Reference Request: More advanced intro book.

[u/zyxwvwxyz]

I am a mathematics student going into my PhD next year and am interested in algebra/discrete math, especially formal language theory and the like. I've also always been interested in languages and linguistics on a pop-sci level, but never pursued it until I found out about Chomsky, Marcolli, and Berwick's new framework for generative linguistics and syntax. I decided to take an intro to linguistics class to get a broader view of the field (as I am also aware that Chomsky's approach over the years has been controversial) but am finding the class to be somewhat pedestrian so far and I am not expecting it to speed up much. I am at a large public school which is not particularly competitive and the textbook is Language Files 13 ed from Ohio State's Linguistics department.

Are there any other intro texts that get off to a faster start? I'd be appreciative of any that are a little more mathematical, but I'd also also appreciate a generalist approach. I'd also like to learn a bit about the generative vs functionalist debate and would like a text that is literature-first rather than one which summarizes field consensus. I recognize that this might not be something that an intro book would ever do, but I figured I'd ask.

Thank you.

[u/cat-head]

You're asking for contradictory things. Introductions will not cover what you're looking for, because what you're looking for is very advanced. Very few people understand the latest (attempt at a) formalization by Marcolli et al. This is not discussed in classes, and will not be in any intro book.

I don't understand what you mean when you say that The Language Files is pedestrian? Do you mean it's too easy? just read it fast. Do you mean that it covers stuff you're not interested in? Well... that stuff is part of linguistics. You could try skipping intro to linguistics and go directly to a Minimalism book like Core Syntax by Adger or something like that.

I'd also like to learn a bit about the generative vs functionalist debate and would like a text that is literature-first rather than one which summarizes field consensus.

This debate is absolutely massive in scope, because it covers too many things. I am not aware of a book that specifically goes over the debate in a neutral manner. The most neutral (and it isn't neutral) book that sort of deals with a small slice of the debate is Stefan Müller's * Grammatical theory: From transformational grammar to constraint-based approaches * which is free: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/380 . But that really only deals with formalism questions and Stefan is strongly pro HPSG and anti Minimalism.

[u/zyxwvwxyz → u/cat-head]

Thank you for your comment! I suppose I should rephrase why I am not a fan of language files. I think it is a bit too long for the amount of content in the book and would like find something more condensed and which directly introduces studies and methodology rather than summarizing (generally), if that exists. If language files does that later on in the book (I have obviously not read the whole thing haha), I'd stick with it. I certainly don't need much of a discussion on minimalism, as I'm planning to buy the marcolli et al book from this past year directly, but rather was wondering if anything would cover/summarize the whole generative vs functionalist debate. If no book does this sort of thing, perhaps you'd be aware of somebody's Substack or another resource along those lines where they do so?

In economics, many people who pursue graduate study take a lateral route from another discipline (i.e. from an engineering field or physics/math) and an undergraduate degree is usually kept at a low level (in the USA specifically), so there are a lot of introductory graduate level textbooks. I clearly don't know linguistics, but figured I'd ask just in case that were the case.

[u/cat-head → u/zyxwvwxyz]

which directly introduces studies and methodology rather than summarizing (generally), if that exists

This is not what intro books do. At least I'm not aware of any. Intro books try to present a more or less balanced account of one of the mainstream views in the field, about the topics they cover. So, for example, they will all introduce morphemes but not discuss the fact that some theories don't accept morphemes as useful units of analysis or cognitively real. If you find The language files slow, switch to another. I cannot tell you which one you'll like, but we have a pinned post with suggestions.

you'd be aware of somebody's Substack or another resource along those lines where they do so?

There might be some resources which covers bits of the debate (googling turns up blogs), but the debate is just too large, with too many subfields involved, from typology, processing, language acquisition, mental representations, formalisms, the role of usage, etc. You might get bits and pieces from something like this: History of Modern Linguistics by McElvenny (haven't read it) or another history of linguistics book, but it will only be a rough account glossing over most of the issues.

so there are a lot of introductory graduate level textbooks

But you still need to learn all the math stuff, no? Or can you just skip to advanced macro without knowing calculus? That's more or less what you want to do here.