Product Description
Where does today's English come from? This new edition of the bestseller by Charles Barber tells the story of the language from its remote ancestry to the present day. In response to demand from readers, a brand new chapter on late modern English has been added for this edition. Using dozens of familiar texts, including the English of King Alfred, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Addison, the book tells you everything you need to know about the English language, where it came from and where it's going to. This edition adds new material on English as a global language and explains the differences between the main varieties of English around the world. Clear explanations of linguistic ideas and terms make it the ideal introduction for students on courses in English language and linguistics, and for all readers fascinated by language. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Excellent for education and referance
This book is excellent for reference when studying and for personal education if you're interested in learning about the history of the English Language.Sounds boring, but did you know that Farsi is considered a Germanic language like French and Norwegian??Also teaches the finer points of language, how words are pronounced and how different dialects develop.Broken down into easy-to-comprehend chapters, each deals with a certain part of the history of language and breaks it down into groups based on geography.From 1 being the easiest and 10 being the worst, reading level is about a 4 yet so much information compacted into a small book creates a dryness level of 8.

une introduction excellente à l'histoire de la langue anglaise
Ce livre est le premier que j'ai lu lorsque j'ai commencé à m'intéresser à l'histoire de cette langue si répandue, protéiforme et souple, cet ancien dialecte teuton heureusement civilisé par les Normands français, et naturellement les apports latin et grec. Clair, d'une lecture facile, voilà un ouvrage excellent de vulgarisation dont la lecture est à recommander à tous !

Very good, but tough sledding for a 'casual' reader
This book seems like an excellent introduction to the history of English-language development.I would caution anyone who is considering this book to evaluate how technical a work they wish to read.If the annswer is 'not very' or even 'moderately,' I'd advise them to keep clear of Barber's text.He has many lengthy analyses of morphology and phonology changes of Indo-European, Proto-Germanic and Old-English words, which can be confusing or exhausting if a reader doesn't have a serious interest.(I do, but still think it's a bit dull.)My knowledge of this subject prior to reading the book was very general (i.e.-- of the 'I think the Normans invaded in 1066' type...), but I feel pretty grounded in the topic, after reading Barber's text...I'm ready to tackle Old English!

Another caveat-- Barber is British, and bases all his pronunciations on British 'Received Pronunciation' rules, which may challenge American readers--like myself--trying to puzzle out his pronunctions...and a cursory knowledge of Latin and perhaps Greek or German can really help in understanding the 'pre-historical' aspects of his argument.

A last note: an earlier reviewer has claimed that this book 'makes clear the relationship between Dutch and English.'I think he's misunderstood Barber's analysis, as Barber clearly states that English is most closely related to Anglo-Frisian, which is a branch of the West-Germanic group, but distinct from the Dutch/Old Franconian branch.The languages are hereditary, but not linear (according to Barber).This could be a niggling point, but may prejudice potential reader's to Barber.

Overall, a great (but technical) read, and thrilling to a determined student of English-language development.

Informative good read
If someone is interested in learning the origins, history, and development of the English language, then he or she will gain a lot from this book.There are many technical aspects included.It's also enjoyable.Many applied linguistic terms and areas are covered.From English's relationship to Sanskrit and other languages, to the great vowel shift explaining why English often doesn't sound the way it's spelled--difficult and illogical for students learning the language.The author went into depth about such topics as the culture of the Germanic tribes and how demographics influenced the development of the English language the way it did.The Scandinavians, French, and many others have loaded the language with with many loans words.It's a good informative read.

An excellent, if heavily technical, layman's guide
This book is an excellent introduction to the history of the English language.As the other reviewers have noted, it's a bit top-heavy on technical linguistics, and therefore may not be suitable to everyone.But if you don't mind reading a book which could also be used as a 400-level college textbook...I think this book would appeal to any who have an interest in linguistics in general and the history on English in particular - especially if you've read other, lighter books on the topic already and you're ready to get seriously into the topic.

I fit the above category, and I loved this book.Probably the best I've read on the subject so far. ... Read more

Product Description
This book addresses the most pressing and controversial issues surrounding contemporary language use today, including intercultural communication, political persuasion, new technologies, the growth of English, language in education and foreign language teaching and learning.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Practical, Medium Level of Academic Language, Great Overview
Applied Linguistics is one in a series of books by OUP, edited by H. Widdowson, geared to introduce new readers to the more complex and formal study of language use. Although considered a natural phenomenon, for educational purposes language use requires certain factors to be reviewed. These include: language skills; dialect or standard forms; new lexis; English as a lingua franca; and methodology.
In order to answer the many questions arising from these issues, facts aboutlanguage use must be investigated and analyzed. Applied Linguistics approaches this task by studying the relation of knowledge about language to decision making in the real world (p. 5). Specific areas include: language and education; language work and law; and language, information and effect.
Since all these areas cannot be covered in one book, Cook has endeavored to select key themes which would give a comprehensive overview of the main issues regarding applied linguistics. The heart of the book, referred to as the 'Survey', offeres a concise and challenging summary of the most important features of applied linguistics. Those captivated by a specific subject will apprechate the Readings and References sections. Chapter. four offers an overview of ELT history by briefly describing various approaches to TEFL from grammar translation to communicative language teaching, and how they vary. The shift of emphasis from the means to the ends of language learning has had far-reading consequences at both the macro level of syllabus and curriculum design and the micro level of classroom activity (p. 31), such as the development of ESP (macro) and task-based instruction (micro).
Cook has combined a medium level of academic language with everyday, practical examples of life at home and school which most EFL/ESL teachers can understand and relate to. For the real novice, he has kindly included a glossary of terms at the back. I can highly recommend Applied Linguistics to teachers who have little or no background knowledge in applied linguistics, as ell as to those interested in pursuing speciic issues in this field.
J. Salvisberg, Bern, Switzerland ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides an up-to-date overview of sociolinguistics, including topics of nationalism and popular culture, style and identity, creole languages, critical language awareness, multimodal literacies, classroom discourse, ideologies and power, across language education contexts ranging from the teaching of English as an international language to Indigenous language revitalization. ... Read more

Product Description
This textbook presents an up-to-date account of the main concerns, problems and theoretical and practical issues raised by second language acquisition research. Research in this field has until recently been mainly pedagogically oriented, but since the 1970s linguists and psychologists have become increasingly interested in the principles that underlie second language acquisition for the light these throw on how human language processing functions in general. Moreover, it is only through an understanding of these principles that foreign language teaching can become maximally effective. In the first part of his book, Wolfgang Klein provides a critical assessment of the current state of the art. The second part, 'from the learner's point of view', is devoted to four central problems which anyone learning a second language (either through everyday communication or in the classroom) is faced with, and whose solution constitutes the acquisition process. This accessible introduction provides students of linguistics and applied linguistics and anyone concerned with foreign language teaching with a real understanding of the fundamental issues in the field, or the advances that have not yet been solved and sometimes not even approached. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first ever book-length study of the nature and significance of the linguistic contact between speakers of Old Norse and Old English in Viking Age England. It investigates in a wide-ranging and systematic fashion a foundational but under-considered factor in the history and culture of the Vikings in England. The subject is important for late Anglo-Saxon and Viking Age history; for language and literature in the late Anglo-Saxon period; and for the history and development of the English language. The work's primary focus is on Anglo-Norse language contact, with a particular emphasis on the question of possible mutual intelligibility between speakers of the two languages; but since language contact is an emphatically sociolinguistic phenomenon, the work's methodology combines linguistic, literary and historical approaches, and draws for its evidence on texts in Old English, Old Norse and Anglo-Latin, and other forms of linguistic and onomastic material. ... Read more

Product Description
Lexical acculturation refers to the accommodation of languages to new objects and concepts encountered as the result of culture contact. This unique study analyzes a survey of words for 77 items of European culture (e.g. chicken, horse, apple, rice, scissors, soap, and Saturday) in the vocabularies of 292 Amerindian languages and dialects spoken from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. The first book ever to undertake such a large and systematic cross-language investigation, Brown's work provides fresh insights into general processes of lexical change and development, including those involving language universals and diffusion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great book!
You have probably read the bible. You have probably read the Koran. You have probably read at least 3 books. Well, hold on to your hat. This book rings and rings with truth and beauty. If you don't buy it you are a dear person. Why not. Ok. Go for it. ... Read more

Product Description

Language in the Real World challenges traditional approaches to linguistics to provide an innovative introduction to the subject. By first examining the real world applications of core areas of linguistics and then addressing the theory behind these applications, this text offers an inductive, illustrative, and interactive overview for students. Key areas covered include animal communication, phonology, language variation, gender and power, lexicography, translation, forensic linguistics, language acquisition, ASL, and language disorders. Each chapter, written by an expert in the field, is introduced by boxed notes listing the key points covered and features an author’s note to readers that situates the chapter in its real world context. Activities and pointers for further study and reading are also integrated into the chapters and an end of text glossary is provided to aid study.

Professors and students will benefit from the interactive companion website that includes a student section featuring comments and hints on the chapter exercises within the book, a series of flash cards to test knowledge and further reading and links to key resources. Material for professors includes essay and multiple choice questions based on each chapter and additional general discussion topics.

Language in the Real World shows that linguistics can be appreciated, studied, and enjoyed by actively engaging real world applications of linguistic knowledge and principles and will be essential reading for students with an interest in language.

Customer Reviews (1)

An effective introduction for undergraduates in various disciplines
Behrens and Parker take an interesting approach to language studies with original essays by more than two dozen professionals representing a variety of physical and social sciences. By describing how language studies relate to areas ranging from psychology and computer science to philosophy and literature, the editors deliver a broad overview of the field of linguistics in the context of its myriad "real world" applications. Their approach makes this book suitable not only for undergraduate linguistics majors, but also for students in other disciplines looking for a deeper understanding of how language is structured and used.

I found the essays generally engaging and clearly written. Their value was enhanced by the book's intelligent and flexible organization, and the inclusion of exercises to test readers' comprehension and spark further discussion.

The editors organize the essays into the following broad categories:
1. Language, Education and Cultural Change
2. Literature, Translation and Computers
3. Language, Power and Identity
4. Forms of Language and Communications
5. Language and Communications Science

For more traditional linguistics curricula, they also provide an alternate table of contents:
1. Discourse Analysis
2. Lexicon/Semantics
3. Morphology
4. Neurolinguistics/Psycholinguistics
5. Pragmatics
6. Phonetics/Phonology
7. Sociolinguistics
8. Syntax ... Read more

Product Description
Language demonstrates structure while also showing considerable variation at all levels: languages differ from one another while still being shaped by the same principles; utterances within a language differ from one another while exhibiting the same structural patterns; languages change over time, but in fairly regular ways. This book focuses on the dynamic processes that create languages and give them their structure and variance. It outlines a theory of language that addresses the nature of grammar, taking into account its variance and gradience, and seeks explanation in terms of the recurrent processes that operate in language use. The evidence is based on the study of large corpora of spoken and written language, what we know about how languages change, as well as the results of experiments with language users. The result is an integrated theory of language use and language change which has implications for cognitive processing and language evolution. ... Read more

Product Description
It is commonly agreed by linguists and anthropologists that the majority of languages spoken now around the globe will likely disappear within our lifetime. The phenomenon known as language death has started to accelerate as the world has grown smaller.

This extinction of languages, and the knowledge therein, has no parallel in human history. K. David Harrison's book is the first to focus on the essential question, what is lost when a language dies? What forms of knowledge are embedded in a language's structure and vocabulary? And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever?

Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight. He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage (oral histories, poetry, stories, etc.) but very useful knowledge about plants, animals, the seasons, and other aspects of the natural world--not to mention our understanding of the capacities of the human mind. Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very Interesting and Rather Sad
The author is a linguist specializing dying languages.As Harrison points out, a very large fraction of the world's extant languages are spoken by very small groups and are being displaced by absorption into more common languages.These vanishing languages are invariably from oral cultures in which language is the primary repository of considerable inherited knowledge.One language of mountain farmers in the Phillipines contains a remarkably detailed vocabulary for rice cultivation and rice strains, a language in the Solomon Islands is particularly rich in terms for fish behavior, and many of these languages encode impressive geographic knowledge of their regions.When languages are lost, inherited knowledge, along with religious and many other cultural traditions are lost with them.Harrison argues well that language loss is significantly diminishing our cultural and scientific patrimony.

In addition, Harrison argues well also that language diversity is scientifically important in understanding not only human language capacity per se but important aspects of human cognition generally.The great diversity of languages provides raw data for looking at human cognitive capacities.Harrison shows very nicely the diversity of counting systems, grammatical systems, topographic knowledge encoded by language, and other features that reveal the impressive diversity of language capacities.Without efforts to preserve or record these dying languages, potentially important data about the human mind will be irretrievably lost.

Beyond these scientific reasons to be interested in dying languages, Harrison shows very well how language death reduces cultural diversity and our general cultural patrimony.Harrison presents some powerful vignettes about what is lost with the death of language and some particularly poignant stories about the efforts of speakers of dying languages to hold onto their languages.

Compelling Reading
David Harrison's book brings attention to the critical matter of disappearing languages and the knowledge about mankind being lost with them. Better and more tragic than a novel!

excellence!
the book came quickly and was in perfect condition - would definitely buy from again

Two thought-provoking arguments for language preservation
Every two weeks, a language dies. Over the past several years there have been several books written about this sad phenomenon, ranging from popular works such as Mark Abley's Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages to more academic coverage like Vanishing Voices: The Extinction of the World's Languages by Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine. K. David Harrison's When Languages Die has a universal appeal. The author, a professor of linguistics at Swathmore College, writes in an approachable style that emphasizes the human element of language death, the last speakers of languages who feel great pain at their loss, while giving a rigorous argument for language preservation.

One common point in favor of language preservation is that certain possibilities of human language are found only in small indigenous languages, and were they not attested there, we would not know the human brain could accept such features. Urarina, a language spoken in the Amazon that has OVS word order, is the standard example and is present here. Harrison, however, gives some original arguments. His fieldwork has taken him to several smaller populations of Eastern Europe, Siberia, the Philippines and Mongolia. He has visited populations who maintain a traditional way of life with complex folk techniques. Harrison's first argument for language preservation is that the switch from an indigenous language and its useful terminology for local industry to an outside language creates inefficiency. He observes that older reindeer herders among Siberian peoples speaking their own language are able to express themselves about their duties much more concisely than a younger generation speaking Russian, who must resort to circumlocution. I like this argument. It does not resort to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis that language determines what you can say, for the younger generation can still speak of the details of reindeer herding, but it sees value in a language that can encode such information more efficiently.

Harrison's second argument for action against language death is that traditional languages pass down useful knowledge through the generations simply by being used, and this knowledge is lost through adopting an outside language. He gives exhaustive coverage of various calendar systems throughout the world, where names for months are tied to the agriculture or hunting cycle. Simply by growing up speaking such a language, a young person is endowed with knowledge of the plant cycle or the breeding habits of local wildlife. He gives examples of Siberian populations who no longer remember details of certain natural phenonmenon because they have lost their traditional calendar and use only the Russian one. While in many cases this is applicable, this argument doesn't hold when local peoples simply cease caring about traditional views of the natural environment. The same forces which encourage language shift, industrialization and urbanization, are those which tend to replace traditional ways of life altogether. When people are living in large blocks of flats in the city, going to work in offices or factories, is the traditional calendar any more meaningful than the new one?

In fact, this ties into one major objection I have to pleas for language preservation as usually formulated. As linguists, we can agree with languages are interesting and worthy of preservation. We might agree that some of what indigenous populations do, such as their agricultural lore, should be preserved. However, I don't see how we must all believe that all indigenous ways of life are worth maintaining. This is especially true with regards to religion. Whatever your spiritual beliefs are, religion is usually an issue of what is right against what is falsehood, and it doesn't make sense to call for relativism. Have some priorities here, people. While less critical of missionary efforts than other books on this subject, even Harrison succumbs to this, writing on page 153 'We should be sensitive to the impending loss of so many more religions and worldviews as languages die.' I would like to make linguistics my life's work, but there's no way I buy that.

The book is lavishly illustrated with photos of the speakers of threatened languages and with various diagrams. The author even includes sign languages alongside spoken languages, which no other work on the subject to my knowledge has done. Of the books I've read on the general phenomenon of language death and the worthiness of language preservation, Harrison's When Languages Die is, while by no means perfect, probably the best.

The Sad Extinction of Culture
"When Languages Die" illuminates one of sad the results of centralized governments and the emergence of a world monoculture. It should be required reading for high school history students. Another fine book on the topic of the loss of language and culture to monolithic government is "The Discovery of France" by Graham Robb, which details the intertwined maze of languages and cultures in what is now known as France, that was dismantled and destroyed after the French Revolution. It gives a better perspective to viewing the plight of politically marginal cultures like the Basques and the Kurds, just to mention a couple famous groups. Did you know, for instance, that the Languedoc region of France (translate Languedoc to Langue d'Occ) was once the center of the second great language of France, Occitan, and that it is still spoken in France? You'll be led into studying the story of the destruction of the native Christian culture of the Cathars of France by the crusades and The Inquisition. Another fascinating addition to "When Languages Die" is a book and CD published by Ellipsis Arts called "Deep In the Heart Of Tuva: cowboy music from the wild east", a small book and large recording of the music and unique language of the region of Mongolia named Tuva, which was central to "When Languages Die". We can conserve lost animals in cryobanks and zoos; but you'd better take a close look at these cultures before they're gone. Oh, yes, also read about the Marsh Arabs of Southern Iraq, killed off and dispersed by Saddam; a culture of 500,000 to 1,000,000 persons dating back to the Sumerians. ... Read more

Product Description

This cutting-edge volume describes the implications of Cognitive Linguistics for the study of second language acquisition (SLA). The first two sections identify theoretical and empirical strands of Cognitive Linguistics, presenting them as a coherent whole. The third section discusses the relevance of Cognitive Linguistics to SLA and defines a research agenda linking these fields with implications for language instruction. Its comprehensive range and tutorial-style chapters make this handbook a valuable resource for students and researchers alike.

Product Description
Language Diversity and Thought examines the Sapir-Whorf linguistic relativity hypothesis: the proposal that the grammar of the particular language that we speak affects the way we think about reality. Adopting a historical approach, the book reviews the various lines of empirical inquiry that arose in America in response to the ideas of anthropologists Edward Sapir and Benjamin L. Whorf. John Lucy asks why there has been so little fruitful empirical research on this problem and what lessons can be learned from past work. He then proposes a new, more adequate approach to future empirical research. A companion volume, Grammatical Categories and Cognition, illustrates the proposed approach with an original case study. The study compares the grammar of American English with that of Yucatec Maya, an indigenous language spoken in southeastern Mexico, and then identifies distinctive patterns of thinking related to the differences between the two languages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Relativism defended.
With perhaps the exception of moral relativism, all forms of Relativism are out of fashion at the moment, a point Lucy is clear to point out. Lucy is to be congratulated on sticking with the issue, showing that relativism is far from dead. His book is based on clear scientific research, and is most convincing. This book should be read by all students of anthropology and linguistics, but more so by cognitive science students who are being taught that relativism is a dead issue. An excellent book! ... Read more

Product Description
Language into Language, conceived as both a theoretical and a practical source for aspiring and practicing interpreters and translators, also serves courtroom personnel (judges, attorneys, and reporters) and social-service administrators, as well as language teachers, diplomats, and business executives who are involved in bilingual and bicultural environments and language transactions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Exceptionally well written and enhanced with extensive chapter notes
The need to translate speech and written documents from one language into another is a vitally important process for all categories of human communication from business, to science, to politics, to literature, to jurisprudence, to cultural entertainments. Drawing upon his many years as a professional translator and teacher of phonetics, Saul Sibirsky has written "Language into Language: Cultural, Legal and Linguistic Issues for Interpreters and Translators", a 254-page compendium that is specifically designed to offer novice and professional translators with a theoretical and practical source for working in bilingual and bicultural environments and language transactions in any field of endeavor. After providing a historical perspective, "Language into Language: Cultural, Legal and Linguistic Issues for Interpreters and Translators" goes on to address language and the legal system; professional standards for interpreters and translators; their training and certification; the differences and distinctions between interpretation and translation; cultural implications of bilingualism; and a great deal more. Given the multicultural make-up of the American populace, "Language into Language: Cultural, Legal and Linguistic Issues for Interpreters and Translators" will prove to be especially germane to the needs of courtroom personnel, social-service workers, language teachers, business executives, and governmental diplomats. Exceptionally well written and enhanced with extensive chapter notes; an extended bibliography, and a comprehensive index, "Language into Language: Cultural, Legal and Linguistic Issues for Interpreters and Translators" is strongly recommend for personal, professional, academic, and community library Language Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
... Read more

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"The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" represents a unique collaboration of over hundreds of scholars from around the world, the "Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" covers all relevant aspects of the study of Arabic and deals with all levels of the language (pre-Classical Arabic, Classical Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic vernaculars, mixed varieties of Arabic). No other reference work offers this scale of contributions or depth and breadth of coverage. "The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics" is set to become an essential reference work for students and researchers in the fields of linguistics, Islamic studies, Arabic literature and other related fields. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A wonderful masterpiece!!
This encyclopedia is the wonderful product of many eminent contributors from all over the world.
I have three of its volumes and am waiting impatiently for the fourth that will come out any day now.
The work is a must-have for any researcher in the field of Arabic culture, languages and linguistics and anyone interested in this field.

Joyce Akesson

Author of Arabic Morphology and Phonology: Based on the Marah Al-Arwah by Ahmad B. Ali B. Masud (Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics)

seriously?!
only two hundred sixty seven dollars for this masterpiece? what a steal. but there's only one copy left at amazon. don't all rush to order it at the same time! ... Read more

Product Description
The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition presents an integrated discussion of key, and sometimes controversial, issues in second language acquisition (SLA) research.

Written by twenty-seven of the world’s leading scholars, the chapters reflect the diversity and technicality that have come to characterize SLA research. Topics discussed include the biological and cognitive underpinnings of SLA; mechanisms, processes, and constraints on SLA; the level of ultimate attainment; research methods; and the status of SLA as a cognitive science.

This volume is an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of human cognition, including those in linguistics, psychology, applied linguistics, ESL, foreign languages, and cognitive science. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A good intro to Second Language Acquisition
I had to read about half of this book for a graduate seminar in SLA this semester. Some of the chapters get a bit challenging to read, but overall, it's a good intermediate introduction to the subject.

A must have for FL/SL professionals
This is an affordable, authoritative resource on SLA research.Chapters from leading research figures, including Long, DeKeyser, Nick Ellis, and Peter Robinson will prove invaluable for the language teacher, graduate student, or researcher.The chapters are broadly representative of major approaches to language acquisition research. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This book is a systematic attempt to address the issue of fossilization in relation to a fundamental question in second language acquisition research, which is: why are learners, adults in particular, unable to develop the level of competence they have aspired to in spite of continuous and sustained exposure to the target language, adequate motivation to learn, and sufficient opportunity to practice? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fossilization is a process, as is this book
1.The Critical Issue
Teachers and learners in language studies all become aware of the inevitable "plateaus" in learning, where development slows or even stops before the learning curve climbs once again. Fossilization in Adult Second Language Acquisition deals with the final plateau, that which all language teachers and learners fear most: the point where there is no further language growth. ZhaoHong Han has compiled a detailed survey of the 30+ year history of this topic and added findings of her own to present the most detailed and current discussion available.

2.95% Failure in Language Learning?
If only 5% of adult language learners attain native-like fluency in a second language, clearly teachers and researchers should be concerned. This figure is in sharp contrast to the "95% success" rate in first language acquisition! Originally coined by Selinker (1972), the term "fossilization" has seen many interpretations and re-definitions. Most English language teachers themselves have their own rough definition ­ Han spends a considerable amount of time reviewing the field and establishing exactly what it is we are talking about. Her definition is based on "cessation of learning in spite of continuous exposure to input, adequate motivation, and sufficient opportunity to practice" as "modulated" by individuals' internal and external factors. A taxonomy of "putative causal factors" outlines 50 problem areas. Additional issues include identifying when ultimate attainment (failure) occurs, and the perspective that this is a multivariate outcome: there can be varying levels of success in various aspects of language competence within any given language learner. Han observes that fossilization is a process, not a product: we are not talking about a fossilized learner, but fossilized learning.

3.A Systematic Framework
This book is not for the casual reader, but instead for those teachers (and scholars) interested in the underlying issues. The first three chapters are an enjoyable, yet intellectually stimulating, overview of the conceptual underpinnings for fossilization. Chapters four, five, and six are a challenging read, with detailed critique of microscopic and macroscopic studies of second language acquisition and fossilization. An important consideration for Han is the modular nature of second language acquisition, which appears not only as multiple critical periods (sensitive periods) for various language linguistic domains, but the differing influences of various L1s for L2 acquisition, so that success and failure co-exist in any given interlanguage. Particular linguistic features prone to fossilization are discussed in some detail. Much of this section reads like a thesis, so put your thinking caps on!

4.Issues for Second Language Instruction
Many teachers may skim through the middle chapters, or even duck them altogether, but chapter seven brings the issue to the classroom. Fossilization in Adult Second Language Acquisition challenges the common perception that classroom explicit language instruction, particularly grammar instruction, is the prescription. Michael Long's 'Focus on FormS' versus 'Focus on Form' is just one of the approaches that are questioned. Unfortunately, Han does not provide an answer, merely observes that such certainty is not supported by findings from the limited research conducted to date. Similarly, comprehensible input, such as advocated by Steven Krashen, and Swain's comprehensible output, are challenged. Looking at the order of acquisition of morphemes, for example, it is shown that explicit instruction may be most useful for the easier rules. Furthermore, if students do indeed process for meaning before processing for form, this calls into question the efficacy of content-based approaches for language learning. All in all, Han suggests that there are elements of explicit language instruction, including corrective feedback, that may actually promote fossilization!

5.Recommendations
When you are ready to put some time aside to seriously consider why your adult students seem to have stopped learning, this is a book you will want to visit. Diane Larsen-Freeman is quoted on the back cover noting that this book "will be widely cited for some time to come," and no doubt that's true. This book reads like graduate school supplemental materials... references are extensive, but the index is quite modest, and it sorely lacks a glossary - myelination? It's filled with challenging word choices as well - exogenous conditions, coinceptive, profundity. Overcoming the challenge is a great reward, however, and I can honestly say that the book is well worth the intellectual investment.

originally published at the "ELTNEWS" website. ... Read more

Product Description
The English Language: A Linguistic History is designed as a core text for classes in the history of the English language, offered through the English or linguistics department. Beginning with a discussion of how language changes, the book examines historical change in English from its Indo-European past through its major periods (Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English). This is an introductory text: it does not assume any background in language or linguistics. Self-testing exercises are integrated throughout the text, and students are required to learn to use the International Phonetic Alphabet. Additional pedagogical material, such as lists of related books and Web sites, are also integrated. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good book
Good source, has a lot of information in one place which is good for this subject. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is an introduction to the linguistic structure of the French language.It illustrates the different ways to approaching and explaining issues of interest in French linguistics and looks at how the language is structured and varies depending on gender, medium, register, age etc. The earlier sections describe the basic 'facts' about phonology, phonetics, morphosyntax, the lexicon and semantics. Discussion of problematic issues, with contrasting different approaches to these issues then follow along with references to recent research. ... Read more

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This highly original study provides an entirely new critical perspective on the central importance of ideas about language in the reproduction of gender, class, and race divisions in modern Japan. Focusing on a phenomenon commonly called "women's language," in modern Japanese society, Miyako Inoue considers the history and social effects of this language form. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in a contemporary Tokyo corporation to study the everyday linguistic experience of white-collar females office workers and on historical research from the late nineteenth century to 1930, she calls into question the claim that "women's language" is a Japanese cultural tradition of ancient origin and offers a critical geneaology showing the extent to which this language form is, in fact, a cultural construct linked with Japan's national and capitalist modernity. Her theoretically sophisticated, empirically grounded, interdisciplinary work brilliantly illuminates the relationship between culture and language, the nature of power and subject formation in modernity, and how the complex nexus of gender, language, and political economy are experienced in everyday life. ... Read more

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This book is intended for anyone with a serious interest in language, but particularly for students taking introductory courses in language and linguistics. It is not a catalogue of facts and theories but a book about ideas and issues. Rather than summarize the range of research being conducted in linguistics today, it explores a number of the fundamental key questions which concern linguists, they are treated in way that is as accessible as possible. The book includes a glossary of technical terms and a chapter outlining the way language is described in generative grammar. ... Read more

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This book argues that language is a network of concepts which in turn is part of the general cognitive network of the mind. It challenges the widely-held view that language is an innate mental module with its own special internal organization. It shows that language has the same internal organization as other areas of knowledge such as social relations and action schemas, and reveals the rich links between linguistic elements and contextual categories.

Professor Hudson presents a new theory of how we learn and use our knowledge of language. He puts this to work in a series of extended explorations of morphology, syntax, semantics, and sociolinguistics. Every step of his argument and exposition is illustrated with examples, including the kind mainstream theory finds it hard to analyse. He introduces the latest version of his influential theory of Word Grammar and shows how it can be used to explain the operations of language and as a key to understanding the associated operations of the mind.

Networks of Language will interest all those concerned with the acquisition and everyday operations of language, in particular scholars and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science. ... Read more