Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction (1989)

This is the introductory text I recommend for anyone interested in linguistics but unsure of what linguistics actually is. The book ranges from the broad explanation of the field down to specific explanations of what the sub-fields consist of, treating traditional linguistic sub-fields equally with some of the newer sub-fields that have gained popularity in recent decades. The text, while introductory in nature, is nonetheless dense, but don't be turned off by that.

If you're reading this independently just to satisfy curiosity, read the introductory chapters, skim the chapters on classical linguistics (unless that's really your thing) and move on the exciting stuff. I find that most of my classmates are first interested in linguistics when they encounter such topics as psycholinguistics, computational linguistics, and language preservation. Once you've got a taste for what you can do with the tools you have as a linguist, go back to the classical linguistics (syntax, semantics, phonology, phonetics, etc.) and read it more thoroughly. You may find some context helps make these particular tools suddenly more enticing. ( )