Understanding Language

by Elizabeth Winkler

New

Genres: Linguistics, College

Paperback

First published July 21, 2007

About the author

Elizabeth Winkler is a journalist and critic whose work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, The New Republic, The Times Literary Supplement, and The Economist, among other publications. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her master’s in English literature from Stanford University. Her essay “Was Shakespeare a Woman?”, first published in The Atlantic, was selected for The Best American Essays 2020.

Reviews

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly entertaining.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to understand linguistics book. I loved the author's writing style. This is current enough that I understand the author's pop culture references (2007). Recommended for anyone who is curious about linguistics. This book follows pretty much the same outline as Linguistics for Dummies, including similar examples.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting content that was broken down in an easy to learn Way. I must have an older edition though since it was far less pages but insanely smaller print.

[Kira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy to comprehend introduction to linguistics book. Examples were entertaining and relatable, although a bit dated. This was especially interesting material as I am trying to learn other languages. Loved the section about language change and variation, as much of it pertained to concepts I had learned within ethnic studies.