English Language, The: An Owner's Manual, 1st edition

The English Language: An Owner's Manual is the first text designed to be used in general introductory courses in the English language that is reader friendly, accessible, and fun. Rather than focus on technical linguistics, the book offers a more eclectic set of topics to introduce students to various aspects of language. Its goals are to draw on the daily use of language, especially students' own language; explore the cultural significance of so called “traditional” grammar as a set of tools and terms; and give students a basic understanding of the modern linguistic view of language as a rule governed system. The focus throughout is on language analysis that students should find more relevant: that language is a system of universal qualities, that it is dynamic and always changing, and that studying it pushes us to rethink the assumptions we have about language.

• Student-centered approach focuses on students' own use and mastery of the English language. By avoiding a focus on technical linguistics, it offers a more eclectic set of topics to introduce students to aspects of language.

• Integrates material traditionally taught by instructors trained in rhetoric and literature (Chs. 1, 4, 6, 10) with that taught by those trained in linguistics (Chs. 2, 5, 7, 9).

• Covers socio-linguistic, transformational, and generative approaches to grammar.

• Exploration and Extension Activities (x-squared) go beyond typical study questions to engage students in detailed and novel expeditions into language study.

• Students learn about grammar by understanding historical traditions, what problems grammars solve, and how modern grammars have posed exciting new questions for investigation.

• Shows that each type of media has its own conventions (Ch. 4).

• A unique chapter, “Comparing Grammars” (Ch. 8) shows how diverse languages have similar traits; the chapter begins with an artificial language (Klingon) to illustrate.

• A unique chapter, “Language and the Marketplace of Ideas,” (Ch. 10) discusses the use of language in every day life.