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[The Speculative Grammarian Essential Guide to Linguistics] [By: x] [July, 2013]
Speculative Grammarian is the premier scholarly journal featuring research in the oft neglected field of satirical linguistics--and it is now available in book form!
The book is written for linguists, by linguists. It's about Linguistics and Language, but it's not a textbook. Rather, it takes a sidelong look at all that is humorous about the field. Containing over 150 articles, poems, cartoons, humorous ads and book announcements--plus a generous sprinkling of quotes, proverbs and other witticisms--the book discovers things to laugh about in most major subfields of Linguistics. It pokes good-natured fun at linguists (famous or otherwise), linguistic theory, and many aspects of language. The authors and editors are linguists who love their field, but who at the same time love to celebrate the funny aspects of Linguistics. The book invites readers to laugh along.
The book is written for linguists, by linguists. It's about Linguistics and Language, but it's not a textbook. Rather, it takes a sidelong look at all that is humorous about the field. Containing over 150 articles, poems, cartoons, humorous ads and book announcements--plus a generous sprinkling of quotes, proverbs and other witticisms--the book discovers things to laugh about in most major subfields of Linguistics. It pokes good-natured fun at linguists (famous or otherwise), linguistic theory, and many aspects of language. The authors and editors are linguists who love their field, but who at the same time love to celebrate the funny aspects of Linguistics. The book invites readers to laugh along.
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First published July 19, 2013
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X .
1,626 books27 followers"X" is a pseudonym used by different authors.
* "X" is pseudonym used by Edward E. Beals
* "X" is pseudonym used by Edward E. Beals
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 24, 2013
So I'm one of those lazy people who only got a degree in Linguistics (pg. 121). But that Linguistics 101 course just totally drew me in and the world was never the same. After all, who wouldn't want a Linguistics degree? So I took my new shiny degree out into the world, and promptly discovered that in order to be marketable, potential job prospects actually have to know what your degree is. I'm now working with data. So I think that's what really made me appreciate this book, the fun "choose your own story" Choose Your Own Career In Linguistics sections of the book.
This guide to Linguistics is almost entirely satire. Taking articles referencing various fields of linguistics; Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Socio-Linguistics, Typology, Applied Linguistics, and more, there's something for everyone in here. And by everyone I mean those that enjoy language and actually want to know what the different words I just mention actually mean. Because it is satire, most of the studies are not going to be real references to the real world, but mirrors of what could be.
With all the different contributors to this book, it was actually kind of surprising that the writing style in all of the articles is mostly the same. Sure a lot of the contributors are not actually real, but there was more than one contributor. I had a few favorite articles. "An Introduction to Familial Linguistics" was spot on and since I'm a big fan of socio-linguistics, it was a stand out for me. "Rating the World's Languages" was an interesting look at the language myth that some languages are better than others. With all the interesting articles though, there were a plethora that made me feel like an idiot and the need to hand in my Linguistics card. Indeed, if you have not perused the textbooks in awhile, some of the articles on syntax, topology, and others can make your head spin. Although die-hard linguists will go crazy for it.
The format of the book was mostly good. I really did enjoy the choose your own story for a career in Linguistics and like most choose your own, it had you flipping pages back and forth to see how you'd end up. The article format was nice too because you could take the book in as big or small does as you'd like and choose what area you wanted to read about. Depending on your mood, you can immerse yourself in syntax or phonetics at will. My only real complaint about this book would be some of the pictures. There were a lot that were hand drawn and while they weren't quite bad photo-copier quality, some were hard to read unless you really zoomed in (e-book format). They just could have been a little clearer to give the full impact, especially when some had accompanied hand-written labels, which is already hard to read compared to typing. But since that's my biggest complaint, then obviously this book is doing pretty good when it comes to content.
A definite must read for Linguists or those who just like language and have some time on their hands. It made me have some fond memories of tape recorders and the numerous ways people can pronounce a vowel.
The Speculative Grammarian
Copyright 2013
339 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
PS: I want to be a vowelkyrie.
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
This guide to Linguistics is almost entirely satire. Taking articles referencing various fields of linguistics; Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Socio-Linguistics, Typology, Applied Linguistics, and more, there's something for everyone in here. And by everyone I mean those that enjoy language and actually want to know what the different words I just mention actually mean. Because it is satire, most of the studies are not going to be real references to the real world, but mirrors of what could be.
With all the different contributors to this book, it was actually kind of surprising that the writing style in all of the articles is mostly the same. Sure a lot of the contributors are not actually real, but there was more than one contributor. I had a few favorite articles. "An Introduction to Familial Linguistics" was spot on and since I'm a big fan of socio-linguistics, it was a stand out for me. "Rating the World's Languages" was an interesting look at the language myth that some languages are better than others. With all the interesting articles though, there were a plethora that made me feel like an idiot and the need to hand in my Linguistics card. Indeed, if you have not perused the textbooks in awhile, some of the articles on syntax, topology, and others can make your head spin. Although die-hard linguists will go crazy for it.
The format of the book was mostly good. I really did enjoy the choose your own story for a career in Linguistics and like most choose your own, it had you flipping pages back and forth to see how you'd end up. The article format was nice too because you could take the book in as big or small does as you'd like and choose what area you wanted to read about. Depending on your mood, you can immerse yourself in syntax or phonetics at will. My only real complaint about this book would be some of the pictures. There were a lot that were hand drawn and while they weren't quite bad photo-copier quality, some were hard to read unless you really zoomed in (e-book format). They just could have been a little clearer to give the full impact, especially when some had accompanied hand-written labels, which is already hard to read compared to typing. But since that's my biggest complaint, then obviously this book is doing pretty good when it comes to content.
A definite must read for Linguists or those who just like language and have some time on their hands. It made me have some fond memories of tape recorders and the numerous ways people can pronounce a vowel.
The Speculative Grammarian
Copyright 2013
339 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
PS: I want to be a vowelkyrie.
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
January 9, 2014
This book consists almost entirely of material republished from the Speculative Grammarian website; however, it's still worth buying in dead tree format, if only because the trees look so much nicer in paper. It's a book about satirical linguistics, with a very limited audience: linguists. Not just language nerds, not just people who think languages are cool – no, you pretty much have to have had some amount of formal linguistics training to appreciate this. However, if you are a linguist, I can guarantee that you'll find at least one thing in here that is absolutely hilarious. There's something here for every subfield.
It's probably just my own biases talking, but my favorite sections were phonetics and phonology, although I'm still a little bit bitter that my favorite piece from the website, on reconstructing the Proto-Indo-Europeans, didn't make it into the book. I will instead console myself with the poem Beowulf ond Godsylla, in fake Old English. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. If you have ever thought how funny it would be to write "nasal ingressive uvular trill" on a blackboard somewhere and count how many people make snorting noises, you need this book. It is also possibly worth the purchase just for Appendix A, "A Self-Defining Linguistics Glossary."
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to λ♥[love] (Linguistics Love Song) again. Yes, the lyrics are included.
It's probably just my own biases talking, but my favorite sections were phonetics and phonology, although I'm still a little bit bitter that my favorite piece from the website, on reconstructing the Proto-Indo-Europeans, didn't make it into the book. I will instead console myself with the poem Beowulf ond Godsylla, in fake Old English. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. If you have ever thought how funny it would be to write "nasal ingressive uvular trill" on a blackboard somewhere and count how many people make snorting noises, you need this book. It is also possibly worth the purchase just for Appendix A, "A Self-Defining Linguistics Glossary."
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to λ♥[love] (Linguistics Love Song) again. Yes, the lyrics are included.
August 13, 2014
I'm one of the authors, so of course I think this is a tremendous book. Well, it could have been better if we'd gotten permission to include some of Noam Chomsky's satirical writings. For example, we wanted to reprint the third chapter of Syntactic Structures, but the original publisher didn't think that chapter was supposed to be funny. Anyway, if you like to laugh about linguistics, my coauthors and I think this book will be your new favorite. I'll bet it's Noam Chomsky's new favorite, too, even if his chapter did get left out.
February 9, 2014
I would not recommend this book to most of my friends. If I did, they would throw eggs at me. One does not casually subject the unwilling to linguistics without consequences.
I could not honestly claim to be a linguist (my degree is in history). But I am just enough of a language nerd to enjoy this volume, where many of the jokes rely on the reader's ability to read IPA. Some of the jokes are less than gut-busting, and I confess that some of the vocab eluded me, but a good time was had throughout.
If a phonetic transcription of a fake Russian accent, or descriptions of the fabled "labio-nasal" consonant articulation, are the sort of thing that tickles your fancy, then this book may have something for you. You may even have what it takes to be a linguist, though I understand this takes actual work and is not nearly as funny.
I could not honestly claim to be a linguist (my degree is in history). But I am just enough of a language nerd to enjoy this volume, where many of the jokes rely on the reader's ability to read IPA. Some of the jokes are less than gut-busting, and I confess that some of the vocab eluded me, but a good time was had throughout.
If a phonetic transcription of a fake Russian accent, or descriptions of the fabled "labio-nasal" consonant articulation, are the sort of thing that tickles your fancy, then this book may have something for you. You may even have what it takes to be a linguist, though I understand this takes actual work and is not nearly as funny.
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September 6, 2023""
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2022
I received this book as a first-reads giveaway.
I want to be clear, my one star-rating doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad book. Since I'm not a linguist (or even remotely interested in linguists) this book was clearly not intended for the likes of me.
Most of the little texts were complete garbled nonsense to me. English is my second language, and since linguistic terminology in my own language (that would be Swedish) leaves me perplexed, well, I think you know where I'm going with this...
Since the texts are written satirically (they're supposed to be funny after all), it's hard for a non-linguist to distinguish what is real incomprehensible garble and what is made up incomprehensible garble.
Of course, even as a non-linguist, I'm not completely immune to some (very, very few) of the texts. I confess, a few did elicit a minuscule smile and a barely noticeable chuckle.
After barely making it through this (sometimes seemingly infinite) volume, I can not in good conscience recommend it to any non-linguist.
If you however are a linguist, I suggest you ignore this review, and go ahead and read it (you might get a laugh out of it).
I want to be clear, my one star-rating doesn't necessarily mean this is a bad book. Since I'm not a linguist (or even remotely interested in linguists) this book was clearly not intended for the likes of me.
Most of the little texts were complete garbled nonsense to me. English is my second language, and since linguistic terminology in my own language (that would be Swedish) leaves me perplexed, well, I think you know where I'm going with this...
Since the texts are written satirically (they're supposed to be funny after all), it's hard for a non-linguist to distinguish what is real incomprehensible garble and what is made up incomprehensible garble.
Of course, even as a non-linguist, I'm not completely immune to some (very, very few) of the texts. I confess, a few did elicit a minuscule smile and a barely noticeable chuckle.
After barely making it through this (sometimes seemingly infinite) volume, I can not in good conscience recommend it to any non-linguist.
If you however are a linguist, I suggest you ignore this review, and go ahead and read it (you might get a laugh out of it).
June 19, 2014
This book is really clever, incredibly funny and very much aimed at an audience with some knowledge of linguistics. I bought a physical copy of this book, and it looks very pretty on my bookcase, but perhaps is not so convenient if you are a public transport reader. There is now a PDF version available, and I purchased that too, and now can get my satirical linguistic fix every day. I suppose I will consider myself a linguist when I can understand more than 50% of the book (It was going to be when I got my PhD, but I think the former will take far longer and is therefore a bigger challenge).
April 16, 2014
This book is my favorite thing. Every time I pick it up, I inevitably get caught up and read it for an hour or so. It is clever, humorous, and full of the best type of footnotes. I can't get enough of it. I'm not a linguist, but I still find it incredibly funny and enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews