Four members of the Northeastern Illinois University Department of Linguistics—Professor Shahrzad Mahootian, Professor Judith Kaplan-Weinger, Assistant Professor Lewis Gebhardt and Professor Richard Hallett—have co-authored a new textbook.
Published by Kendall Hunt, “Language and Human Behavior: An Introduction to Topics in Linguistics” is available electronically and will become available in print beginning January 2018.
“The book is an introductory-level collection of original readings, written by the four of us, which delves into the relationship between language and human social behavior,” said Mahootian, the book’s lead author. “Specifically, the chapters explore the nature and structure of language and examine the relationship between language as a rule-governed system and the role it plays in our lives as social beings, as individuals and as members of communities.”
Each of the 24 chapters also includes original exercises, projects and links to videos and audio excerpts that coordinate with and enliven the chapter topics.
Dissatisfied with available textbooks, Mahootian said that the book was written with the intent to use it in the Linguistics Department curriculum.
“One of my favorite classes to teach is our general education course LING 120: Language and Human Behavior,” she said. “None of the four of us, or our instructors, has found a text that satisfies all of the LING 120 course objectives and goals. We also wanted a text that included discussion and homework questions, highlighted use of technology, and promoted critical thinking and writing. So, we decided to write it ourselves!”
Pictured above (from left): Professor Judith Kaplan-Weinger, Professor Shahrzad Mahootian, Assistant Professor Lewis Gebhardt and Professor Richard Hallett
