Review of Introducing Linguistics, by R.L. Trask and Bill Mayblin
R.L. Trask and Bill Mayblin, Introducing
Linguistics. Duxford: Icon Books and Totem Books, 2000. ISBN 1840461691.
Review by Brian Ó Broin, William Paterson University, New Jersey.
Even as a professional linguist teaching at a mid-level American
university, I must admit to having enjoyed this book. It's quick, well-phrased,
and mostly clear in its descriptions and explanations.
While it might not be immediately clear, the book is broken down into
sections (I count about fourteen) dealing with subjects as various as Semantics,
Cognitive Linguistics, and Universal Grammar. The book opens with a 45-page
introduction to the history of Linguistics and linguistic theory, and this
discussion is a great boon for those of us who may have missed those
coffee-shop arguments between, or about, Bloomfieldians, Formalists, Structuralists,
and the like.
The book itself is mostly generativist in outlook, as we see in its
dismissive attitude to B.F. Skinner (116-117). Interestingly, however, the
book, after a long trawl through Chomsky's Transformational-Generative theory,
finally acknowledges that approach's shortcomings and vaguely sides with the
Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget, whose theories seem very close to Skinner's
Behaviorism (135).
If the book has any drawback, it's mostly in the lack of a contents
page. Since there are fairly-clear sections in the book, it's a shame they are
not better labelled for quick consultation. On the other hand, there is a small
but comprehensive index at the back of the book which offers quick reference to
most of the subjects that are touched upon.
I came across this book while seeking an easy textbook for my college
freshman "Introduction to Linguistics" course. Because of its
slightly-chaotic structure, I couldn't recommend it for that purpose, but Trask
himself would probably agree; in his "Further Reading" section he
recommends that readers proceed to other works such as those of Jean Aitchison
(from the Teach Yourself series) or Victoria
Fromkin and Robert Rodman (An Introduction to Language).
Cartoony zanily-illustrated "Introduction" books like this
were a fad in the eighties and nineties, but the big shortcoming was always
that they either oversimplified or failed to get sophisticated ideas across.
Most of this book is clear, but this reader would prefer a little more on some
of the schools of linguistics, such as Halliday's Systemic-Functional approach,
which is badly and inadequately explained. Since Halliday and his school have
been mostly rehabilitated, this textbook already looks in need of a revision.
I continue to wonder who these cartoon-style introductory textbooks are
for. Probably students and dabblers, and they're a good audience to court. This
text will leave members of those communities well-armed for any linguistics-oriented
discussions in the drawing room and debating chamber.
This would be the kind of book I'd recommend as summer reading to an
undergraduate considering a university linguistics course in the autumn, or to
a well-educated adult who wants to know more about what linguists do.
I've noted some minor reservations above, but I'd still highly recommend
this book to non-specialists or even to linguists as light bedside reading.
Trask has a very accessible writing style, and does a great job of making the
subject enjoyable and interesting.
-----------------------
Note: Larry Trask died in 2004 (only 60 years of age!). Requiescat in pace.
-----------------------
Note: Larry Trask died in 2004 (only 60 years of age!). Requiescat in pace.
Labels: Aitchison, Bill Mayblin, Bloomfield, Chomsky, Formalism, Fromkin, Halliday, Introducing Linguistics, linguistics, Piaget, Pinker, R.L. Trask, review, Rodman, Skinner, Structuralism, Systemic-Functionalism
posted by sacsanua @ 12:10 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home