Customer Reviews:
Little, but essential.......2007-10-01
I have assigned an earlier edition of this book for an upper-division historical geography course that featured lots of writing. The Essential Handbook is compact, easy-to-use, and inclusive of the essential information needed by college-level writers. While there are larger, more detailed works that the continuing writer will want, this little book provides a fine initiation into the world of careful and correct writing.
Expensive.......2004-09-06
The book was expensive at my school's bookstore and I regret not buying it from here. It may be called the little BROWN book but mine is purple and I have an older version which is gray...go figure!!!
useful writers handbook.......2004-01-09
My school requires all students to buy copies of this book before entering high school and I do not think they could have chosen a better book to use as a basis for grammar excercises and teaching proper citing protocol. While I have only used sections of this book, it seems to be easy to use and contrary to what an earlier reviewer said, both section names and page numbers are listed in the table of contents. The book is tiny, perfect for carrying in my backback and holds a ton of information. The only problem I have with this handbook is that there is an updated MLA pamphlet that is included with the book and it is harder to understand. Also, the book really should be brown just so the books shows some sense of humor (just kidding). I would highly recommend this book to high school students as a quick reference guide for writing research papers and projects.
Hard to Navigate.......2002-04-24
The layout of this book is very strange, rendering it hard to use. Only a summary Table of Contents appears at the beginning of the book. Worse, it is split over two facing pages--that is, the Table of Contents is presented as one page with the book binding splitting the page in the middle. And, though the book is organized by numbered sections, the section numbers (incredibly) do not appear in the summary Table of Contents. There is a detailed Table of Contents, but it doesn't appear until the literal end of the book. It spans the last page and the inside back cover and is mostly hidden by a fold-in book flap (now that's handy). Of course, this also means that the index is not actually at the end of the book, as you foolishly might have expected; it preceeds that detailed Table of Contents.
It is a lot of work to use this book. The content may be good, but if you're looking for guidance on something specific, you're going to have to dig to find it. A guide should be easy to use, not a chore, in and of itself.
Handy Guide.......2000-04-03
The Little, Brown Essential Handbook for Writers is a useful guide for grammar, style, punctuation, and other writers' needs. The plastic binding makes the book easy to manage when referencing and editing your work.
It isn't always as detailed as a writer might like on usage, but if you have a strong handle on usage, then this shouldn't be a problem.
The book is small and compact, so it doesn't take up a lot of shelf space, but it is full of useful information. It's also great as a writer's traveling companion. Information is quick and easy to find. I recommend keeping this one nearby when proofreading and editing one's work.
Average customer rating:
- way too much vocab per chapter!!!
- THE BEST BOOK FOR LEARNING SANSKRIT
- THE Sanskrit Beginner's Book!
- Superbly writtten.
- The Joy of Sanskrit
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The Sanskrit Language: An Introductory Grammar and Reader. Revised Edition
Walter Maurer
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Similar Items:
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Samskrta-Subodhini: A Sanskrit Primer (Michigan Papers on South and Southeast Asia)
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Introduction to Sanskrit, Part 1
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Teach Yourself Sanskrit Complete Course (Teach Yourself)
ASIN: 0700713824 |
Book Description
This grammar offers a completely new approach to the study of Sanskrit, aimed at students with no previous specialist knowledge of the categories of grammar. It is a stimulating and infectious approach, designed to cultivate rapid and lasting enthusiasm for Sanskrit.
Important features of the work are the use of connected passages for exercise which are intrinsically more interesting and challenging than the unrelated sentences found in other grammars; the great deal of attention given to the explanation of the Devanagari system; and the extensive appendices and glossaries in a separate volume.
Customer Reviews:
way too much vocab per chapter!!!.......2007-07-31
This book has great explanations; it's a good grammar with good stories. BUT, there's about 80-100 words to learn per chapter! How could anyone possibly absorb this? There is a Thomas Egenes book out there and another book called Samskrtam Subodhini: a Sanskrit Primer. These two books are your best choices, the former being slow and divided up into two books and the latter being quick paced with a lot of vocab at times but also with a lot of exercises. I went to the library and took a look at this book and was disappointed. It seems most people that study a language are going to want a decent vocabulary but it's not going to happen when there are mountains of it to learn at a time. Save your money for a good Sanskrit Reader like Lanman after you're done with one of the two I've already suggested. You'll be happier and still have a few bucks to spare.
THE BEST BOOK FOR LEARNING SANSKRIT.......2007-07-30
This is by far the best book for learning Sanskrit. Every lesson has an excellent introduction to grammar and the notes always give a curious aspect of Indian culture, plus the texts are very well presented. I've tried dozens of manuals and am every day more grateful with Mr. Maurer. His explanations are always clear and charming. The only thing a solitary student may regret is that this manual has no key to the exersises. But if you work hard (which you always should do if you want to learn Sanskrit) you will see all the answers you need are within the manual, and all the words and grammar tables you need are available in the second volume. Coulson's "Teach yourself Sanskrit" has keys, but the grammar is very dense. Maurer's method comes in 2 parts and is expensive, but is really really worth it. You will enjoy learning this enchanting language very much.
THE Sanskrit Beginner's Book!.......2006-04-01
In my opinion as a Sanskrit teacher there is simply no better text ever written. As other reviewers have noted the content, the high quality of the Devanagari font etc. make this a sine qua non for the beginning student. To Prof. Mauer I say: "Uttamam!"
Superbly writtten........2003-02-03
I love this book for its organization, its exercises, and its explanations. It makes learning Sanskrit easy, and is evidently a labor of love by it author.
The Joy of Sanskrit.......2000-02-19
I have seen a few others and tried using one of them, but this set by Maurer is easily the best I have come across. The script is easy to read and the grammar is carefully presented to make it possible for the beginner to start using and enjoying the language immediately. Additionally, the second volume provides a historical overview of the language and other Indo-European tongues, all the conjugational and declensional paradigms, and a two-way dictionary for easy reference. It's expensive - the author sacrificed his royalties to force the publishers into a hardcover - but well worth the money.
Book Description
In this classic study, the world's leading expert on language and the mind lucidly explains everything you always wanted to know about languages: how it works, how children learn it, how it changes, how the brain computes it, and how it envolved. With wit, erudition, and deft use it everyday examples of humor and wordplay, Steven Pinker weaves our vast knowledge of language into a compelling story: language is a human instinct, wired into our brains by evolution like web spinning in spiders or sonar bats. The Language Instinct received the William James Book Prize from the American Psychological Association and the Public Interest Award from the Linguistics Society of America.
Customer Reviews:
B.F. Skinner.......2007-10-09
His ideas are condemned like all valid science that exposes truth we will not accept. Hopefully time will give B.F. Skinner the credit he deserves. The most important scientist ever!!! Read his book. It is accurate.
Utterly fascinating.......2007-09-22
When I was a freshman in college I used my roommate's computer all the time. She frequently had this book open on her desk as part of her study of HumBio (Human Biology). At some point I picked it up to take a look...and I didn't put it down until I was finished. An outstanding, utterly readable and deeply compelling look at the structures of the brain, the mind they inform and the human culture they produce. Highly recommended for all humans.
The Language Instinct.......2007-09-17
This book exploded for me. As a student in the 1970s, I had been taught that language determined thought (no word, no concept, right?) and this book reverses that completely. When Pinker notes, in the chapter called "The Tower of Babel," that a Martian would observe that human beings speak a single language, albeit one composed of 6,000 dialects, it lands with a "crash." This has been a tough book to put down -- it demands to be read and savored. The middle portions about grammar make me regret having napped through my English classes in (ironically) Grammar School when we diagrammed sentences and learned about S(ubject)V(erb)Object. It's never too late!
Bringing Science Home.......2007-09-14
Human language, from BEV to ASL and everything in between, is a genetically endowed by-product of human evolution, that even though it may set us apart from every other organism, it is no more unique to humans than a trunk is to an elephant or wings is to a bird. This is an essential point that Pinker makes, one that throws SSSM and other standard-setting scientists out the window, making way for the public to grasp a general understanding of the science of language.
Pinker makes language, and everything it emcompasses, accessible to the general public; with catchy chapter titles to hilarious examples and rips on "language mavens", this text is the utmost route to linguistics. Honestly, what more can up expect from a master of language? Regardless of that fast, what better way to understand Mentalese than with clear-cut examples and scientific backing? How would one scuff through morphology, phonetics, syntax, and the theory of Universal Grammer without being able to make a connection with examples from bunk-media clippings and hasty scientifically backed theories? Some may critique his wordy and lengthy style, but he/she must consider his audience. What is easier clearly expressed ideas and examples in plane ole' English or Chomsky-short-hand (p.96)?
Its Linguistics 101 with a twist. Not many people want to read dry text unless he/she has to. Pinker lightly peruses the tip of the iceberg, with explanations on Pidgin, Creole, the meaning of Standardized testing, Baby Geniuses, and theories on the origin of language, as well as fine points made by other linguistics that Pinker may not agree with, he satisfies the criteris for an introduction to language syllabus.
Language Instinct shines a bright light on a topic that is more important now and in the future than ever before, especially during a time of extreme globalization, language is the key to understanding many aspects of communication and Pinker targets a huge audience. Above all I would consider Pinker a credible and reliable source of information. And this is important, especially in this day and age, where anyone can write-off anything as fact.
However, I must say that Pinker clearly expresses the downfall of being so well-informed. It is important to draw a mental picture for one that is not so familiar with the concepts found in this book. But the fact of the matter is that tt is easy to get carried away in the nitty-gritty boroque examples that carry on for pages.
Last, perhaps Pinkers main set-back would be his theory on the language gene.
Overall, Pinker has a good grasp on his knowledge and writing style. He brings science down a notch so that the understanding of language can become accessible to those that it matters to most, everyone! This is a great introduction to Chomskian Theory. As a general advocate or good communication, Pinkers efforts to eduacte the public on language as a tool for understanding the owrld, mind, and culture should not go without notice.
The Best.......2007-04-24
This is by far the best lay account of an ongoing scientific breakthrough: The discovery of the biological underpinnings of language. Steven Pinker writes like a dream, and his wry and lucid descriptions are within the grasp of anyone curious about the phenomenon of language.
The clarity is a breath of fresh air to anyone who's tried (like me) to get through Noam Chomsky's books on language.
Speaking of which, some reviewers apparently believe Pinker is a Chomsky disciple, and they spend their reviews attacking Chomsky's Universal Grammar, rather than this book. Although Pinker acknowledges the deep debt that linguistics owes to Chomsky's ideas, he is clearly skeptical about Universal Grammar, and I think he discusses it for the sake of completeness, and because to do otherwise would seem disrespectful. Actually, most linguists aren't orthodox Chomskyites, because the rules of Universal Grammar get more complex, and murkier, as each new exception is discovered.
Likewise, some reviewers try to shoehorn Pinker into the "Nativist" category, as in the great debate of Nature vs. Nurture. While Pinker is clearly a Nativist at the fundamental level, so is everyone else: You can't teach a cow to speak French. But at the human level, he acknowledges the role played by both nature and nurture. He spends more time with nature because that's where the new stuff is happening.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone who interested in how, and why, we talk.
Book Description
The Fourth Edition of Reading French in the Arts and Sciences offers a systematic approach to comprehending and translating texts in the humanities and technical disciplines, focusing on the grammar needed for this task. It begins with short passages on familiar themes and gradually increases the difficulty level to more technical and literary topics.
The text includes:
- vocabulary in footnotes for convenience of students
- supplementary readings
- test for each chapter in unit
- an appendix with hints on simplifying translation, a list of suggested dictionaries, and a table of verbs, numbers, and false cognates
- updated reference information for 2001
Customer Reviews:
Indispensable.......2006-02-13
I am writing this review from the viewpoint of someone who already speaks French and wanted to learn how to translate. The sad fact is that skill in the former does not necessarily promise skill in the latter. Stack asks: are you accurately translating ALL of the ideas in the original text into the next language? Does the result sound like natural English as written by a native speaker? His lessons in French grammar as well as translation exercises make this book a definite keeper (and while I already spoke French before I picked up this book, it was recommended to me by an engineer who had minimal French under his belt and merely wanted to be able to understand some written French that kept cropping up on the job).
Amazon lists this book's language as being English, and while this is true for instructions, half of it is in French including some very long passages.
The book starts out, however, explaining French structure: cognates, noun gender, definite and indefinite articles, irregularities, adjectives, adverbs, personal pronouns, personal pronouns as subjects, and moving right up into the different verb tenses. Included with every lesson (which is itself about a dozen pages, easily doable one per week) is a list of new vocabulary. Readings are from a variety of sources, from technical writing to Pascal and Descartes. There are translation exercises that stress keeping the original French's intent and ideas when turning it into English.
What I particularly loved about the book was the footnotes, especially when a new word could have multiple meanings (which could of course change the entire meaning of the sentence). Additionally, I, like many other learners to French, was taught the language almost solely through literature and poetry. Stack's book is therefore a welcoming addition for learning mathematics and the sciences through this language. There are also tests in the back (along with a French word index) for further understanding of each lesson, a boon for extra classwork or the self-studying student.
Will you be fluent in French by the end? No. This book is for gaining profiency in WRITTEN French. However, this is a good supplement for someone who is learning to speak the language as well, or for someone like myself who wants to learn translation. What really helped me in honing my translation skills was the way Stack focuses on NUANCE: the multiple meanings of a word, the differences between sentence structure between the French and the English (thus teaching the reader how to make a French phrase, even when translated into English, sound like it was originally written by a native English speaker), the emphasis on transitional words and unique French phrases (i.e. letter closings).
In particular, Stack stresses the importance of vocabularly, citing that a greater knowledge of words helps to accurately translate subtle differences (i.e. "slap" sounds harsher than "hit"). To that end, Stack introduces a LOT of vocabulary that you won't have learned in French 1, if you have any formal introduction to French at all. This is a primer on French in the arts and sciences, so there are lots of welcome vocabularly lists pertaining to things like physics, probability, geometry, linguistics, and references to Greek mythology (which come in useful for the excerpts from Voltaire).
Really, I can't laud this text enough.
This book is a little expensive (I also purchased my copy at my university's bookstore). Amazon's is definitely the better price than your local university's. Either way, it's one of the welcome additions to my translating bookshelf.
If you are beginning to gain a working knowledge of written French, you should also purchase, in addition to "Reading French in Arts and Science", a good bilingual dictionary (the vocabularly list at the back of Stack's book is good but nowhere near comprehensive).
A little dry in content, but I learned how to read French!.......2000-02-09
I used this book as a textbook for an undergraduate course in Reading French. Not speaking, just reading. Since I already knew Spanish and was familiar with Portuguese, it was not hard for me to understand the language. However, my speaking ability is still non-existent. I just cannot wrap my mouth around French pronunciation.
The practices are grouped together very clearly. The vocabulary focuses on technical terms. Therefore, metaphors and literary complexity is not a problem here. Sometimes I wondered if I would ever have the need to describe a steam engine to anyone in French! Our class divided into groups to go over the exercises which were at just the right level for beginners. Several, like me, already knew Spanish. One spoke Italian. One spoke Portuguese, and one spoke German. Others knew English only. We combined our skills to use this book and learned how to read French.
Book Description
The Gregg Reference Manual 9e by William Sabin is intended for anyone who writes, edits, or prepares material for distribution or publication. For nearly fifty years, this manual has been recognized as the best style manual for business professionals and for students who want to master the on-the-job standards of business professionals.
Customer Reviews:
gregg ref.......2007-01-20
bought this copy for my daughter. she wishes she'd had it years earlier. loves it.
The Best Grammar/Usage Book Ever.......2006-05-18
I retired a few years ago and wish that I had taken my Gregg Reference Manual with me as a "parting gift." I used to take calls from people regarding grammar questions. Little did they know I would grab this book and easily page to the correct answer. I impressed many people over the years; and then, of course, the answers became second nature to me. I have recommended this book many times and finally am going to purchase my own copy for home. It is a good book just to read. Absolutely EVERYTHING is in there.
Recommendations for Students Entering the Secretarial Field.......2004-07-29
As a business education teacher, I highly recommend this reference manual to anyone entering the secretarial field. It provides a complete source for answering questions concerning grammar, punctuation, English usage, etc. The well-done index allows easy access to the needed information. It is an absolute MUST for office employees. Eva Lewis, El Cajon, CA
All arguments stop here.......2004-04-14
I am an independent corporate trainer who teaches people to write better at work. When my students ask me for my advice about good books to guide them as they write at work, this is the reference book I recommend.
I also tell them several other things about the book. First, this is not just some handbook that secretaries can use to look up how to format a letter. It is an authoritative reference for all aspects of writing English. It should be next to the dictionary and thesaurus on the shelf of everyone who needs to write at work, from clerks to executives. Second, if your boss or anyone else argues with you about any rule of writing, you only have to point to the relevant entry in this book. All arguments stop there. Third, the size of the book is deceptive. It uses small font and thin paper. With normal font and paper, it would be the size of two or three large dictionaries. That's how much useful stuff is packed in this book.
It takes a while to get used to how the information in the book is formatted, but it is well worth the effort. All entries in the index include page numbers as well as topic numbers, which they call "rules." The book is logically structured around these rules, and it makes related topics easy to find.
I rated this book 5 stars because I think it is superior in all categories for a reference book: comprehensive content, abundant examples, thorough index, authoritative author, and reasonable price.
A good everyday reference tool, but..........2003-04-09
This manual is a great tool with easy to locate information and a wealth of information; it is not, however, the end-all of writing. It is a good business writing manual, but to an English student and editor, it falls rather short. For example, Sabin's advice on generic pronouns and gender may suit a business proposal with "his or hers" and "he or she" littering the page, but in the humanities, this is becoming less and less acceptable. Items such as this seem unimportant only until you need them.
The GRM is a fine grammar manual if needed only for occasional use casually and in business situations, but for intense scrutiny, it wouldn't be my first choice.
Book Description
The second edition of A Writer's Resource draws on its authors' 20 years of research into writing in college and provides the most extensive technological support available, forming an indispensable resource for learning, writing, researching, and editing. The second edition features a stonger focus on visual rhetoric, new documentation flowcharts, a new chapter on multimedia assignments, enhanced coverage of note-taking and plagiarism, new online peer review utilities (as well as course management utilities for instructors), and more!
Customer Reviews:
This book is best!! For Eng 101.......2007-01-11
Before you buy this book, also consider ISBN:0073228508 or 0073230561
They're Instructor edition, but all the same. Compare the prices
Book Description
The Klingon Dictionary is the first comprehensive sourcebook for Klingon language and syntax, including fundamental rules of grammar as well as words and expressions that illustrate the complex nature of Klingon culture. It features a precise pronunciation guide, rules for proper use of affixes and suffixes, and a small phrasebook with Klingon translations for essential expressions such as "Activate the transport beam," "Always trust your instincts," and the ever-popular "Surrender or die!"
Customer Reviews:
Very cool to have for any Star Trek fan........2007-08-24
This book is excellent. It has everything (and I'm not exagerating here) you need to learn Klingon. The information is well organized and it's easy to learn the basics. And the dictionary is quite large, so it's easy to translate just about anything you can think of. Some English-to-Klingon phrases can get confusing sometimes because the Klingon translation isn't word for word with English. So, if you're a big fan of Star Trek, or you want to learn another language, this book is a must have.
more of a reference than a learning guide........2007-06-03
This book is full of all the grammar and words you'll need to get a basic knowledge of Klingon, but it is all presented more as a reference. I've been through several languages, and while tools such as this are an indispensable aid to learning, they're not always the best way to approach a language. A textbook format learning guide would be better for a beginner, one that chops the vocabulary and grammar up into sections rather than presenting it all at once. But for what it is, it's great.
A Cool Reference To Have For Fans.......2007-04-15
This is a really cool book if you want to know what certain words are in Klingon, but to actually learn the language, it will take a lot of time. This book goes into great detail about how to pronounce words and where they belong in a sentence. This is like learning any other language, and it won't be easy to learn, but it is still really fun to have and read. I'm trying to learn, but it will take a while.
Great gift for a trekkie........2007-03-09
This was given as a gift and when opened was met with a "whoop." I guess that says it all.
What a find!.......2007-03-09
Fantastic! I bought 2... one for myself and another for a friend - you always need a practice partner when you decide to start learning a new language! What a hoot! Has great words, expressions and a section on the correct pronunciation of each 'letter'. Also includes a section on syntax and grammar. More than just a 'dictionary'!!
Average customer rating:
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English Speech Act Verbs: A Semantic Dictionary
Anna Wierzbicka
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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ASIN: 0123128110 |
Book Description
As linguistic diversity in schools continues to rise, more educators find themselves studying linguistics in teacher training programs. Unfortunately, the vast majority of introductory linguistics texts do not address their needs; such teachers are likely to find the texts inaccessible and irrelevant. Relevant Linguistics, written with teachers and future teachers in mind, provides a straightforward, accessible introduction to the basics of phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Instructor writes excellent text.......2007-03-09
The book is easy to read, easy to understand, and has challenging exercises in Linguistics. It is well written, and if you get a chance I highly recommend taking a course in Linguistics with Justice. He is a helpful, easy to talk to instructor.
Perfect for high school teachers.......2005-07-15
Faced with the challenge of teaching a ninth grade linguistics course, I looked long and hard for books that could help me. Almost all linguistic texts are hundreds of pages long and pitched at way too complex a level. In this one, though, Paul Justice tells you exactly what you need to know, distilling but not oversimplifying the subject. The book is designed so that you can effectively teach yourself, with exercises and good examples throughout. Justice is a clear writer and explicator, revisiting important topics when appropriate, so that you see connections, and he always remembers to explain why what he's teaching you is relevant in a high school classroom. And like the best linguistics books, it's fun. My only complaint is that the on-line solutions to the exercises are only available to teachers who adopt the text for their classes. All in all, though, this book is a definite find.
Great textbook for Linguistics students.......2003-11-28
This textbook is a great source for both undergrad and grad students. No other books explain phonology, morphology, and syntax better than this one. All the chapters are carefully designed to help learners understand better. I strongly recommend this book to any students who are interested in Linguistics.
Amazon.com
Human languages are capable of expressing a literally endless number of different ideas. How do we manage it--so effortlessly that we scarcely ever stop to think about it? In Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, a look at the simple concepts that we use to devise works as complex as love sonnets and tax laws, renowned neuroscientist and linguist Steven Pinker shows us how. The latest linguistic research suggests that each of us stores a limited (though large) number of words and word-parts in memory and manipulates them with a much smaller number of rules to produce every writing and utterance, and Pinker explains every step of the way with engaging good humor.
Pinker's enthusiasm for the subject infects the reader, particularly as he emphasizes the relation between how we communicate and how we think. What does it mean that a small child who has never heard the word wug can tell a researcher that when one wug meets another, there are two wugs? Some rule must be telling the child that English plurals end in -s, which also explains mistakes like mouses. Is our communication linked inextricably with our thinking? Pinker says yes, and it's hard to disagree. Words and Rules is an excellent introduction to and overview of current thinking about language, and will greatly reward the careful reader with new ways of thinking about how we think, talk, and write. --Rob Lightner
Book Description
From the author of the bestselling The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works comes an engaging, often hilarious, always insightful look at the philosophy of language.
Who other than MIT scientist Steven Pinker could explore a single linguistic phenomenon-the use of irregular verbs-from the vantage points of psychology, biology, history, philosophy, linguistics, and child development?
In Words and Rules, Pinker answers questions about the miraculous human ability called language and does it in the gripping, witty style of his other bestsellers. As the stories unfold, the reader is immersed in the evolution of the English language over the centuries, the theories of Noam Chomsky and his critics, the simulation of neural networks on computers, the illuminating errors of children as they begin to speak, the tragic loss of language from neurological disease, and more illustrations using humorous wordplay than anyone would have thought possible. Pinker makes sense of all these phenomena with the help of a single powerful idea: that the essence of language is a mental dictionary of memorized words and a mental grammar of creative rules.
Pinker is well known for his skills of explaining the art and science of language. His bestselling book How the Mind Works was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and was the #1 bestselling book for amazon.com in 1997. His other bestseller The Language Instinct was named one of the Ten Best Books of 1994 by The New York Times Book Review and nominated for the William James Book Award by the American Psychological Association.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!.......2007-03-15
This book is definitely fascinating, and Pinker weaves his sense of humor throughout explanations of why verbs, regular and irregular, are the way they are.
My head still hurts.......2006-11-19
I have long been a Steven Pinker fan. It is great to have a neurologist appear who can explain the workings of the brain in a fairly easy to understand, often humorous and precise way. Words & Rules, though made my head hurt. I felt a little like the rat in Flowers for Algernon: a vague feeling that I might have understood this more easily at one time not too long ago, but boy is this difficult to wade through now. Which is to say I blame myself rather than Pinker. I think it's a very difficult subject and my tenuous grasp of grammar didn't help. Unlike his previous books, an actual understanding of the parts of speech helps here.
That said, delving into the minutiae of how the brain works is ultimately rewarding, even if I only understood maybe 75% of this. Watching vicariously as Pinker et al close in how how we think and talk is truly awesome. I find myself paying close attention to how I speak; how I hesitate in choosing words; what associations I seem to need to find a word or person... . Very cool, though you can probably get sucked into some kind of fugue state if you overdo it.
Still highly recommended, but make sure you're snowed in somewhere and have a lot of coffee.
George
Great if you really want to learn.......2006-11-07
I am a linguist now, but I read this book before I started graduate school and I really enjoyed it! The other reviewers are correct in that it is more dense, but if you are really curious about how inflection and irregular verbs (not to mention coinages such as 'computer mouses/mice' or 'flew/flied out to right field') might work in the brain, I think you might really enjoy it! For those who say it's dull, well it's the fascinating topic that makes it good, not a storyline! It is, after all, an informational book. I recommend it for serious language hobbyists or people wanting to enter linguistics in the future.
Interesting and boring paradox.......2006-08-25
I have read both the Language Instinct and How the Mind Works, and I'd say this one ranks below both of those. While the book is filled with very interesting facts about verbs and language acquistion, I found it too long and tedious.. I felt like I was plowing through.
For those wanting to get most of the information from this book and not "plow" - I'd read chapters 1-3 (The Infinite Library, Dissection by Linguistics, Broken Telephone) and then 7 (Kids Say the Darndest Things), and then 10 (A Digital Mind in an Analog World). Readers taking this approach can skim the other chapters to see if they are of interest.
I found Chapter 7 to be the most interesting, as I have a young two year old acquiring language. Naturally, I'd like to have seen that section expanded. That chapter was (to me) the most revealing of the entire book.
Brilliant book inappropriately marketed.......2006-03-31
In Words and Rules, Pinker manages to condense and tie together an unbelievable amount of research. Reading this book carefully (i.e. really absorbing the densely packed information) and looking up some of its references is probably equivalent to a good undergraduate degree in linguistics.
Pinker has a knack for teasing apart all the different threads that make up a hugely complex subject, exploring each one with arguments and data from different academic currents, and then tying them up again so the reader can form a much better picture of the whole. And that's exactly what he does in this flawlessly well-written book.
The only problem with Words and Rules is its packaging: it's marketed as a popular science book for the general public, but unlike The Language Instinct and How the Mind Works, it can probably only be properly appreciated by either serious "language hobbyists" or linguists (I am both).
If you don't have a fairly good background, or at least a serious interest, in linguistics, you'll probably find this book too dense (at any rate, it's definitely not "light reading"). If you're a linguist (pure or applied), here's another real gem from Steven Pinker.
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