A Concise Introduction to Linguistics

This student-friendly and well-balanced overview of the field of introductory linguistics pays special attention to linguistic anthropology and reveals the main contributions of linguistics to the study of human communication and how issues of culture are relevant. Its workbook format contains well-constructed exercises in every chapter that allow students to practice key concepts.

In This Section:

 

I. Author Bio

II. Author Letter

 

 

I. Author Bio

 

Bruce M. Rowe is a professor of anthropology at Los Angeles Pierce College, where he has taught since 1970.  He designed the college’s first linguistics course for students majoring or minoring in linguistics, anthropology, education, English, Interpreting for the Deaf, and communications studies, and for those fulfilling a general education requirement. Professor Rowe also teaches physical and cultural anthropology as well as sociology. In addition to A Concise Introduction to Linguistics, he has co-authored ten editions of Physical Anthropology, two editions of Physical Anthropology: The Core, and physical anthropology study guides and workbooks (all with Philip L. Stein). Professor Rowe has authored four editions of The College Survival Guide: Hints and References to Aid College Students and The College Awareness Guide: What Students Need to Know to Succeed in College. He has received numerous awards for teaching. He is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges.

 

Diane P. Levine is a professor of anthropology at Los Angeles Pierce College, where she teaches cultural and physical anthropology, as well as linguistics. She is the chair of the Department of Anthropological and Geographical Sciences As a former teacher of English and ESL, she has written articles on the use of literature in the ESL classroom and presented seminars on critical thinking in the language arts classroom. Professor Levine is on the advisory boards for Annual Editions: Anthropology and is also a national advisor for the film series Cultural Anthropology: Our Diverse World. She is a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges.

 

 

 

I. Author Letter

 

Dear Colleague,

 

Linguistics courses are taught in several academic departments, including linguistics, English, and anthropology. In addition, students with majors other than linguistics, English, and anthropology might be required to take an introductory course in linguistics; these include communications, education, journalism, sociology, and deaf studies. Most linguistics books on the market are directed specifically to linguistics, English, or anthropology majors.

 

We have attempted to write an introductory text that covers the core topics of linguistics and provides the information and concepts that will allow students to understand more detailed and advanced treatments of linguistics, should they pursue the field further. In other words, our book is written with the general education student in mind, but it also provides the linguistics, English, and anthropology major with the resources needed to succeed in the next level of courses.

 

We have written this book in a manner that does not assume previous knowledge of linguistics on the part of the student. We explain all concepts in a systematic way assisted by numerous pedagogical aids. We attempt to make complex linguistic topics as easy to learn as possible. For students, we have included introductory questions, numerous exercises and study questions, chapter summaries, cross-cultural examples, and there is an online learning center with numerous features. For instructors we have expanded the test bank to include over 1200 questions and provided teaching suggestions and a list of websites of potential interest to people teaching a linguistics course.

 

We recently received a letter from a professor that we would like to share with you:

 

"I am writing to tell you how glad I am to have found the textbook that you co-authored. After searching for an introductory linguistics text that did not send students away from class, I finally found one, yours. I am mostly a Spanish instructor, but since my major was Spanish Linguistics, I also teach the Language and Culture course at my college and have struggled to find a level-appropriate text. Most texts were either too oriented toward theoretical linguistics or completely skewed towards anthropology. Yours is the perfect blend, suitable for either a straight introductory linguistics course or a linguistic anthropology course. I am particularly pleased by the ordering of phonetics, then phonology, then morphology; several texts I have looked at start with either morphology or pragmatics and discourse analysis. I was also pleased to see an entire chapter devoted to Sign Language. And students will be delighted that the text book was available online for under $50 (the one I had been using was $120 new!)." (Jeanne Egasse, Irvine Valley College, 4/8/2011)

 

We would be happy to hear from anyone using our book or considering it for use in a linguistics or language and culture class. Our emails are: rowebm@piercecollege.edu and levinedp@piercecollege.edu

 

Sincerely,

 

Bruce M. Rowe & Diane P. Levine

 

Pierce College

 

 

Chapter 1  The Nature of Communication    

The Nature of Communication    

Nonhuman and Human Communication Compared    

Chimpanzees and Gorillas in Controlled Environments    

Skepticism over Ape Language Studies    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

End of Chapter Questions    

 

Chapter 2   The Phonological Component: Phonetics    

Articulatory Phonetics    

Consonants and Vowels    

Syllables and Syllabic Consonants    

Suprasegmentals    

Connected Speech    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

End of Chapter Exercises 

   

Chapter 3   The Phonological Component: Phonology    

The Phoneme and the Concept of Significant Differences in Sounds    

Distinctive Feature Analysis    

Phonological Processes    

The Continuous and Complex Nature of Speech, Revised    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

End of Chapter Exercises

    

Chapter 4   The Morphological Component    

The Morpheme    

Morphological Typology    

How New Words Are Formed    

Lexical Categories    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

End of Chapter Exercises 

   

Chapter 5   Syntax

Syntactic Construction    

Grammaticality Judgments and Ambiguity

The Constituent Structure of Sentences    

Phrase Structure Rules    

Transformational Rules    

Optional and Obligatory Transformations    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts   

 

Chapter 6   Semantics and Pragmatics    

The Meaning of Words: Lexical Semantics    

The -Nyms    

Other Kinds of Meaning: Structural Semantics    

Pragmatics    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

Fieldwork Project    

 

Chapter 7   Sociolinguistics and Linguistic Anthropology    

Regional Dialects    

African American English    

Hispanic English    

Contact Languages: Pidgins and Creoles    

Situational Dialects or Registers    

Gender and Language    

Linguistic Anthropology    

Language and Nationalism    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts 

   

Chapter 8   Language Acquisition    

Language and the Brain    

Ideas about Language Acquisition    

How Do Children Acquire the Components of Language?    

Language Socialization: Three Examples    

The Acquisition of Sign Language    

Bilingualism    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

 

Chapter 9   Sign Language    

The Nature of Sign Language    

What Is ASL?    

Nicaraguan Sign Language: The Birth of a New Language    

Social Dimensions of Sign Language    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts  

End of Chapter Exercises  

  

Chapter 10   Writing Systems    

Writing Is Secondary to Speech and Sign Language    

Types of Writing Systems    

The History of Writing    

The Printing Press    

A Few Words about Computers    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts  

End of Chapter Exercises   

 

Chapter 11   Nonverbal Communication    

What Does “Nonverbal” Mean?    

Kinesic Behavior    

Affect Displays    

The Eyes Have It    

Physical Appearance    

Touching (Tactile) Behavior    

Paralanguage    

Proxemics    

The Physical Environment    

“How-To” Books: A Word of Caution    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

End of Chapter Exercises 

   

Chapter 12   Historical Linguistics    

The Relationships between Languages    

Types of Language Change    

How Long Does It Take a Language to Change?    

Disappearing, Reappearing, and Emerging Languages    

The Spread of Englishes    

New Jargons    

Summary    

Suggested Reading    

Suggested Websites    

Review of Terms and Concepts    

 

Appendix A: Answers to Reviews of Terms and Concepts    

Appendix B: Answers to Selected Exercises    

Appendix C: Fieldwork Exercises    

Glossary

Index