Date:  Tue, 27 Sep 1994 09:21:59 CST

From:  salikoko mufwene <mufw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU>

Subject: Re: intro linguistics texts



In Message Mon, 26 Sep 1994 19:42:06 -0500,

 "Timothy C. Frazer" <mftcf[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uxa.ecn.bgu.edu> writes:



>We need an intro text which is not written for beginning linguistics

>majors, but for students who have no idea what the topic is, are not

>intellectually adventurous, who need to see in every page what the topic

>means in their lives. For sociolinguiistics, Elaine Chaika's text does

>this better than any I have seen, but we need one which works as well in

>a general intro to the discipline.

 This past year, I tried INVESTIGATING LANGUAGE: CENTRAL PROBLEMS IN

LINGUISTICS by Ronald Wardaugh (1993) and was generally happy with it. It

also has a useful glossary in the end. I complemented it with readings from

LANGUAGE: INTRODUCTORY READINGS, 5th edition, ed. by Clark, Escholz, and

Rosa (1994). The latter offers alternative but overlapping essays on several

traditional topics of linguistics. Most of the essays are thought-provoking

and current.

Sali.

Salikoko S. Mufwene

University of Chicago

Dept. of Linguistics

1010 East 59th Street

Chicago, IL 60637

s-mufwene[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uchicago.edu

312-702-8531; fax: 312-702-9861