books on ling for non-specialists?

[Chuck Borsos]

My non-professional opinion - I enjoyed Pinker's book.  There is also
a book by R.L. Trask called Language:The Basics which is concise and
gives an overview of some linguistic topics.  Another book called Bad
Language, by Lars Andersson and Peter Trudgill, that deals with
perscriptivism and misconceptions about language, which is quite
readable and humorous at times.  There are a number of books by David
Crystal that are geared for general audiences, including an
Encyclopedia of Linguistics.  And lastly, there is a book called
Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics by John Lyons that I read as
a teenager that was perhaps most influential in giving me what has
become a lifelong interest in linguistics, albeit as a layman.

Chuck Borsos


>Mark A. Mandel wrote:
>>My college alumni magazine has asked me for some book titles on
>>linguistics suitable for a non-specialist but intelligent audience. What
>>would y'all recommend?
>>
>
>Pinker's The Language Instinct was the first general market book on
>language I was able to give to my parents so that they'd get an idea
>of why I do what I do. Before that, when I tried to explain why
>language is the most fascinating thing imaginable and why I think
>it's important to study it, I'd barely get two sentences out before
>they'd change the subject. When my mother was halfway through Pinker,
>she called me to argue with something he said about innateness.
>
>--
>==============================================================================
>Alice Faber                                             faber at haskins.yale.edu
>Haskins Laboratories                                  tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
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