The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics (Oxford Paperback Reference)

This is my second copy of the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics as this is the second edition. In my opinion better then the first one. It is a really good reference, especially for students, presents really good coverage of entries. Reasonable price!

(The following comments are based on the first edition, which I bought a year ago. I see that Oxford published a second edition a few months ago.)

I have found P. H. Matthews' dictionary of linguistic terms to compare very favorably with David Crystal's "A Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics". In spite of the considerable difference in size and price, I have found that Matthews' work has more of the terms I want to look up, and his explanations are often more to the point. I don't use it much for phonetic terminology, so any deficiency in this regard vis a vis Crystal has not been an issue for me.

I appreciate seeing the names of at least a few of the most outstanding linguists in history listed. New students in the field should find these references to the luminaries helpful. Their names show up in the literature with some regularity, and it is nice to have some place to turn for a quick summary of their contributions.

For students of linguistics, I recommend that you get Matthews' dictionary first, if you can't afford both at once, and then get Crystal's dictionary later. It is always helpful to have more than one reference of this sort on your shelf.

This slim dictionary succeeds nicely at providing concise but accurate and understandable definitions of linguistic terminology.

Serious linguists will also want to own David Crystal's Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics. Crystal's dictionary is larger and more complete in most respects, especially with regard to phonetics. On the other hand, Matthews' dictionary, unlike Crystal's, has brief entries on individual linguists (Panini, Halliday) and specific languages (Etruscan, Pashto). Overall, I find Matthews' dictionary more "user-friendly": smaller, cheaper, and easier to read. I find myself consulting Matthews first, and then turning to Crystal for an alternative perspective.

This is a good book for linguistics majors, especially if you intend to go to grad school. The book has definitions of just about every word I've needed to look up, but sometimes the definitions aren't very clear and are worded in the same difficult jargon that makes you need to look these words up in the first place. Longer definitions would be helpful. But in cases where words learned in class need clarifying, it does offer another explanation. Overall, it's worth the price, but I'll be on the lookout for other linguistics dictionaries that have clearer explanations.