Invitation to Linguistics

The study of language has come a long way since Samuel Johnsondescribe himself as 'maker of dictionaries -- harmless drudge'. Theemphasis in modern linguistics is on descriptive investigations ofthe way the world speaks -- and why.

In Invitation to Linguistics, Richard Hudson explains what thesubject is, why it appeals, how it works, what issues it confrontsand the practical impact it can have on our social and professionallives. He poses puzzles in Latin and Zulu, visits realms oflinguistic exotica, delves into deep grammar, unravels theambiguities of everyday sentences (like 'John took off Mary'scoat') and asks how language began, if we can think without it, andif it is unique to humans anyway. He shows how the study of thiswide-ranging subject can help society solve its problems ofliteracy and language learning, facilitate the treatment of speechpathologies, help us use computers more effectively -- and how itcan broaden our outlook, wiping out out-dated prejudices againstnon-standard speech and minority languages.

Wide-ranging, realistic and provoking, this is a book that studentsthinking of studying lingusitics, or just launched on theircourses, will read for enjoyment as well as instruction: acombination that makes it ideal, too, for anyone interested inwords -- from crossword fanatics to anthropologists.