theresidentbookworm's review
3.0
Small confession: I did not read the entire book. This was assigned for my Language and Culture class, but we each had a chapter we were responsible for. Mine was Myth #6, Women Talk Too Much. I have read select chapters here and there, and I do think this is an excellent read for anyone interested in linguistics. It is a little dry, however, and I honestly want to move onto something more fun.
lemontartpages's review
5.0
So much is packed into so few pages! This book covers "language myths" that address different parts of linguistics, from grammar to accents to spelling. While many of the essays are persuasive -- they aim to debunk a language myth -- they are also very informative and give facts both for and against the argument. I really felt that while the authors of the essays were trying to convince me, the reader, that the myth was wrong, they also wanted to teach why the myth sometimes isn't wrong -- all myth is based in fact-- and why the general public who believes these myths is wrong about language. One does not need to be familiar with linguistic terms as many of the essays briefly explain technical terms such as "phoneme" within the text.
As someone who is passionate about language, I found this book really fascinating. Each essay covers a new topic, although some of them overlap, especially the grammar ones. While I read it on my own, I know it can be used as a textbook and I see why. Each essay is a good way to start a discussion on different parts of language/ why language is important. While the essays mostly focus on English, I really enjoyed that some addressed other languages (French, Aboriginal, etc). The fact that several essays address how accent/language impacts perception and prejudice is very telling that this essay collection was meant to be used in a classroom. That's not to say that those topics aren't important outside of the classroom, just that tolerance is often a focal point for those pursuing education as a career.
Overall, a great little linguistics book filled with many things to think about. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about how language, especially English, works.
As someone who is passionate about language, I found this book really fascinating. Each essay covers a new topic, although some of them overlap, especially the grammar ones. While I read it on my own, I know it can be used as a textbook and I see why. Each essay is a good way to start a discussion on different parts of language/ why language is important. While the essays mostly focus on English, I really enjoyed that some addressed other languages (French, Aboriginal, etc). The fact that several essays address how accent/language impacts perception and prejudice is very telling that this essay collection was meant to be used in a classroom. That's not to say that those topics aren't important outside of the classroom, just that tolerance is often a focal point for those pursuing education as a career.
Overall, a great little linguistics book filled with many things to think about. Highly recommend to anyone who wants to know more about how language, especially English, works.
chaoticbibliophile's review
This is a good intro to sociolinguistics, I think, because it offers a very readable and bite-sized primer to how linguists have to think and study languages in spite of our preconceived notions about Language (and we all do have them, even in spite ourselves!)
That said, I found the quality of the chapters quite uneven (also, I picked this up a bit late in the linguistics game as a 4th year student), but I still learnt more than a few things! I would recommend it overall :)
That said, I found the quality of the chapters quite uneven (also, I picked this up a bit late in the linguistics game as a 4th year student), but I still learnt more than a few things! I would recommend it overall :)
wayfarer's review
4.0
A great starter book on language and sociolinguistics. Great for that uncle who's educated and claims to be liberal but loves to complain about "how kids talk today" and "the Ebonics" and whatnot.
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