The Empirical Humanist

This page lists gen­eral read­ing for fol­low­ers of this blog. Sub­pages have more spe­cial­ized and top­i­cal bibliography.

Read­ing on Lin­guis­tics for Everyman

No mat­ter who you are, you should edu­cate your­self about cer­tain sub­jects: lin­guis­tics, com­put­ing, among others.

• K. L. Pike, Lin­guis­tic Con­cepts: An Intro­duc­tion to Tag­memics, Uni­ver­sity of Nebraska Press, 1982.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Pike:1982fk,
    title = {Linguistic Concepts: An Introduction to Tagmemics},
    publisher = {University of Nebraska Press},
    year = {1982},
    author = {Kenneth L. Pike},
    abstract = {A short, concise but very readable introduction to linguistic concepts.
    Pike, of course, invented the linguistic theory known as \"tagmemics\",
    and this introduction presents linguistic ideas from that perspective.},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 09:57:48 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-09-11 08:24:02 -0400},
    isbn = {978-0803287037},
    keywords = {Linguistics}
  }

A short, con­cise but very read­able intro­duc­tion to lin­guis­tic con­cepts. Pike, of course, invented the lin­guis­tic the­ory known as “tag­memics”, and this intro­duc­tion presents lin­guis­tic ideas from that per­spec­tive. If you’re look­ing for a place to start, but aren’t ready to tackle Lyons (1981), start here.

• J. Lyons, Lan­guage and Lin­guis­tics : an Intro­duc­tion, Cam­bridge, UK: Cam­bridge Uni­ver­sity Press, 1981.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Lyons1981,
    title = {Language and Linguistics : an Introduction},
    publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
    year = {1981},
    author = {John Lyons},
    address = {Cambridge, UK},
    annote = {In combination with a good undergraduate \"Linguistics 101\" type
    of textbook, this book provides a comprehensive orientation to linguistic
    theory and terminology. If you're looking for a starting place for
    reading in linguistics, this is it.},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 09:44:29 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-09-11 08:24:18 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics},
    owner = {klowery},
    timestamp = {2009.02.05}
  }

In com­bi­na­tion with a good under­grad­u­ate “Lin­guis­tics 101″ type of text­book, this book pro­vides a com­pre­hen­sive ori­en­ta­tion to lin­guis­tic the­ory and ter­mi­nol­ogy. If you’re look­ing for a start­ing place for read­ing in lin­guis­tics, this is it.

• D. Crys­tal, A Dic­tio­nary of Lin­guis­tics and Pho­net­ics, 4^th ed., Oxford, UK: Black­well, 1997.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Crystal1997,
    title = {A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics},
    publisher = {Blackwell},
    year = {1997},
    author = {David Crystal},
    address = {Oxford, UK},
    edition = {4th},
    annote = {Linguistics is laden with technical terms and ordinary terms used
    in a technical sense. Linguists and different linguistic traditions
    can use the same terms differently. This book is a guide and map
    through this wild and untamed territory. Not only is it useful as
    a quick lookup of a term's meaning, the articles themselves are often
    encylopedic in their coverage of a topic. A must have on the bookshelf
    of every serious reader of linguistic literature.},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 09:45:51 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-21 11:03:51 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics},
    owner = {klowery},
    timestamp = {2009.02.05}
  }

Lin­guis­tics is laden with tech­ni­cal terms and ordi­nary terms used in a tech­ni­cal sense. Lin­guists and dif­fer­ent lin­guis­tic tra­di­tions can use the same terms dif­fer­ently. This book is a guide and map through this wild and untamed ter­ri­tory. Not only is it use­ful as a quick lookup of a term’s mean­ing, the arti­cles them­selves are often ency­lo­pe­dic in their cov­er­age of a topic. A must have on the book­shelf of every seri­ous reader of lin­guis­tic literature.

• F. de Saus­sure, Course in Gen­eral Lin­guis­tics, Chicago, IL: Open Court, 1998.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Saussure:1998rm,
    title = {Course in General Linguistics},
    publisher = {Open Court},
    year = {1998},
    author = {Ferdinand de Saussure},
    address = {Chicago, IL},
    abstract = {The \emph{Cours de linguistique generale}, reconstructed from students'
    notes after Saussure's death in 1913, founded modern linguistic theory
    by breaking the study of language free from a merely historical and
    comparativist approach. Saussure's new method, now known as Structuralism,
    has since been applied to such diverse areas as art, architecture,
    folklore, literary criticism, and philosophy.
    
    (From Amazon.com)},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 09:49:05 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 09:49:20 -0400},
    isbn = {0812690230},
    keywords = {Linguistics}
  }

The \emph{Cours de lin­guis­tique gen­erale}, recon­structed from stu­dents’ notes after Saussure’s death in 1913, founded mod­ern lin­guis­tic the­ory by break­ing the study of lan­guage free from a merely his­tor­i­cal and com­par­a­tivist approach. Saussure’s new method, now known as Struc­tural­ism, has since been applied to such diverse areas as art, archi­tec­ture, folk­lore, lit­er­ary crit­i­cism, and phi­los­o­phy. (From Ama​zon​.com) His idea of

• G. R. Osborne, The Hermeneu­ti­cal Spi­ral: A Com­pre­hen­sive Intro­duc­tion to Bib­li­cal Inter­pre­ta­tion, Down­ers Grove, Ill.: Inter­Var­sity Press, 2006.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Osborne2006,
    title = {The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical
    Interpretation},
    publisher = {InterVarsity Press},
    year = {2006},
    author = {Grant R. Osborne},
    address = {Downers Grove, Ill.},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 09:47:29 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 09:47:43 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics},
    owner = {klowery},
    timestamp = {2009.02.05}
  }

Impor­tant Mono­graphs on Linguistics

• B. F. Elson and V. B. Pick­ett, Intro­duc­tion to Mor­phol­ogy and Syn­tax, Dal­las, TX: Sum­mer Insti­tute of Lin­guis­tics, 1964.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Elson:1962zl,
    title = {Introduction to Morphology and Syntax},
    publisher = {Summer Institute of Linguistics},
    year = {1964},
    author = {Benjamin F. Elson and Velma B. Pickett},
    address = {Dallas, TX},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 10:25:31 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 10:25:49 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics}
  }

• L. K. Jones, “A Syn­op­sis of Tag­memics,” in Cur­rent Approaches to Syn­tax, E. A. Moravc­sik and J. R. Wirth, Ed., New York: Aca­d­e­mic Press, 1980, vol. 13, pp. 77–96.
  [Bib­tex]

  @INCOLLECTION{Jones:1980kx,
    author = {Linda K. Jones},
    title = {A Synopsis of Tagmemics},
    booktitle = {Current Approaches to Syntax},
    publisher = {Academic Press},
    year = {1980},
    editor = {Edith A. Moravcsik and Jessica R. Wirth},
    volume = {13},
    series = {Syntax and Semantics},
    pages = {77--96},
    address = {New York},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 10:26:23 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 10:26:38 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics}
  }

• R. E. Lon­gacre, An Anatomy of Speech Notions, Lisse, Bel­gium: Peter de Rid­der Press, 1976.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Longacre1976,
    title = {An Anatomy of Speech Notions},
    publisher = {Peter de Ridder Press},
    year = {1976},
    author = {Robert E. Longacre},
    address = {Lisse, Belgium},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 10:22:18 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 10:22:18 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics},
    owner = {klowery},
    timestamp = {2009.02.05}
  }

• T. E. Payne, Describ­ing Mor­phosyn­tax: a Guide for Field Lin­guists, Cam­bridge, U.K.: Cam­bridge Uni­ver­sity Press, 1997.
  [Bib­tex]

  @BOOK{Payne:1997zr,
    title = {Describing Morphosyntax: a Guide for Field Linguists},
    publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
    year = {1997},
    author = {Thomas E. Payne},
    address = {Cambridge, U.K.},
    date-added = {2010-08-15 10:24:49 -0400},
    date-modified = {2010-08-15 10:24:49 -0400},
    keywords = {Linguistics}
  }