration (p. 248), and she also briefly introduces metaphorand metonymy (see Dirven & Porings 2002). More explanation could have beenprovided on the topics of taboo and euphemism. The section on sound changeoffers details on both the Great Vowel Shift and the more recent Northern CitiesShift occurring in the American Great Lakes region, and attributes ease ofarticulation as one cause of change. The chapter closes with very brief mentionsof morphological and syntactic changes.
Chapter 6, ''Language variation'', is an interesting chapter that focusesprimarily on synchronic variation, defined as ''variation in language at a givenmoment in time'' (p. 271) caused by any number of social factors, includinglocation, socio-economic background, ethnicity, race, gender, age, education andoccupation. The chapter draws heavily from sociolinguistics (see Duranti 1997)and explores the concepts of speech and discourse communities, diglossia viapast and present examples of standard dialects or high (H) varieties versusvernacular or low (L) varieties (see Ferguson 1959), pidgins, creoles andjargon. Several pages are dedicated to sociolects, covering the major players ofthe past, including William Labov's famous department store study of rhoticity(p. 281), Robin Lakoff's controversial gender-based claim that ''women's languagechoices put them forth as lacking power and authority and as seeking approval''(p. 285) and William O'Barr and Bowman Atkins rebuttal to Lakoff that herassumption is not gender-specific but in fact ''present in females and males whoare in a position of powerlessness'' (p. 286). These topics, though dated, canstill serve as a solid foundation for debate in the linguistics classroom today.The chapter finishes with short sections on register, speech accommodation, andlexical and sound variation, all of which leave the reader with a basicunderstanding of the key components of the many variations found in human languages.
In Chapter 7, ''Language, biology and learning'', McCabe introduces the reader tothe biology behind language via various schools of thought in bothneurolinguistics and psycholinguistics. The brain's hemispheric functions withregards to language production and comprehension are explained in detail as areBroca's and Wernicke's aphasias. The section on stages of first languageacquisition leads to a presentation of the major theorists in this arena: EricLenneberg's critical theory hypothesis (p. 324) and Noam Chomsky's LanguageAcquisition Device (LAD), also known as the innateness hypothesis (p. 325). Inone of her most successful attempts at simplifying a complex concept for thereader, which she does often and well, McCabe writes, ''Perhaps rather thansuggesting the brain has a language organ, the brain has the ability to be alanguage organ'' (p. 320). The chapter continues with information on bilinguallanguage development in infants as well as second language acquisition in teensand adults. It closes with discussion of some thought-provoking experiments onanimal, bird and bee 'language' leaving the reader curious to know more. Theonly drawback is that this chapter seems somewhat misplaced in the book andperhaps should have been positioned earlier on.
The final chapter, ''Fields of linguistics'', completes the book with shortdescriptions of the many subfields of linguistics written by experts from aroundthe world. This chapter serves a dual purpose: it presents an accurate andsuccinct explanation of the varieties of linguistics, and it assists studentreaders in making a well-informed decision about future study in the areas thatinterest them most. It is both informative and easy to read.
EVALUATION
The book's primary audience is undergraduate students majoring in linguistics,general language studies, communications and education. Due to the wide varietyof topics covered, it could serve as a handy reference book as well as a generaltext for the non-academic reader who is simply interested in the field forpersonal enjoyment. There are numerous aspects of the book that make ituser-friendly, including bolding of all important terminology, which is bothdefined and explained in context as well as listed in a glossary at the back ofthe book. In addition, there are many interesting, interactive and oftenchallenging exercises embedded within or at the end of each chapter, withanswers provided. Although these are useful for the academic reader, they can bedistracting to the casual reader. For example, nearly one third of chapter threeconsists of exercises that are helpful for students but disrupt the flow of thechapter for the general reader. The author provides extensive reference listsfor additional reading. Although the chapters are quite long and densely packedwith information, they are divided into sections, which make them easier for thereader to digest. However, due to the plethora of topics, many of which will benew to the reader, further explanation of some key concepts by a classroominstructor or someone with a deeper understanding of linguistics would likely berequired. Chapter 3 could be particularly challenging for new students due tothe quantity of complex topics covered. McCabe's explanation of transformationalgenerative grammar in chapter 4 is easy to understand and one of the best thisreviewer has come across in terms of clarity and accessibility.
One very helpful component of the text is the extensive checklist of outcomeslocated at the end of chapters two through seven, which McCabe provides for thereader as learning outcomes. It would have been better for these lists to beplaced at the beginning of each chapter to alert the reader to the upcomingcontent; thus, it would be prudent for the reader to view the lists before eachchapter to ensure s/he is getting the most from the text. From a teachingstandpoint, it would take more than one semester to cover all the materialthoroughly.
Another aspect of the text worth noting is the somewhat unconventional format interms of the way the chapters are organized. Some of the chapters seem to beordered illogically. For example, chapters 7 and 4 should have been placedearlier in the book since they address the biology behind language, whilechapter 3, which focuses on writing, a product of human language, should havebeen moved towards the end. This re-ordering would make the concepts moreaccessible. Also, the themes within chapters seemed to be random at times. Forexample, chapter four was particularly challenging because it includedmorphology, syntax and semantics all under the heading of “language and mind”.It may have been better to label the chapters thematically, such as languagedefined, biology of language, psycholinguistics, phonology, morphology, syntaxand semantics, etc. and then present various aspects of each subject within thechapter.
In closing, McCabe provides novices to the linguistics community with awell-written and highly interactive text that allows readers with variouslevels of pre-existing knowledge to explore both the theoretical and practicalapplications of linguistics and language studies across many topics, and sheprovides a contemporary alternative to similar introductory publications in thefield of linguistics such as 'An Introduction to Language', 'Linguistics: AnIntroduction to Linguistic Theory' and 'The Ohio State University’s LanguageFiles.' The text is one that clearly serves numerous purposes for both novicesand experts in the fields of linguistics and language studies.
REFERENCES
Chandler, Daniel. 2007. 'Semiotics: The Basics'. London, UK: Routledge.
Department of Linguistics. 2011. 'Language Files: Materials for an Introductionto Language and Linguistics - Eleventh Edition'. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio StateUniversity Press.
Dirven, Rene & Ralf Porings (eds.). 2002. 'Metaphor and Metonymy in Comparisonand Contrast'. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. 'Linguistic Anthropology'. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.
Eggins, Suzanne. 2005. 'An Introduction to Systemic Functional Linguistics'. NewYork: Continuum International Publishing Group.
Ferguson, Charles A. 1959. 'Diglossia'. Word 15: 325-340.
Fromkin, Victoria A., Bruce Hayes, Susan Curtiss, Anna Szabolcsi, Tim Stowell,Edward Stabler, Dominique Sportiche, Hilda Koopman, Patricia Keating, PamelaMunro, Nina Hyams & Donca Steriade. 2001. 'Linguistics: An Introduction toLinguistic Theory'. Malden: Blackwell.
Fromkin, Victoria A., Robert Rodman & Nina Hyams. 2011. 'An Introduction toLanguage'. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Haegeman, Liliane M. V. 1994. 'Introduction to government and binding theory'.Geneva: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hickey, Raymond. 2010. 'Varieties of English in writing: The written word aslinguistic evidence'. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Robert Cote received his master's degree in TESOL from Florida International University in Miami and is currently writing his dissertation in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching at the University of Arizona. He has taught in public high schools and community colleges in the US and is currently the Chair of English at the Higher Colleges of Technology in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. His interests include heritage language learning, Generation 1.5 students and their use of language to negotiate identity, peer collaboration, IEP writing, CALL and ESL/EFL Teacher Training.
Page Updated: 11-Dec-2011
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