Linguistics - is it worth learning ?

[reddragon]

Just been having a look at some linguistics books and am interested in the idea that they can teach how to learn a 2nd/3rd etc language. Also if I want to teach languages in the future it would be useful to know

Do you think it is worth investing time in learning about linguistics and if so anyone recommend any books for a beginner - thank you

Did come across this but don't know if it is any good:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Learn ... 7QSS4H1Y2D

[Saim]

I have a BA in Linguistics. The main parts of it that I've found particularly useful in language learning are phonology and phonetics (IPA, understanding where it's actually pronounced in the mouth, allophones), as well as typology (structural differences between languages).

[aravinda]

Just been having a look at some linguistics books and am interested in the idea that they can teach how to learn a 2nd/3rd etc language. Also if I want to teach languages in the future it would be useful to know

Do you think it is worth investing time in learning about linguistics and if so anyone recommend any books for a beginner - thank you

Did come across this but don't know if it is any good:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Language-Learn ... 7QSS4H1Y2D

I come from a biology/medical background and have never formally studied Linguistics. My first real exposure to Linguistics was through a small introductory book by late R.L. Trask: Language: The Basics
https://www.amazon.com/Language-Basics- ... inguistics
Since then, Linguistics has always been one of my favorite subjects. There are so many introductory books on Linguistics, it's very difficult to pick one. The book by Trask makes for entertaining reading but is not really a textbook. A simple introductory textbook would be George Yule's classic textbook, The Study of Language:
https://www.amazon.com/Study-Language-6 ... inguistics

If you enjoy MOOCs, there's a great (free) introductory course on Coursera: Miracles of Human Language: An Introduction to Linguistics
https://www.coursera.org/learn/human-language

To the question whether a knowledge of Linguistics would help learn languages, I can only speak for myself. I am a very inconsistent (and lazy) learner, mostly focused on reading but linguistics seems to give me a better insight into how a "new" language works. To be honest, whether this is due to my little knowledge of linguistics or due to my increasing experience with language learning I am not sure. I guess it's both. Personally, I think the time spent on learning some linguistics (basic linguistic theory) is well worth (and would be fun if you love languages, especially typology mentioned by Saim).

I'm not familiar with the book you linked but I would suggest How languages are learned by Lightbown & Spada as an introductory book on L2 learning:
https://www.amazon.com/Languages-Learne ... re+learned

Edited few times for typos.

[blaurebell]

Most linguistics courses I ever took were not very relevant for language learning. Neither was Philosophy of Language. All interesting, but the usefulness was limited. Also, it has a tendency to give people wanderlust instead of encouraging them to actually learn at least one language properly. For some reason I know quite a bunch of linguists who know the basics of many languages, but can't speak a single one particularly well. The problem is one of staying too much in the meta level. It's a bit like trying to learn riding a bike by reading bike repair manuals. That said, some bits can definitely be useful and the big problem is identifying those bits without going over all the other not so useful information as well.

[smallwhite]

If in doubt, read it in your target language.

[aaleks]

If you have an interest in linguistics itself - yes, it's worth it. Otherwise, I doubt it. Linguistics can provide you with a general knowledge about languages/language learning, but, in the first place, it's a theory not a recipe.

[arthaey]

If you care about good pronunciation, learn the IPA and basics of phonology.

IPA & phonology have been the most directly useful to my language-learning. But other parts of linguistics have also been beneficial:

If you're learning a related language, read an overview of the relevant historical linguistics can help take advantage of the similarities and predict the differences.

If you're confused about the diverse attitudes towards dialects, learn sociolinguistics 101, and prescriptivist vs descriptivism (and how it tends to be laypeople vs linguists on that point).

If you're baffled by why word order is different and you want to solve that by digging in to lots of details until it doesn't baffle you, learn the basics of grammar from a linguistics perspective. For extra bonus points, read Describing Morphosyntax by Thomas E Payne. After the diversity of examples in various languages, no "weird" grammar will ever faze you again.

[Xenops]

There is actually a *free* lecture series, and you can sign up on their website for activities:



As others have said, "it teaches you how to build a bike, not ride one", but I think understanding how a bike is built is useful to know. It gives you some of the whys behind language logic, and I think this can only help you.

A more light-hearted approach would be Mark Rosenfelder's Language Construction Kit: https://www.amazon.com/Language-Construction-Kit-Mark-Rosenfelder/dp/098447000X/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1500742409&sr=1-5&keywords=mark+rosenfelder ; this book is geared towards people that make constructed languages (conlangers).

[aokoye]

Do you think it is worth investing time in learning about linguistics and if so anyone recommend any books for a beginner - thank you

Do I think linguistics is worth learning about? Yes - without a doubt. Do I think linguistics is worth learning about in the context of learning a language? Not unless you actually like linguistics.

[aokoye]

To me it's the equivalent of reading about how to build a table while someone else is out there actually building it - your time would be much better spent with a chisel in your hand rather than a bookmark. This is no different.

I would study linguistics if i wanted to learn about linguistics.

I agree with your last sentence and I agree with the first part of your post in the context of the OP. That said given that so little of linguistics is actually about second language acquisition (and so little of what's published in regards to SLA is about autodidactic learning) I don't think you can compare it to reading about how to build a table while someone else is building it. It's like learning about rivers when someone else is white water kayaking or learning about wheels while someone else is riding a bike. There is some overlap but it's not much.

One of the few exceptions I have to this (is learning about translation which falls into applied linguistics (but seriously so many things fall into app ling). Even then though, I would say learn about how to really accurately translate from an L2 into an L1 *after* you have a solid base of the L2.

Signed - one class away from being finished with a BA in applied linguistics and a boat load away from being done with a TESOL certificate