An Introduction to Grammar for Language Learners by Don Ringe

[aravinda]

This new book from the Cambridge University Press might be of interest to some members.

An Introduction to Grammar for Language Learners
Don Ringe, University of Pennsylvania
Paperback ISBN: 9781108441230

From the blurb/CUP website
“Learning a foreign language is much easier when it is approached with a knowledge of language structure ('grammar'), but many students find grammar mystifying. This text explains points of grammar straightforwardly using examples from several widely-studied languages, including English, so that students can see how the same principles work across different languages, and how the structures of different languages correspond both formally and functionally. The use of concrete examples makes grammar less abstract and easier to grasp, allowing students to relate what they are learning to knowledge that they already possess unconsciously; it simultaneously brings that knowledge up to a conscious level.

• The first general, non-language-specific textbook to introduce the universal principles of grammar for students embarking on the study of a modern foreign language
• Takes examples from a range of commonly-studied languages, to show students the universal grammatical principles that apply to all languages
• Accessibly and simply written, for students with no prior knowledge of linguistics or linguistic terminology
• It is suitable for both self-study and classroom use”

From the Introduction (bold mine, two footnotes removed by me)
“The universal concepts of language structure will be introduced in naturally connected groups. Each will be illustrated by examples from (up to) six languages: English, Spanish, Classical Latin, Biblical Hebrew, Navajo, and Mandarin Chinese. I will usually give the Mandarin examples both in pinyin and in (simplified) characters, for the benefit of readers who are used to characters; examples in languages other than English will sometimes be accompanied by notes or a word- for-word gloss in order to make their (relatively unfamiliar) structures clearer.
These languages were chosen because English, Spanish, and Mandarin are important world languages widely spoken in the USA and elsewhere; Latin and Biblical Hebrew are historically important in Western culture; and Navajo, which is among the Native American languages of the USA that are still viable, is superficially very different in structure from all the others examined here.”

[Klara]

Thank you so much for this recommendation, Aravinda! My copy arrived today and I am impressed ... just the book I wanted to have for quite some time.

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[Random Review]

I've read this, I also liked it. Especially useful are the set of example languages he keeps referring to, so that you can see how these things play out in somewhat typologically distinct languages.

[chove]

It's going on my wishlist