The Psychology of Language: From Data To Theory

by Trevor A. Harley

Psycholinguistics, the study of the psychology of language, studies how we speak, read, remember, learn and understand language. This textbook examines each of these aspects of language in detail. It emphasizes how data from a number of sources are used to generate theories of language performance. In addition to conventional psychology experiments, it emphasizes the cognitive neuropsychology of language by showing how studies of the effects of brain damage on linguistic performance can inform our understanding of intact language processing. The book also examines in depth the impact of influential connectionist modelling. It also provides an integrative overview of how the components of the language system combine together. The text begins with the input side of language, and then covers the dyslexias. Moving on from how we understand single words, the book then examines how we process and remember phrases and sentences, how sentences are connected to form discourse, and how we represent the meaning of language. There is a detailed review of brain-damaged speech and language, and developmental issues are covered. Finally, the book places language in a wider is language unique to humans? Does language influence the way we think?

Genres: Linguistics, Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Language, Textbooks, Education

496 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Samir Rawas Sarayji · Rating 3 out of 5]

An all-encompassing introduction to the study of the psychology of language. The book suffers by adopting traditional textbook format and structure—very textual, overstuffed with information, and dry.

Pros:
1. Covers a very wide range of topics in the field.
2. Is up-to-date with the latest research and references.
3. Will guide students to any part of a field they are interested in by covering the basics and pointing to further reading.
4. Is self-aware to distinguish between the psychology of language and related fields like linguistics.
5. Useful bibliography.

Cons:
1. Exceptionally wordy and lacks infographics and diagrams that facilitate learning the basic material.
2. Some redundant diagrams and pictures—space could have been used for infographics.
3. Overly focused on mentioning research and references, resulting in the interesting threads of thought being quickly lost.
4. Completely objective author—noting but facts. No ideas, no input, no interpretations.
5. Reads like an automated book by a robot stringing together all the data into neat categories.

Conclusion:
Unless you're a student starting out in this field (which I'm not), read books by authors who have an invested angle into their filed, like Steven Pinker or Oliver Sacks.

[David Gallagher · Rating 3 out of 5]

While all-encompassing and comprehensive, it's not an accessible book. Harley doesn't write for the average Joe, and he can even be anti-Chomskian without wanting to (or maybe he does). The bold-letter definitions that accompany the text are quite useful, as are some of the tables and graphs. Other than that, I find some of the photos completely unnecessary (e.g., photo of a child with caption reading, "child." How useful! I thought children were a myth!) Overall, a book that induces headaches, despite the amount of information it contains and its good organization. I'm personally not a fan of books that have are written in columns as though they were newspapers - it is actually more tiring to read than it is fluent. I'm sure there are better textbooks out there, and I sure hope Trevor and I won't have to meet again too soon.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely useful book for those interested in the psychology of language. Covering many aspects of the discipline, there are times when it seems like a heavy read along with moments where you’re left wanting more detail.

For a general perspective, it’s a great read. However, if you want to go really in depth it is better to be more wide reaching with your reads.

[Marlene Willinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing style was extremely comprehensive and I didn’t have to concentrate immensely to understand what was being said

Would definitely recommend it

[Alper Kumcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covering nearly every aspect of psychology of language, it's a must-read reference book in the field. As it does not address issues in detail but gives a general perspective, I highly recommend it for the undergraduate students or those who are at the beginning of their research.

[Leila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uh, fascinating, but not "accessible".

[Ghulam Murtaza]

read

[Sarah Lameche · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was O.K. I used it then sold it on. It didn't pique my
interest I am afraid.

[Mills College Library]

401.9 H285 2014