Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics

Rating:
Summary: Not for me, maybe for you
Review: Excelent book for the linguist and everyone deeply interested in perscruting the hardship of reconstructing an extinct language like the Indo-european (or Proto Indo-european, if you will). The author, a pretty known scholar of the matter, goes all lenghts to reconstruct the I.E.language trough deep change analysis of its branch languages, like Latin, Sanscrit, Greek and many others, a toilsome work which is shown in a lot of hard to grasp Tables. But, all this is really an overkill for a person like me, who only wants to know what indo-european looks like, but does not want to go to, or does not have the necessary basis to go into such a detail. Even despite being an overkill to me, it certainly is a book we feel a lot of pleasure reading, giving the detailed account the author gives when reconstructing the language. Praise to him!!

Rating:
Summary: Outdated, but good bibliography
Review: I'm currently a linguistics PhD student. The professor of my Indo-European class, when explaining that there is really no good text in English for the current state of thinking on Indo-European phonology and morphology, told us that this book is outdated (the views in the book are those held in the 1950s) but that the book can serve as a good bibliography because the author provides thorough catalogs of work done in different areas. I bought this book a few months ago in expectation of taking my class and wanted to give others this background to help in their decision of whether to buy the book.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent standard textbook
Review: This is one of the most valuable, excellent standard textbook for the Indo-European or historical-coparative linguistics. The book gives thorough and detailed analysis on the phonology, morphonology and morphology. Each section has copious evidence, reference, notes and comments with the exact page indications. Total 352 pages besides more than xxxii pages of preface and abbreviations, etc., including the index of Special Topics in the end of the book. Highly recommendable for those who are interested in the Indo-European linguistics. If the paperback edition is available, the price could be less expensive.