Re: a new person on the list

* Paul Bennett said on 2005-08-27 23:48:39 +0200
> On Sat, 27 Aug 2005 16:02:14 -0400, Eduard Ralph <conlang@...>
> wrote:
>
> > I'll admit that I don't have much linguistic background and as such
> > I'm still fighting with some of the terminology used on this list,
> > so I hope you'll bear with me if I ask questions which seem simple.
>
> Here are a few books you ought to consider buying:
>
> A Dictionary Of Grammatical Terms In Linguistics, Trask
There's also his "A dictionary of phonetics and phonology", which I
recommend.

> Language Universals And Linguistic Typology, Comrie
Pssh, Comrie is much easier to read than Croft's "Typology and
universals". Croft's "Radical Construction Grammar" is interesting
though, except for the middle third that reads like molasses.

> Describing Morphosyntax, Payne
This is the bible. Be aware that it doesn't cover *everything*, just 80%
or so of grammar. If you answer every question in it you'll still not
know how to compare things or say which is <adjective>r. It is also
rather light on pronunciation and script.

> The World's Writing Systems, Daniels & Bright
This one is incredibly expensive. I recommend finding it in a library
and photocopyting the introduction and scripts that captures your eye.

A good website for scripts is http://www.omniglot.com/

> You also ought to become familiar with the IPA (International Phonetic
> Alphabet) and CXS, which is how we represent the IPA in ASCII.
The book to get here is:

Handbook of the International Phonetic Association

not because it teaches you the IPA, but because it lists what sounds many
languages use, being a great inspiration.

Oh, and as usual, you learn by doing. Welcome to the list!


t.