All About Language

This is a textbook and a very good one...an easy, conversational style that makes the highly complex and intricate nature of language seem quite explicable. Steven Carroll The Age (Melbourne) An informative and highly readable overview of basic linguistic ideas and debates. Barry Blake succeeds in making complex concepts accessible to beginning students without talking down to them. If I hadn't retired last year, I'd very likely use the book myself as a text in the undergraduate-level introduction to linguistics. Frederick J. Newmeyer, University of Washington and University of British Columbia A stimulating introduction to linguistics and language study. All About Language is clearly written and contains a wealth of thought-provoking and interesting examples taken from English as well as from other languages, including signing. It has a nicely judged set of topics that cover an enormous range in a short space.