12.2547, Sum: Books for Linguistics Entrance Exam

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-12-2547. Fri Oct 12 2001. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 12.2547, Sum: Books for Linguistics Entrance Exam

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1)
Date:  Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:03:39 +0300
From:  Deborah Ruuskanen <dru at UWasa.Fi>
Subject:  Summary of Introductory Books for Linguistics Entrance Exam

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:03:39 +0300
From:  Deborah Ruuskanen <dru at UWasa.Fi>
Subject:  Summary of Introductory Books for Linguistics Entrance Exam

Regarding my recent request for help with a general book on
language/linguistics for use in a department entrance exam:
Thanks and gratitude go to the following persons who took the time to
reply and make thoughtful suggestions

Mayrene Bentley bentley at nsuok.edu
Claudia Bubel c.bubel at mx.uni-saarland.de
Eleonora Deak dacsth-eastling at nt-tech.com.au
Agnieszka Lazorczyk  lazorczy at usc.edu
G.R. Sampson  geoffs at cogs.susx.ac.uk
Thorsten Schröter thorsten.schroter at kau.se
Stuart Stewart sstewart at selu.edu
Larry Trask larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

Hopefully each of the above has been thanked personally, and I've gotten
everyone who replied into the above list. Thanks again.

After considerable debate, it was decided in committee to use

Aitchison, Jean (1999) Linguistics: An Introduction 2nd ed.

as the book for the entrance exam. While not boring you with the debate,
suffice it to say that in 2003 we will be using

Trask, Larry (2000) Introducing Linguistics. Icon Books
ISBN 1840461691

The book most often recommended was

Yule, George (1996) The Study of Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 0-521-56851-x (pb.)

followed in second place by

Poole,  Stuart C. (1999) An Introduction to Linguistics, Palgrave.
(formerly Macmillan Press)  ISBN: 0333692187 (pb.)	

Another book mentioned was

Fromkin, Victoria & Rodman, Robert  (1998) An Introduction to Language,
6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, Brace College Publishers

The Yule and Poole books were both deemed too difficult for an absolute
beginner, but I was sufficiently impressed by both of them that I have
chosen them as the new books for the Introduction to Linguistics course,
replacing in Autumn 2002 the books we are currently using, which are out
of date.

Thanks again for all your help.
Sincerely,
Deborah D.K. Ruuskanen
Professor of English Linguistics
University of Vaasa, Finland

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