A Concise Introduction to Linguistics: United States Edition

This student-friendly and well-balanced overview of the field of introductory linguistics pays special attention to linguistic anthropology and reveals the main contributions of linguistics to the study of human communication and how issues of culture are relevant. Its workbook format contains well-constructed exercises in every chapter that allow students to practice key concepts.

In This Section:

I. Author Bio

II. Author Letter

Bruce M. Rowe is a professor of anthropology at Los Angeles Pierce College, where he has taught since 1970.  He designed the college’s first linguistics course for students majoring or minoring in linguistics, anthropology, education, English, Interpreting for the Deaf, and communications studies, and for those fulfilling a general education requirement. Professor Rowe also teaches physical and cultural anthropology as well as sociology. In addition to A Concise Introduction to Linguistics, he has co-authored ten editions of Physical Anthropology, two editions of Physical Anthropology: The Core, and physical anthropology study guides and workbooks (all with Philip L. Stein). Professor Rowe has authored four editions of The College Survival Guide: Hints and References to Aid College Students and The College Awareness Guide: What Students Need to Know to Succeed in College. He has received numerous awards for teaching. He is a fellow of the American Anthropological Association and a member of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges.

Diane P. Levine is a professor of anthropology at Los Angeles Pierce College, where she teaches cultural and physical anthropology, as well as linguistics. She is the chair of the Department of Anthropological and Geographical Sciences As a former teacher of English and ESL, she has written articles on the use of literature in the ESL classroom and presented seminars on critical thinking in the language arts classroom. Professor Levine is on the advisory boards for Annual Editions: Anthropology and is also a national advisor for the film series Cultural Anthropology: Our Diverse World. She is a member of the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges.

I. Author Letter

Dear Colleague,

Linguistics courses are taught in several academic departments, including linguistics, English, and anthropology. In addition, students with majors other than linguistics, English, and anthropology might be required to take an introductory course in linguistics; these include communications, education, journalism, sociology, and deaf studies. Most linguistics books on the market are directed specifically to linguistics, English, or anthropology majors.

We have attempted to write an introductory text that covers the core topics of linguistics and provides the information and concepts that will allow students to understand more detailed and advanced treatments of linguistics, should they pursue the field further. In other words, our book is written with the general education student in mind, but it also provides the linguistics, English, and anthropology major with the resources needed to succeed in the next level of courses.

We have written this book in a manner that does not assume previous knowledge of linguistics on the part of the student. We explain all concepts in a systematic way assisted by numerous pedagogical aids. We attempt to make complex linguistic topics as easy to learn as possible. For students, we have included introductory questions, numerous exercises and study questions, chapter summaries, cross-cultural examples, and there is an online learning center with numerous features. For instructors we have expanded the test bank to include over 1200 questions and provided teaching suggestions and a list of websites of potential interest to people teaching a linguistics course.

We recently received a letter from a professor that we would like to share with you:

"I am writing to tell you how glad I am to have found the textbook that you co-authored. After searching for an introductory linguistics text that did not send students away from class, I finally found one, yours. I am mostly a Spanish instructor, but since my major was Spanish Linguistics, I also teach the Language and Culture course at my college and have struggled to find a level-appropriate text. Most texts were either too oriented toward theoretical linguistics or completely skewed towards anthropology. Yours is the perfect blend, suitable for either a straight introductory linguistics course or a linguistic anthropology course. I am particularly pleased by the ordering of phonetics, then phonology, then morphology; several texts I have looked at start with either morphology or pragmatics and discourse analysis. I was also pleased to see an entire chapter devoted to Sign Language. And students will be delighted that the text book was available online for under $50 (the one I had been using was $120 new!)." (Jeanne Egasse, Irvine Valley College, 4/8/2011)

We would be happy to hear from anyone using our book or considering it for use in a linguistics or language and culture class. Our emails are: rowebm@piercecollege.edu and levinedp@piercecollege.edu

Sincerely,

Bruce M. Rowe & Diane P. Levine

Pierce College