An Introduction to Language - Softcover

Victoria Fromkin received her bachelor's degree in economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles. She was a member of the faculty of the UCLA Department of Linguistics from 1966 until her death, and served as its chair from 1972 to 1976. From 1979 to 1989 she served as the UCLA Graduate Dean and Vice Chancellor of Graduate Programs. She was a visiting professor at the universities of Stockholm, Cambridge, and Oxford. Professor Fromkin served as president of the Linguistics Society of America in 1985, president of the Association of Graduate Schools in 1988, and chair of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Aphasia. She received the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award and the Professional Achievement Award, and served as the U.S. Delegate and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Permanent Committee of Linguistics (CIPL). She was an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the New York Academy of Science, the American Psychological Society, and the Acoustical Society of America, and in 1996 was elected to membership in the National Academy of Sciences. She published more than one hundred books, monographs, and papers on topics concerned with phonetics, phonology, tone languages, African languages, speech errors, processing models, aphasia, and the brain/mind/language interface--all research areas in which she worked. Professor Fromkin passed away in 2000, at the age of 76.

"It's the most comprehensive introduction to linguistics ever, and it never strays far from my elbow."

"I am pleased with the text's wide selection of topics--I feel like the students are getting more for their money. I encourage interested students to read further in the text--even after the course ends. I think many keep it as a reference for future work."

". . . I appreciate the expertise this text represents. This is a solid scholarly study of linguistics."

"I have used this book for 29 years already and am still very happy with it. So far, new editions have come closer and closer to my ideal textbook. Even now, it's the only textbook for any of my courses that does just what I want it to do in terms of topics covered and level of difficulty. Just as important, the students find it clear and straightforward, yet fun and intriguing as well. . . ."

"An Introduction to Language is comprehensive and inclusive. It gives students an excellent introduction to language study and outlines the concepts in general linguistics as well as sociolinguistics and recent work in language processing. There seems to be something for everyone."