# I love my linguistics textbook. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 25, 2000, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415 "2000-09-25T01:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/1 "2000-09-25T01:30:03Z")
I was doing my linguistics reading. We’re on morphology and syntax. (morphology is more or less the structure of words.) I was reading the section on infixes, which are words inserted inside another word. The book gave the example of a common English infix. F\*\*king. (I don’t know if the language is appropriate for this forum, so I’m erring on the side of caution.) any college textbook that contains the word absof\*\*kinglutely and analyzes it from a language standpoint is beyond cool. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/2 "2000-09-25T02:20:16Z")
That reminds me of a physiology text I had in college that was dry as a bone. I’m paraphrasing because I haven’t seen the book in 20+ years, but the passage was truly funny, particularly in light of the complete absence of any non-technical writing anywhere else in the book. It said: The hypothalamus regulates the release of adrenalin to the nervous system, adrenalin controlling the four ‘F’ behaviors: fleeing, feeding, fighting and mating. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/3 "2000-09-25T02:53:11Z")
I thought that was fleeing, feeding, fighting and “Family Activities”! Learn something new every day! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/4 "2000-09-25T03:17:32Z")
andygirl, which text are you using? Sounds like a good one! ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/5 "2000-09-25T04:26:47Z")
Linguistics- an introduction to linguistic theory. The editor is Fromkin, publisher is Blackwell. 2000 edition. It’s good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/6 "2000-09-25T04:48:42Z")
I think that’s the same one I had in my introductory linguistics course, but that was fifteen years ago so obviously it was an earlier edition. We also read Peter Farb’s _Word Play_, which had a long passage on the history of f\*\*k, IIRC. Linguistics is fun. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/7 "2000-09-25T04:51:11Z")
Andy: since when are you taking linguistics, girl? That’s great! (You knew I’m a ling major, right?) (cheerleading) Chomsky! Chomsky! He’s our man! If he can’t parse it no one can! P! P! AP P! VP CP IP P! Noooooooooooun Phrase! ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/8 "2000-09-25T04:56:49Z")
Aw, honey, you knew that I was, didn’t ya? And I knew that you were. 🙂 We should write a book on gayspeak… big seller, no? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/9 "2000-09-25T05:06:22Z")
Truly. ```auto IP / \ NP VP | / \ N V CP I guess / \ / \ C IP [that] / \ NP \ / \ VP AP N | \ | | V PP_ A queen | | \ | is P \ *some* | NP on / \ / \ art N | | a *schedule*! ``` ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/10 "2000-09-25T05:50:56Z")
Matt, What are you going to do with that linguistics degree? I went to grad school, Ph.D. track, got the M.A. after passing comps, but just couldn’t come up with a good dissertation topic. Now I teach English at a college in Japan, which isn’t a bad gig really. I even had a chance to teach an intro linguistics course, but the students just couldn’t get into it like me and you guys. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/11 "2000-09-25T05:54:28Z")
Teach: As it happens, I’m actually in university for a degree, not an apprenticeship. What I intend to do for money is translate, which I’m doing now. ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/12 "2000-09-25T06:08:46Z")
Translating is fun and challenging. I sometimes wish I had gotten into that line of work. I suppose I still could. What languages do you work with? Do you find that your linguistics courses help at all? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/13 "2000-09-25T06:22:21Z")
I translate French to English, seeing as how Montreal is for obvious reasons the French-to-English translation capital of the known universe. 🙂 And “linguistics major” sounds impressive, if nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/14 "2000-09-25T06:31:44Z")
Sorry, Matt. I knew you were in Montreal. Why not English-to-French translation, too? “Linguistics major” is impressive indeed. I just wish I could say, “I have a Ph.D. in linguistics.” Now that sounds impressive. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2000, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-my-linguistics-textbook/34415/15 "2000-09-25T06:57:52Z")
Practically everyone translates into their first language. That’s because you have to understand the source text, but you have to have really good writing skills and a native-speaker knowledge of the target language. I’m simply not good enough in written French, although I speak it fluently.