Browse Books
To browse by subfields of a subject, please start on the Subjects tab in the navigation bar/menu, then filter by subject-subcategory and by content type.
Information on Forthcoming Books can be found on the benjamins.com website.
/search?value51=%272001%27&operator51=AND&pageSize=50&option51=pub_year_facet&page=2&facetOptions=51&facetNames=pub_year_facet
51 - 100 of
104
results
Filter :
Filter by subject:
Filter by publication date:
Functional Structure in Nominals : Nominalization and ergativity
Sept 2001
Book
Author(s):
Artemis Alexiadou
This monograph offers an in depth investigation of nominalization processes across languages e.g. Greek Germanic Romance Hebrew Slavic. Adopting and extending the view that category formation does not involve any lexical operation (recently put forth within the framework of Distributed Morphology) it shows how the behavior of nominals as opposed to that of verbs follows from general processes operating in specific syntactic structures and is linked with the presence or absence of functional layers (T D Aspect v). It further defines criteria on the basis of which the organization of nominal functional structure can be determined. Moreover it demonstrates how nominals split into several types across languages and within a language depending on the number and the type of functional projections they include. Furthermore it substantiates the hypothesis that aspects of the syntax of DPs of nominative-accusative languages are strikingly similar to aspects of the syntax of ergative languages and discusses aspects of the syntax of the perfect. The book targets researchers in theoretical linguistics comparative syntax morphology and typology. It can also be used as a foundation book on the morpho-syntax of nominals argument structure and word formation.
Empty Categories in Sentence Processing
Sept 2001
Book
Author(s):
Sam Featherston
This book reports a research program into one of the most controversial questions in the syntax — processing interface: The behavior of the parser at gap positions. While the work done is largely experimental the results are analyzed both for their relevance to sentence processing and for their implications for competing syntactic frameworks. In particular the differing predictions of PPT and HPSG for structures with dislocated constituents are tested for their empirical adequacy. The author addresses a broad range of questions about gap processing and uses a broad range of methodologies to cut through the confounds which prevent previous work providing clear answers. Wh-movement scrambling raising and equi structures are all addressed and all current accounts of the experimental evidence evaluated. The results move the debate forward significantly and provide clear confirmation of some non-trivial claims of generative grammar.
Writing Organization : (Re)presentation and control in narratives at work
Aug 2001
Book
Author(s):
Carl Rhodes
Carl Rhodes examines the implicit power of writing and authorship that is at play when people and organisations are (re)presented in research. To explore this the book reports a research project in the area of organisational storytelling that investigates how people in one organisation used stories to (re)present their own learning experiences from the implementation of a quality management program. This research is written in three principal genres: autobiography ethnography and a fictional short story. These (re)presentational strategies are reviewed to examine how different genres effect authority in different ways. Drawing extensively on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin and on writers associated with postmodernism and poststructuralism the book offers a challenging discussion of what organisational research might be when the notion of the equivalence of reality and representation is radically questioned.
Präteritumschwund und Diskursgrammatik : Präteritumschwund in gesamteuropäischen Bezügen: areale Ausbreitung, heterogene Entstehung, Parsing sowie diskursgrammatische Grundlagen und Zusammenhänge
Aug 2001
Book
Author(s):
Werner Abraham and
C. Jac Conradie
This work demonstrates that what is commonly called ‘preterite decay in Upper German’ (PS; cf. German Präteritumschwund) is in fact a phenomenon common to a great number of European languages all of which are in areal con-tact. However the conclusion that this is a phenomenon arising under areal influence appears clearly mistaken — not only so because it would no more than postpone the search for the real trigger of this development. It will be shown first that the preterite loss in the languages under inspection comes in different states of completion. It will be seen that the loss of the preterite under this perspective German is by no means a completed process. Second and what is more it will be argued that the trigger for this decay of the synthetic preterite and its replacement by analytic preterite forms is the specific criteria under which oral (as opposed to written) communication is executed. Counter to the rich existing literature on the topic a number of parsing principles will be claimed to be responsible for this diachronic development yielding different results due to a different execution of these principles.
Historical Linguistics 1999 : Selected papers from the 14th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Vancouver, 9–13 August 1999
Aug 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Laurel J. Brinton
This is a selection of papers from the 14th International Conference on Historical Linguistics held August 9-13 1999 at the University of British Columbia. From the rich program and the many papers given during this conference the present twenty-three papers were carefully selected to display the state of current research in the field of historical linguistics.
Approaches to Bootstrapping : Phonological, lexical, syntactic and neurophysiological aspects of early language acquisition. Volume 2
Aug 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Jürgen Weissenborn and
Barbara Höhle
Volume 1 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on early word learning and syntactic development with special emphasis on the bootstrapping mechanisms by which the child using properties of the speech input enters the native linguistic system. Topics discussed in the area of lexical acquisition are: cues and mechanisms for isolating words in the input; special features of motherese and their role for early word learning; the determination of first word meanings; memory and related processing capacities in early word learning and understanding; and lexical representation and lexical access in early language production.
The papers on syntactic development deal with the acquisition of grammatical prosodic features for learning language specific syntactic regularities.Volume 2 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on the interaction between the development of prosodic and morphosyntactic knowledge as evidenced in the early speech of Dutch English German Portugese Spanish Danish Islandic and Swedish children shedding new light on the relation between universal and language specific aspects of language acquisition. Another section of this volume deals with new approaches to language acquisition using ERP- techniques. The papers discuss in detail the relation between the development of language skills and changes in neurophysiological aspects of the brain. The potentials of these techniques for the development of new tools for an early diagnosis of children who are at risque for developmental language disorders are also pointed out.
The closing section contains a synopsis of interactionist approaches to language acquisition a discussion of the genetic and experiential origin of primitive linguistic elements in acquisition and a discussion of structural and developmental aspects of bird song in comparison to human language.
The two volumes making up Approaches to Bootstrapping present a state-of-the art interdisciplinary and cross-linguistic overview of recent developments in first language acquisition research.
The papers on syntactic development deal with the acquisition of grammatical prosodic features for learning language specific syntactic regularities.Volume 2 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on the interaction between the development of prosodic and morphosyntactic knowledge as evidenced in the early speech of Dutch English German Portugese Spanish Danish Islandic and Swedish children shedding new light on the relation between universal and language specific aspects of language acquisition. Another section of this volume deals with new approaches to language acquisition using ERP- techniques. The papers discuss in detail the relation between the development of language skills and changes in neurophysiological aspects of the brain. The potentials of these techniques for the development of new tools for an early diagnosis of children who are at risque for developmental language disorders are also pointed out.
The closing section contains a synopsis of interactionist approaches to language acquisition a discussion of the genetic and experiential origin of primitive linguistic elements in acquisition and a discussion of structural and developmental aspects of bird song in comparison to human language.
The two volumes making up Approaches to Bootstrapping present a state-of-the art interdisciplinary and cross-linguistic overview of recent developments in first language acquisition research.
Approaches to Bootstrapping : Phonological, lexical, syntactic and neurophysiological aspects of early language acquisition. Volume 1
Aug 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Jürgen Weissenborn and
Barbara Höhle
Volume 1 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on early word learning and syntactic development with special emphasis on the bootstrapping mechanisms by which the child using properties of the speech input enters the native linguistic system. Topics discussed in the area of lexical acquisition are: cues and mechanisms for isolating words in the input; special features of motherese and their role for early word learning; the determination of first word meanings; memory and related processing capacities in early word learning and understanding; and lexical representation and lexical access in early language production.
The papers on syntactic development deal with the acquisition of grammatical prosodic features for learning language specific syntactic regularities.Volume 2 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on the interaction between the development of prosodic and morphosyntactic knowledge as evidenced in the early speech of Dutch English German Portugese Spanish Danish Islandic and Swedish children sheding new light on the relation between universal and language specific aspects of language acquisition. Another section of this volume deals with new approaches to language acquisition using ERP- techniques. The papers discuss in detail the relation between the development of language skills and changes in neurophysiological aspects of the brain. The potentials of these techniques for the development of new tools for an early diagnosis of children who are at risque for developmental language disorders are also pointed out.
The closing section contains a synopsis of interactionist approaches to language acquisition a discussion of the genetic and experiential origin of primitive linguistic elements in acquisition and a discussion of structural and developmental aspects of bird song in comparison to human language.
The two volumes making up Approaches to Bootstrapping present a state-of-the art interdisciplinary and cross-linguistic overview of recent developments in first language acquisition research.
The papers on syntactic development deal with the acquisition of grammatical prosodic features for learning language specific syntactic regularities.Volume 2 of Approaches to Bootstrapping focuses on the interaction between the development of prosodic and morphosyntactic knowledge as evidenced in the early speech of Dutch English German Portugese Spanish Danish Islandic and Swedish children sheding new light on the relation between universal and language specific aspects of language acquisition. Another section of this volume deals with new approaches to language acquisition using ERP- techniques. The papers discuss in detail the relation between the development of language skills and changes in neurophysiological aspects of the brain. The potentials of these techniques for the development of new tools for an early diagnosis of children who are at risque for developmental language disorders are also pointed out.
The closing section contains a synopsis of interactionist approaches to language acquisition a discussion of the genetic and experiential origin of primitive linguistic elements in acquisition and a discussion of structural and developmental aspects of bird song in comparison to human language.
The two volumes making up Approaches to Bootstrapping present a state-of-the art interdisciplinary and cross-linguistic overview of recent developments in first language acquisition research.
A History of Literature in the Caribbean : Volume 2: English- and Dutch-speaking regions
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
A. James Arnold
For the first time the Dutch-speaking regions of the Caribbean and Suriname are brought into fruitful dialogue with another major American literature that of the anglophone Caribbean. The results are as stimulating as they are unexpected. The editors have coordinated the work of a distinguished international team of specialists.
Read separately or as a set of three volumes the History of Literature in the Caribbean is designed to serve as the primary reference book in this area. The reader can follow the comparative evolution of a literary genre or plot the development of a set of historical problems under the appropriate heading for the English- or Dutch-speaking region. An extensive index to names and dates of authors and significant historical figures completes the volume.
The subeditors bring to their respective specialty areas a wealth of Caribbeanist experience. Vera M. Kutzinski is Professor of English American and Afro-American Literature at Yale University. Her book Sugar’s Secrets: Race and The Erotics of Cuban Nationalism 1993 treated a crucial subject in the romance of the Caribbean nation. Ineke Phaf-Rheinberger has been very active in Latin American and Caribbean literary criticism for two decades first at the Free University in Berlin and later at the University of Maryland. The editor of A History of Literature in the Caribbean A. James Arnold is Professor of French at the University of Virginia where he founded the New World Studies graduate program. Over the past twenty years he has been a pioneer in the historical study of the Négritude movement and its successors in the francophone Caribbean.
This volume is part of a book set which can be ordered at a special discount see: https://www.benjamins.com/series/chlel/chlel.special_offer_history_of_literature_in_the_caribbean.pdf
Read separately or as a set of three volumes the History of Literature in the Caribbean is designed to serve as the primary reference book in this area. The reader can follow the comparative evolution of a literary genre or plot the development of a set of historical problems under the appropriate heading for the English- or Dutch-speaking region. An extensive index to names and dates of authors and significant historical figures completes the volume.
The subeditors bring to their respective specialty areas a wealth of Caribbeanist experience. Vera M. Kutzinski is Professor of English American and Afro-American Literature at Yale University. Her book Sugar’s Secrets: Race and The Erotics of Cuban Nationalism 1993 treated a crucial subject in the romance of the Caribbean nation. Ineke Phaf-Rheinberger has been very active in Latin American and Caribbean literary criticism for two decades first at the Free University in Berlin and later at the University of Maryland. The editor of A History of Literature in the Caribbean A. James Arnold is Professor of French at the University of Virginia where he founded the New World Studies graduate program. Over the past twenty years he has been a pioneer in the historical study of the Négritude movement and its successors in the francophone Caribbean.
This volume is part of a book set which can be ordered at a special discount see: https://www.benjamins.com/series/chlel/chlel.special_offer_history_of_literature_in_the_caribbean.pdf
The Minimalist Parameter : Selected papers from the Open Linguistics Forum, Ottawa, 21–23 March 1997
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Galina M. Alexandrova and
Olga Arnaudova
In view of its exploratory nature Chomsky's 'minimalist' model has undergone multiple changes triggering in response numerous proposals that are consistent with the tendencies that it follows or anticipates and numerous proposals that offer alternatives to it. A good illustration of the variety of 'parallel' proposals is provided in the present volume. The articles derive from papers read at the “Challenges of Minimalism” session of the Open Linguistics Forum held in Ottawa in March 1997. This OLF meeting started as a graduate student initiative but because of the topic chosen attracted a wide and international audience. The twenty contributions are grouped in five sections: I. Syntactic Structure Relations Operations; II. Syntactic Movement: Cyclicity Optionality (Non)overtness; III.Case Topic Focus Interrogativity; IV. Ellipsis Reconstruction and Related Phenomena; V. DPs: Features and Syntactic Relations.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Syntax : An Introduction. Volume I
Jul 2001
Book
Author(s):
T. Givón
This new edition of Syntax: A functional-typological introduction is at many points radically revised. In the previous edition (1984) the author deliberately chose to de-emphasize the more formal aspects of syntactic structure in favor of a more comprehensive treatment of the semantic and pragmatic correlates of syntactic structure. With hindsight the author now finds the de-emphasis of the formal properties a somewhat regrettable choice since it creates the false impression that one could somehow be a functionalist without being at the same time a structuralist. To redress the balance explicit treatment is given to the core formal properties of syntactic constructions such as constituency and hierarchy (phrase structure) grammatical relations and relational control clause union finiteness and governed constructions.
At the same time the cognitive and communicative underpinning of grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored and the interplay between grammar cognition and neurology is outlined. Also the relevant typological database is expanded now exploring in greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly Syntax treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the other. It is then suggested that — as in biology — synchronic universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as constraints on development and are thus merely the apparent by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.
At the same time the cognitive and communicative underpinning of grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored and the interplay between grammar cognition and neurology is outlined. Also the relevant typological database is expanded now exploring in greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly Syntax treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the other. It is then suggested that — as in biology — synchronic universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as constraints on development and are thus merely the apparent by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.
Syntax : An Introduction. Volume II
Jul 2001
Book
Author(s):
T. Givón
This new edition of Syntax: A functional-typological introduction is at many points radically revised. In the previous edition (1984) the author deliberately chose to de-emphasize the more formal aspects of syntactic structure in favor of a more comprehensive treatment of the semantic and pragmatic correlates of syntactic structure. With hindsight the author now finds the de-emphasis of the formal properties a somewhat regrettable choice since it creates the false impression that one could somehow be a functionalist without being at the same time a structuralist. To redress the balance explicit treatment is given to the core formal properties of syntactic constructions such as constituency and hierarchy (phrase structure) grammatical relations and relational control clause union finiteness and governed constructions.
At the same time the cognitive and communicative underpinning of grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored and the interplay between grammar cognition and neurology is outlined. Also the relevant typological database is expanded now exploring in greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly Syntax treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the other. It is then suggested that — as in biology — synchronic universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as constraints on development and are thus merely the apparent by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.
At the same time the cognitive and communicative underpinning of grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored and the interplay between grammar cognition and neurology is outlined. Also the relevant typological database is expanded now exploring in greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly Syntax treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the other. It is then suggested that — as in biology — synchronic universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as constraints on development and are thus merely the apparent by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.
Polysemy in Cognitive Linguistics : Selected papers from the International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Amsterdam, 1997
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Hubert Cuyckens and
Britta E. Zawada
In Cognitive Linguistics polysemy is regarded as a categorizing phenomenon; i.e. related meanings of words form categories centering around a prototype and bearing family resemblance relations to one another. Under this polysemy = categorization view the scope of investigation has been gradually broadened from categories in the lexical and lexico-grammatical domain to morphological syntactic and phonological categories. The papers in this volume illustrate the importance of polysemy in describing these various categories. A first set of papers analyzes the polysemy of such lexical categories as prepositions and scalar particles and looks at the import of polysemy in frame-based dictionary definitions. A second set shows that noun classes case and locative prefixes constitute meaningful and polysemous categories. Three papers then pay attention to polysemy from a psychological perspective looking for psychological evidence of polysemy in lexical categories. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Grammatical Relations in Change
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Jan Terje Faarlund
The eleven selected contributions making up this volume deal with grammatical relations their coding and behavioral properties and the change that these properties have undergone in different languages. The focus of this collection is on the changing properties of subjects and objects although the scope of the volume goes beyond the central problems pertaining to case marking and word order. The diachrony of syntactic and morphosyntactic phenomena are approached from different theoretical perspectives generative grammar valency grammar and functionalism. The languages dealt with include Old English Mainland Scandinavian Icelandic German and other Germanic languages Latin French and other Romance languages Northeast Caucasian Eskimo and Popolocan. This book provides an opportunity to compare different theoretical approaches to similar phenomena in different languages and language families.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Non-canonical Marking of Subjects and Objects
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald,
R.M.W. Dixon and
Masayuki Onishi
In some languages every subject is marked in the same way and also every object. But there are languages in which a small set of verbs mark their subjects or their objects in an unusual way. For example most verbs may mark their subject with nominative case but one small set of verbs may have dative subjects and another small set may have locative subjects. Verbs with noncanonically marked subjects and objects typically refer to physiological states or events inner feelings perception and cognition. The Introduction sets out the theoretical parameters and defines the properties in terms of which subjects and objects can be analysed. Following chapters discuss Icelandic Bengali Quechua Finnish Japanese Amele (a Papuan language) and Tariana (an Amazonian language); there is also a general discussion of European languages. This is a pioneering study providing new and fascinating data and dealing with a topic of prime theoretical importance to linguists of many persuasions.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Perspectives on Semantics, Pragmatics, and Discourse : A Festschrift for Ferenc Kiefer
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
István Kenesei and
Robert M. Harnish
Professor Ferenc Kiefer of the Linguistics Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was instrumental in bringing early transformational grammar to Europe. His extensive work contributes substantially to making a connection between the grammatical theory and other areas of linguistics. The 17 essays in this book celebrate his career by continuing to explore inter-area research in linguistics: pragmatics in grammar (de Groot van Riemsdijk Dressler & Barbaresi Comrie) semantic compositionality and pragmatics (Wunderlich Partee Borschev Szabo Bach) logical structures and universals in semantics and pragmatics (van der Auwera Bultinck Burton-Roberts Harnish Wierzbicka) dialogue and thematic structure (Jonasson Doherty Hajicova Panevova Sgall Allwood Fraser).
Narrative and Identity : Studies in Autobiography, Self and Culture
Jul 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Jens Brockmeier and
Donal Carbaugh
How does narrative give shape and meaning to human life? And what special role do narratives play in identifying one as a person in the world? This book explores these questions from the vantage points of various human and cultural sciences with special attention to the importance of narrative as expression of embodied experience mode of communication and form for understanding the world and ultimately ourselves. Presenting a variety of perspectives — from narrative psychology and literary criticism to discourse communication and cultural theory — these studies examine the intricacies of narrative identity construction. With contributions from some of the leading scholars in the field the book highlights the cultural field in which narratives shape forms of life. Using verbal and pictorial linguistic and performative oral and written natural and literary autobiographical texts the studies demonstrate how the construction of selves memories and life-worlds are interwoven in one narrative fabric.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Telicity in the Second Language
Jul 2001
Book
Author(s):
Roumyana Slabakova
The author combines a syntax-theoretical treatment of telicity marking and an empirical study of the second language acquisition of English telicity marking by native speakers of Bulgarian a Slavic language. It is argued that Vendler’s lexical classes of verbs (states activities accomplishments and achievements) can be represented in four phrase structure templates where lexical properties of the verb and of the object compositionally determine telicity. A parameterized distinction between English and Slavic aspect is proposed. The book addresses two major acquisition issues: (1) what is the nature of the initial hypothesis Bulgarian learners of English entertain regarding telicity marking (i.e. is there native language transfer)? (2) are adult learners capable of resetting the telicity marking parameter? Both L1 transfer and parameter resetting are experimentally supported. In addition the study investigates the L2 acquisition of a cluster of complex predicate constructions purportedly related to the telicity parameter in the grammatical competence and in child language acquisition of English.
Reanimated Voices : Speech reporting in a historical-pragmatic perspective
Jul 2001
Book
Author(s):
Daniel E. Collins
Reanimated Voices addresses three activities: reporters evoking speech events; interpreters (re)constituting those speech events; and historical pragmaticians eavesdropping in time on the reporters and interpreters. Can one reconstruct aspects of pragmatic competence on the basis of written texts only? Reanimated Voices answers this in the affirmative. It offers a methodology for historical-pragmatic reconstruction to explain the synchronic patterns of variation in premodern writings.
Reanimated Voices examines the distribution of reporting strategies in a corpus of medieval Russian texts. Forms preferred in specific recurring contexts are matched with the need(s) served by those contexts — a fit reflecting collective intentionality. Occasional “residual forms” -strategies that appear in contexts where others predominate- also reflect cooperative behavior; they index utterances departing from the prototype or unusual configurations of participants. Thus Reanimated Voices explores reporting as an activity of rational agents coordinating interpretation in accordance with cultural and institutional notions of relevance.
This book has won the annual book prize in the category Slavic Linguistics awarded by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages.
Reanimated Voices examines the distribution of reporting strategies in a corpus of medieval Russian texts. Forms preferred in specific recurring contexts are matched with the need(s) served by those contexts — a fit reflecting collective intentionality. Occasional “residual forms” -strategies that appear in contexts where others predominate- also reflect cooperative behavior; they index utterances departing from the prototype or unusual configurations of participants. Thus Reanimated Voices explores reporting as an activity of rational agents coordinating interpretation in accordance with cultural and institutional notions of relevance.
This book has won the annual book prize in the category Slavic Linguistics awarded by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages.
Social and Stylistic Variation in Spoken French : A comparative approach
Jun 2001
Book
Author(s):
Nigel Armstrong
Many of the assumptions of Labovian sociolinguistics are based on results drawn from US and UK English Latin American Spanish and Canadian French. Sociolinguistic variation in the French of France has been rather little studied compared to these languages. This volume is the first examination and exploration of variation in French that studies in a unified way the levels of phonology grammar and lexis using quantitative methods. One of its aims is to establish whether the patterns of variation that have been reported in French conform to those reported in other languages. A second important theme of this volume is the study of variation across speech styles in French through a comparison with some of the best-known English results. The book is therefore also the first to examine current theories of social-stylistic variation by using fresh quantitative data. These data throw new light on the influence of methodology on results on why certain linguistic variables have more stylistic value and on how the strong normative tradition in France moulds interactions between social and stylistic variation.
Recent Advances in Computational Terminology
Jun 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Didier Bourigault,
Christian Jacquemin and
Marie-Claude L'Homme
This first collection of selected articles from researchers in automatic analysis storage and use of terminology and specialists in applied linguistics computational linguistics information retrieval and artificial intelligence offers new insights on computational terminology. The recent needs for intelligent information access automatic query translation cross-lingual information retrieval knowledge management and document handling have led practitioners and engineers to focus on automated term handling. This book offers new perspectives on their expectations. It will be of interest to terminologists translators language or knowledge engineers librarians and all others dependent on the automation of terminology processing in professional practices. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The articles cover themes such as automatic thesaurus construction automatic term acquisition automatic term translation automatic indexing and abstracting and computer-aided knowledge acquisition.<br/>The high academic standing of the contributors together with their experience in terminology management results in a set of contributions that tackle original and unique scientific issues in correlation with genuine applications of terminology processing.<br/>
English in Australia
Jun 2001
Book
Editor(s):
David Blair and
Peter Collins
This unique collection fills a ten-year gap in studies on the nature of Australian English and it is the first to deal exclusively with varieties of English on the Australian continent. The book contains chapters on the phonology morphology syntax and the lexicon of the dialect and chapters on variation within the dialect that include Aboriginal and ethnic varieties as well as regional and generational differences with a focus on questions of Australian identity and intercultural relations. With selected contributions by Australia’s leading linguists this volume records the most recent developments in the study of English within Australia.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Pragmatic Markers and Sociolinguistic Variation : A relevance-theoretic approach to the language of adolescents
Jun 2001
Book
Author(s):
Gisle Andersen
This book combines theoretical work in linguistic pragmatics and sociolinguistics with empirical work based on a corpus of London adolescent conversation. It makes a general contribution to the study of pragmatic markers as it proposes an analytical model that involves notions such as subjectivity interactional and textual capacity and the distinction between contextual alignment/divergence. These notions are defined according to how information contained in an utterance interacts with the cognitive environment of the hearer. Moreover the model captures the diachronic development of markers from lexical items via processes of grammaticalisation arguing that markerhood may be viewed as a gradient phenomenon. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The empirical work concerns the use of like as a marker as well as a characteristic use of two originally interrogative forms innit and is it which are used as attitudinal markers throughout the inflectional paradigm despite the fact that they contain a third person singular neuter pronoun. The author provides an in-depth analysis of these features in terms of pragmatic functions diachronic development and sociolinguistic variation thus adding support to the hypothesis that adolescents play an important role in language variation and change.
Automatic Summarization
Jun 2001
Book
Author(s):
Inderjeet Mani
With the explosion in the quantity of on-line text and multimedia information in recent years there has been a renewed interest in automatic summarization. This book provides a systematic introduction to the field explaining basic definitions the strategies used by human summarizers and automatic methods that leverage linguistic and statistical knowledge to produce extracts and abstracts. Drawing from a wealth of research in artificial intelligence natural language processing and information retrieval the book also includes detailed assessments of evaluation methods and new topics such as multi-document and multimedia summarization. Previous automatic summarization books have been either collections of specialized papers or else authored books with only a chapter or two devoted to the field as a whole. This is the first textbook on the subject developed based on teaching materials used in two one-semester courses. To further help the student reader the book includes detailed case studies accompanied by end-of-chapter reviews and an extensive glossary.Audience: students and researchers as well as information technology managers librarians and anyone else interested in the subject.
Perspectives on Negation and Polarity Items
May 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Jack Hoeksema,
Hotze Rullmann,
Víctor Sánchez-Valencia and
Ton van der Wouden
Perspectives on Negation and Polarity Items contains a selection of papers on the semantics acquisition and licensing behavior of negation. Negation being one of the prevalent features of any human language has many facets of interest to linguists psychologists and philosophers alike. In recent years much attention has been paid to the complicated distributional patterns of polarity items. Many of the contributions in this volume are devoted to the study of one or more of these items in langages such as English (Laurence Horn Anita Mittwoch Chris Kennedy) Dutch (Jack Hoeksema and Hotze Rullmann Henny Klein Gertjan Postma) German (Gabriel Falkenberg) Hindi (Utpal Lahiri) and Greek (Anastasia Giannakidou). In addition some general issues surrounding negation are addressed such as the characterization of the notion “strength of negation” (Jay Atlas) the problem of NEG-raising (Lucia Tovena) the interaction of negation and modality (Johan van der Auwera) and the acquisition of negation (Kenneth Drozd).
Pattern and Process : A Whiteheadian perspective on linguistics
May 2001
Book
Author(s):
Michael Fortescue
The purpose of this book is to illustrate the relevance to linguistics today of Whitehead’s philosophy of organism. Although largely ignored by linguists Whitehead has in fact much to say as regards the cognitive processes underpinning language pattern. His theory of symbolism conceives of language as the ‘systematization of expression’ and relates meaning to feeling (in the broadest sense). The Whiteheadian perspective allows a synthesis of the psychological and the social approaches to language that does not fall into one or another fashionable form of reductionism. The volume represents a first application of Whitehead’s thinking to a broad range of linguistic phenomena ranging from speech act theory to the production and comprehension of texts from language acquisition to historical change and the evolution of language. It is argued that Whitehead’s holistic philosophy is uniquely suited to the view of language as an emergent phenomenon — regardless of whether one’s approach to cognition is via the ‘nativist’ or the ‘functionalist’ route.
Finding Consciousness in the Brain : A neurocognitive approach
May 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Peter G. Grossenbacher
How does the brain go about the business of being conscious? Though we cannot yet provide a complete answer this book explains what is now known about the neural basis of human consciousness.The last decade has witnessed the dawn of an exciting new era of cognitive neuroscience. For example combination of new imaging technologies and experimental study of attention has linked brain activity to specific psychological functions. The authors are leaders in psychology and neuroscience who have conducted original research on consciousness. They wish to communicate the highlights of this research to both specialists and interested others and hope that this volume will be read by students concerned with the neuroscientific underpinnings of subjective experience. As a whole the book progresses from an overview of conscious awareness through careful explanation of identified neurocognitive systems and extends to theories which tackle global aspects of consciousness. (Series B)
Epistemic Modality, Language, and Conceptualization : A cognitive-pragmatic perspective
May 2001
Book
Author(s):
Jan Nuyts
The relationship between language and conceptualization remains one of the major puzzles in language research. This monograph addresses this issue by means of an in depth corpus based and experimental investigation of the major types of expressions of epistemic modality in Dutch German and English. By adopting a systematic functional orientation the book explains a whole range of peculiarities of epistemic expression forms (synchronically and diachronically) and it offers a clear perspective on which cognitive systems are needed to get from the concept of epistemic modality to its linguistic expression. On that basis the author postulates a sophisticated layered view of human conceptualization. This book is of interest both to scholars working on modality and related semantic dimensions and to the interdisciplinary field of researchers concerned with the cognitive systems involved in language use.
New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy : In honour of Bernard Dov Spolsky
Apr 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Robert L. Cooper,
Elana Shohamy and
Joel Walters
This formidable selection of papers reflects the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic underpinnings of the interface between language and education. Following an introduction that positions the field of educational linguistics historically and conceptually the volume presents 15 contributions by leading scholars that cover the four areas most central to the field:
- Language teaching language learning and literacy (Widdowson Bialistok Cohen & Allison);
- Language testing (Bachman Davies and Shohamy);
- Multilingualism minority languages and language planning (Bratt-Paulston Fishman Lambert Amara de Bot & van Els);
- Language policy (Clyne Tucker Donato & Murday McNamara & Lo Bianco and Hornberger).
New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy is published in honour of Bernard Dov Spolsky and reflects his impact on applied linguistics in general and educational linguistics in particular. The breadth and coverage makes this an indispensable title for future research in the field of educational linguistics.
- Language teaching language learning and literacy (Widdowson Bialistok Cohen & Allison);
- Language testing (Bachman Davies and Shohamy);
- Multilingualism minority languages and language planning (Bratt-Paulston Fishman Lambert Amara de Bot & van Els);
- Language policy (Clyne Tucker Donato & Murday McNamara & Lo Bianco and Hornberger).
New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy is published in honour of Bernard Dov Spolsky and reflects his impact on applied linguistics in general and educational linguistics in particular. The breadth and coverage makes this an indispensable title for future research in the field of educational linguistics.
Philosophiehistorie als Rezeptionsgeschichte : Die Reaktion auf Aristoteles' De Anima-Noetik. Der frühe Hellenismus
Apr 2001
Book
Author(s):
Andreas Kamp
No single theoretician provoked a greater tradition of the reception of his thought throughout changing times and across diverse cultures than did Aristotle and so Hegel who calls him the ‘teacher of the human race’ well describes the man known for ages simply as ‘the philosopher’. The present volume examines from a philosophical-historical standpoint the intellect-theory of De Anima III 4-5 which stands in the center of the Aristotelian system and composes one of the most provocative Aristotelian theories. It concentrates on the critical engagement with Aristotle’s conception of nous in Theophrastus and his colleagues (Dicaearchus Aristoxenus) and students (Demetrius of Phaleron Menander Erasistratus) in the Peripatos as well as in the Academic Socratic Epicurean and Stoic schools. The analysis of the relevant texts leads to a new assessment of Theophrastus’s philosophical-historical significance in the Aristotelian tradition and documents that in early Hellenism the Aristotelian theory itself played a surprisingly limited role so that the loss of the original Aristotelian manuscripts as reported by Strabo and Plutarch — a matter hotly debated in recent studies — was of only marginal importance.Kein Theoretiker provozierte über eine ähnlich lange Zeitspanne eine so intensive kontinuierliche und multikulturelle Rezeption wie Aristoteles. Die Geschichte der Philosophie verlangt es daher geradezu unter der Perspektive der ebenso konstanten wie vielgestaltigen Auseinandersetzung mit “dem Philosophen” analysiert zu werden. Den geeignetsten Kristallisationspunkt hierfür stellt die in “De Anima” G 4-5 präsentierte Nous-Theorie dar denn zum einen stand sie im Zentrum des aristotelischen “Systems” zum anderen handelt es sich bei ihr um die mit gröîter Kontinuität höchster Intensität und unterschiedlichsten Resultaten rezipierte philosophische Theorie überhaupt.
Der vorliegende Band thematisiert im Anschluî am die “Topographie” der aristotelischen Noetik die frühhellenistische Resonanz. Den ersten Schwerpunkt bildet Theophrasts philosophisch-kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Nous-Konzeption seines Lehrers den zweiten die “De Anima”-Rezeption in der damaligen Philosophie-Szene die im wesentlichen durch drie Gruppen konstituiert wurde: Theophrasts Kollegen im “Peripatos” (Dikaiarch Aristoxenos); Theophrasts eingene Hörerschaft (Demetrios v. Phaleron Menander Erasistratos); und die zahlreichte philosophische Konkurrenz: die “Akademiker” “Sokratiker” und die Schulen Epikurs bzw. Zenons. Die Analyse der relevanten Texte führt erstens zu einder grundsätzlichen Neubewertung der philosophiehistorischen Position Theophrasts. Zweitens dokumentiert sie daî die aristotelische Theorie entgegen der heutigen opinio communis gerade im Frühhellenismus eine erstaunlich bescheidene Rolle spielte. Rezeptionsgeschichtlich kommt dem von Strabon/Plutarch berichteten und in der neueren Forschung heiîdiskutierten Verlust der aristotelischen Originalmanuscripte deshalb allenfalls eine sekondäre Bedeutung zu.
Der vorliegende Band thematisiert im Anschluî am die “Topographie” der aristotelischen Noetik die frühhellenistische Resonanz. Den ersten Schwerpunkt bildet Theophrasts philosophisch-kritische Auseinandersetzung mit der Nous-Konzeption seines Lehrers den zweiten die “De Anima”-Rezeption in der damaligen Philosophie-Szene die im wesentlichen durch drie Gruppen konstituiert wurde: Theophrasts Kollegen im “Peripatos” (Dikaiarch Aristoxenos); Theophrasts eingene Hörerschaft (Demetrios v. Phaleron Menander Erasistratos); und die zahlreichte philosophische Konkurrenz: die “Akademiker” “Sokratiker” und die Schulen Epikurs bzw. Zenons. Die Analyse der relevanten Texte führt erstens zu einder grundsätzlichen Neubewertung der philosophiehistorischen Position Theophrasts. Zweitens dokumentiert sie daî die aristotelische Theorie entgegen der heutigen opinio communis gerade im Frühhellenismus eine erstaunlich bescheidene Rolle spielte. Rezeptionsgeschichtlich kommt dem von Strabon/Plutarch berichteten und in der neueren Forschung heiîdiskutierten Verlust der aristotelischen Originalmanuscripte deshalb allenfalls eine sekondäre Bedeutung zu.
The Physical Nature of Consciousness
Apr 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Philip Van Loocke
The Physical Nature of Consciousness contains twelve chapters that discuss recent and new perspectives on the relation between modern physics and consciousness.
Stuart Hameroff opens with an extended and updated exposition of the Penrose/Hameroff Orch-OR model and subsequently addresses recent criticisms of quantum approaches to the brain. Evan Walker presents his view on consciousness from the perspective of a new approach to the integration of quantum theory and relativity. Friedrich Beck elaborates on the Beck/Eccles quantum approach to consciousness. Karl Pribram puts the holographic view on consciousness in perspective of his life long work. Peter Marcer and Edgar Mitchell explain the relevance of quantum holography for consciousness. Gordon Globus discusses the relation between postmodern philosophical theories and quantum consciousness. Chris Clarke develops a theory in terms of a specific type of formal logic to reconcile the phenomenology of consciousness with the physical world. Ilya Prigogine summarizes his view on complexity and on the future of quantum theory which goes beyond the present formalism and goes on to comment on the problem of consciousness. Matti Pitkanen identifies the place for consciousness in a unifying topological geometro-dynamics theory. Colin McGinn argues against classical materialism. Dick Bierman gives an overview of anomalous phenomena. He identifies a decline effect and discusses different possible interpretations. Philip Van Loocke closes the volume with a discussion on how deep teleology in cellular systems may relate to consciousness. (Series A)
Stuart Hameroff opens with an extended and updated exposition of the Penrose/Hameroff Orch-OR model and subsequently addresses recent criticisms of quantum approaches to the brain. Evan Walker presents his view on consciousness from the perspective of a new approach to the integration of quantum theory and relativity. Friedrich Beck elaborates on the Beck/Eccles quantum approach to consciousness. Karl Pribram puts the holographic view on consciousness in perspective of his life long work. Peter Marcer and Edgar Mitchell explain the relevance of quantum holography for consciousness. Gordon Globus discusses the relation between postmodern philosophical theories and quantum consciousness. Chris Clarke develops a theory in terms of a specific type of formal logic to reconcile the phenomenology of consciousness with the physical world. Ilya Prigogine summarizes his view on complexity and on the future of quantum theory which goes beyond the present formalism and goes on to comment on the problem of consciousness. Matti Pitkanen identifies the place for consciousness in a unifying topological geometro-dynamics theory. Colin McGinn argues against classical materialism. Dick Bierman gives an overview of anomalous phenomena. He identifies a decline effect and discusses different possible interpretations. Philip Van Loocke closes the volume with a discussion on how deep teleology in cellular systems may relate to consciousness. (Series A)
200 Years of Syntax : A critical survey
Apr 2001
Book
Author(s):
Giorgio Graffi
This book argues convincingly against the widespread opinion that very few syntactic studies were carried out before the 1950s. Relying on the detailed analysis of a large amount of original sources it shows that syntactic matters were in fact carefully investigated throughout both the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th century. Moreover it illustrates how the enormous development of syntactic research in the last fifty years has already condemned even several recent ideas and analyses to oblivion and deeply influenced current research programs. The wealth of research undertaken over the last two centuries is presented here in a systematic way taking as its starting point the relationship of syntax with psychology throughout this period. The critical ideas expressed in the text are based on a detailed illustration of the different syntactic models and analyses rather than on the polemics between the different schools.
Corpus Linguistics at Work
Apr 2001
Book
Author(s):
Elena Tognini-Bonelli
The book offers a combined discussion of the main theoretical methodological and application issues related to corpus work. Thus starting from the definition of what is a corpus and why reading a corpus calls for a different methodology from reading a text the underlying assumptions behind corpus work are discussed. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The two main approaches to corpus work are discussed as the “corpus-based” and the “corpus-driven” approach and the theoretical positions underlying them explored in detail. The book adopts and exemplifies the parameters of the corpus-driven approach and posits a new unit of linguistic description defined systematically in the light of corpus evidence. The applications where the corpus-driven approach is exemplified are language teaching and contrastive linguistics. Alternating between practical examples and theoretical evaluation the reader is led step-by-step to a detailed understanding of the issues involved in corpus work and at the same time tempted to explore for himself some of the major applications where a corpus-driven methodology can reveal unprecedented insights into linguistic patterning.
Creating Connectedness : The role of social research in innovation policy
Mar 2001
Book
Author(s):
Bjørn Gustavsen,
Håkon Finne and
Bo Oscarsson
Using a workplace development program as source of experience the book deals with the development of innovation processes. Since innovation means to explore the unique and the special to bring forth what does not (yet) exist each innovation process must in itself be an innovation. The study explores the tools and activities needed to create such processes like dialogue networking coalition building and social partnership. The authors report from the position of collaborative actors involved in the innovation process rather than external observers.
Whose German? : The ach/ich alternation and related phenomena in ‘standard’ and ‘colloquial’
Mar 2001
Book
Author(s):
Orrin W. Robinson
The author addresses a number of issues in German and general phonology using a specific problem in German phonology (the ach/ich alternation) as a springboard. These issues include especially the naturalness or lack thereof of the prescriptive standard in German and the importance of colloquial pronunciations as well as historical and dialect evidence for phonological analyses of the “standard” language. Other important topics include the phonetic and phonological status of German /r/ the phonetic and phonological representation of palatals the status of loanwords in phonological description and especially as regards the latter the usefulness of Optimality Theory in capturing phonological facts.The book addresses itself to scholars from the fields of German and Germanic linguistics as well as those concerned more generally with theoretical phonology (whether Lexical or Optimal). It may even appeal to the orthoëpists and lexicographers of modern German.
Handbook of Terminology Management : Volume 2: Application-Oriented Terminology Management
Mar 2001
Book
The Handbook of Terminology Management is a unique work designed to meet the practical needs of terminologists translators lexicographers subject specialists (e.g. engineers medical professionals etc.) standardizers and others who have to solve terminological problems in their daily work.
In more than 900 pages the Handbook brings together contributions from approximately 50 expert authorities in the field. The Handbook covers a broad range of topics integrated from an international perspective and treats such fundamental issues as: practical methods of terminology management; creation and use of terminological tools (terminology databases on-line dictionaries etc.); terminological applications.
The high level of expertise provided by the contributors combined with the wide range of perspectives they represent results in a thorough coverage of all facets of a burgeoning field. The lay-out of the Handbook is specially designed for quick and for cross reference with hypertext and an extensive index.
See also Handbook of Terminology Management set (volumes 1 and 2).
In more than 900 pages the Handbook brings together contributions from approximately 50 expert authorities in the field. The Handbook covers a broad range of topics integrated from an international perspective and treats such fundamental issues as: practical methods of terminology management; creation and use of terminological tools (terminology databases on-line dictionaries etc.); terminological applications.
The high level of expertise provided by the contributors combined with the wide range of perspectives they represent results in a thorough coverage of all facets of a burgeoning field. The lay-out of the Handbook is specially designed for quick and for cross reference with hypertext and an extensive index.
See also Handbook of Terminology Management set (volumes 1 and 2).
The Motivated Sign
Mar 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Olga Fischer and
Max Nänny
This volume a sequel to Form Miming Meaning (1999) offers a selection of papers given at the second international symposium on iconicity (Amsterdam 1999). In the light of semiotic linguistic and literary theory the studies gathered here investigate how iconicity works on all levels of language in literary texts and other forms of verbal discourse. They investigate among other subjects the semiotic foundations of iconicity the role played by iconicity in language evolution and in the way words are positioned syntactically. Special consideration is given to the iconic nature of metaphor and the ‘mise en abyme’ to iconically motivated punctuation and other typographic matters such as the manipulation of colour fonts and spacing in advertising and in poetry. Other studies show how iconicity influences Shakespeare’s rhetoric the structural design of Margaret Atwood’s writings and the changing fashions in fictional landscape description. Thus these analyses of ‘the motivated sign’ represent yet another strong challenge to “Saussure’s dogma of arbitrariness” (Jakobson).
Language and Ideology : Volume 2: descriptive cognitive approaches
Mar 2001
Book
Editor(s):
René Dirven,
Roslyn M. Frank and
Cornelia Ilie
Together with its sister volume on Theoretical Cognitive Approaches this volume explores the contribution which cognitive linguistics can make to the identification and analysis of overt and hidden ideologies. This volume shows that descriptive tools which cognitive linguistics developed for the analysis of language-in-use are highly efficient for the analysis of ideologies as well. Amongst them are the concept of grounding and the speaker’s deictic centre iconographic reference frames cultural cognitive models as a subgroup of Idealized Cognitive Models conceptual metaphors root metaphors frames as groups of metaphors mental spaces and conceptual blending.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The first section ‘Political metaphor and ideology’ discusses topics such as Nazi Germany discrimination of Afro-Americans South Africa’s “rainbow nation” and the impeachment campaign against President Clinton. The second section on cross-cultural “Otherness” deals with cultural clashes such as those between the Basque symbolic world and the general European value systems; between the Islam and the West determining its treatment of Iraq in the Gulf War; and between Hong Kong “Otherness” and centuries of Western dominance. The third section deals with ‘Metaphors for institutional ideologies’ and concentrates on the globalisation of the North and South American markets on insults in (un)parliamentary debates and on the Internet being for sale.<br/>
The Theme–Topic Interface : Evidence from English
Mar 2001
Book
Author(s):
María de los Ángeles Gómez González
The Theme-Topic Interface (TTI) gives a useful catalogue of approaches to the concept Theme in the analysis of Natural Language. The book is written with both theoretical and descriptive goals and aims to synthesize and<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>revise current approaches to pragmatic functions. In addition TTI explains that different thematic constructions in natural language reveal different discourse strategies related to point of view and speaker subjectivity which shows the mutually supportive role of form and discourse function vis-á-vis each other. The book’s value is enhanced by the use of natural language corpora the Lancaster IBM Spoken English Corpus (LIBMSEC) and by running multivariate statistical tests taking into account both segmental and suprasegmental features. The bibliography lists more than 600 publications providing ample material for further research into an integrated theory of language and its use. The indexes provide easy access to most authors mentioned and to the major concepts covered.
Ethnicity and Language Change : English in (London)Derry, Northern Ireland
Mar 2001
Book
Author(s):
Kevin McCafferty
Part sociolinguistic part ethnographic this book takes up the neglected question of how ethnic division interacts with variation and change in Northern Irish English. It identifies an idealised folk model of harmonious<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>communities in spite of the social divide and open conflict that have long affected the region; this model affects daily life and sociolinguistic studies alike. A reading of sociolinguistic studies from the region reveals<br/>ethnolinguistic differentiation. Qualitative analysis of material from (London)Derry shows people often stressing tolerance in their community while accounts of their activities contain evidence of ethnic division and strife. Quantitative analysis charts six changes in (London)Derry English. Variation correlates to varying degrees with age ethnicity class sex and social network. The ethnic dimension while not the most important parameter in all cases plays a role in relation to all the changes examined.
Patterns of Text : In honour of Michael Hoey
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Mike Scott and
Geoff Thompson
It is increasingly clear that in order to understand language as a phenomenon we must understand the phenomenon of text. Our primary experience of language comes in the form of texts which embody the complete communicative events through which our language-using lives are lived. These events are shaped by communicative needs and this shaping is reflected in certain characteristic patterns in the texts. However the nature of texts and text is still elusive: we know which forms are typically found in text but we do not yet have a full grasp of how they constitute its textuality how they make a text “tick”. The twelve contributions to this volume show how texts across a wide range of text types hold together by different patterns of chunking and linking. The common purpose in all the contributions is to explore the nature of text patterning as the functional environment within which language operates.
Language and Ideology : Volume 1: theoretical cognitive approaches
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
René Dirven,
Bruce Hawkins and
Esra Sandikcioglu
Together with its sister volume on Descriptive Cognitive Approaches this volume explores the contribution which cognitive linguistics can make to the identification and analysis of overt and hidden ideologies. As a theory of language which sees language as the accumulation of the conventionalised conceptualisations of a given linguistic and/or cultural community or sub-group within it cognitive linguistics is called upon to make its own inroads in the study of ideology. This volume offers theoretical approaches and first discusses the philosophical foundations of cognitive linguistics. The question whether cognitive linguistics is not an ideology itself is not tabooed. The speaker’s deictic centre is the anchoring point not only for spatial temporal or interactional deixis but also for cultural and ideological deixis. Cognitive linguistics is also confronted with a severe Marxist critique but the potential convergence between the two ‘philosophies’ is highlighted as well. Further the question is raised to what extent the central nervous system and the grammatical system of a language impose sexually biased and hence ideological representations on cognition. Finally linguistics itself is seen as a potential bearer of ideological deviations as was the case with the ‘politics of linguistics’ in Nazi Germany and even with the quest for the Indo-European homeland in comparative and historical linguistics throughout the 19th century and well into the 20th century.
Reading and Writing Public Documents
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Daniël Janssen and
Rob Neutelings
Governments communicate with the public through all kinds of documents: forms brochures letters policy papers and so on. These public documents have an important role in any democracy and their design very much affects the efficiency with which governments can perform their tasks.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>Document designers linguists and other communication experts in the Netherlands have been studying public documents from a design point of view as well as empirically for decades. In this book the most prominent of these researchers present the results of their work collectively giving an overview of various recurring problems in government-to-public communication and providing suggestions for problem solving.
Consciousness and Intentionality
Feb 2001
Book
Author(s):
Grant R. Gillett and
John McMillan
Is there an internal relationship between consciousness and intentionality? Can mental content be described in such a way so as to avoid dualism? What is the influence of social context upon consciousness conceptions of self and mental content?<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>This book considers questions such as these and argues for a conception of consciousness mental content and intentionality that is anti-Cartesian in its major tenets. Focusing upon the rule governed nature of concepts and the grounding of the rules for concept use in the practical world intentional consciousness emerges as a phenomena that depends upon social context. Given that dependence the authors consider and set aside attempts to reduce human consciousness and intentionality to phenomena explicable at biological or neuroscientific levels. (Series A)
Cross-Linguistic Structures in Simultaneous Bilingualism
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Susanne Döpke
This volume explores the implications of cross-linguistic structures in simultaneous bilingualism. It aims to find cognitive explanations for the presence or absence of cross-linguistic structures that go beyond the debate of ‘one system or two’. The contributors present syntactic morphological and phonological features that are found in bilingual children but are untypical of monolingual development and discuss pertinent methodological issues. The orientation of this volume stands out from competing volumes in the field in that the focus is not limited to similarities between monolingual and bilingual first language acquisition. The volume will be of interest to researchers in the field of bilingualism and primary language acquisition language theorists and professionals working with bilingual populations. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
The Development of Past Tense Morphology in L2 Spanish
Feb 2001
Book
Author(s):
M. Rafael Salaberry
This book presents an extended analysis of the development of L2 Spanish past tense morphology among L1 English-speaking learners. The study addresses three major questions: (1) what is the developmental pattern of acquisition of past tense verbal morphology among tutored learners? (2) what are the relevant factors that may account for the particular distribution of morphological endings (especially at the beginning stages)? and (3) how does instruction affect the movement from one stage to the next? The analysis provides a reassessment of the general claim of Andersen’s lexical aspect hypothesis and proposes minor changes that may render the hypothesis more appropriate for especially L2 classroom learning. The study includes an overview of theoretical positions on the notion of lexical versus grammatical aspect and a comparison of the findings from previous empirical studies on the development of past tense verbal morphology among both classroom and naturalistic learners.
Degrees of Restructuring in Creole Languages
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Ingrid Neumann-Holzschuh and
Edgar W. Schneider
Basic notions in the field of creole studies including the category of “creole languages” itself have been questioned in recent years: Can creoles be defined on structural or on purely sociohistorical grounds? Can creolization be understood as a graded process possibly resulting in different degrees of “radicalness” and intermediate language types (“semi-creoles”)? If so by which linguistic structures are these characterized and by which extralinguistic conditions have they been brought about? Which are the linguistic mechanisms underlying processes of restructuring and how did grammaticalization and reanalysis shape the reorganization of linguistic specifically morphosyntactic structures commonly called “creolization”? What is the role of language contact language mixing substrates and superstrates or demographic factors in these processes? This volume provides select and revised papers from a 1998 colloquium at the University of Regensburg in which these questions were addressed. 19 contributions by renowned scholars discuss structural sociohistorical and theoretical aspects building upon case studies of both Romance-based and English-oriented creoles. This book marks a major step forward in our understanding of the nature of creolization.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>
Clitics in Phonology, Morphology and Syntax
Feb 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Birgit Gerlach and
Janet Grijzenhout
This book contains fourteen articles that reflect current ideas on the phonology morphology and syntax of clitics. It covers the forms and functions of clitics in various typologically diverse languages and presents data from e.g. European Portuguese Macedonian and Yoruba. It extensively deals with the prosodic structure of clitics their morphological status clitic placement and clitic doubling. The form and behavior of clitics with respect to tonal phenomena and in verse are discussed in two articles (Akinlabi & Liberman Reindl & Franks). Other articles address the prosodic representation of clitics in Irish (Green) the differences in the acquisition of clitics and strong pronouns in Catalan (Escobar & Gavarro) the similarities between clitics and affixes or words in Romance and Bantu languages (Cocchi Crysmann Monachesi Ortman & Popescu) the semantics of clitics in the Greek DP and in Spanish doubling (Alexiadou & Stavrou Uriagereka) and complex problems concerning verbal clitics in Romanian and Balkan languages (Legendre Spencer Tomic).
Right Node Raising and Gapping : Interface conditions on prosodic deletion
Feb 2001
Book
Author(s):
Katharina Hartmann
This book investigates two elliptical coordinations in German Right Node Raising and Gapping. Ellipsis in both constructions is claimed to be the result of a phonological process which is conditioned by prosodic and focus semantic constraints. It is convincingly argued that Right Node Raising cannot involve raising to the right periphery: The alleged movement freely violates any of the well-known restrictions on syntactic movement and it does not alter the scope relations within the coordination. Gapping in contrast is more sensitive to syntactic conditions in that its remnants must be major syntactic constituents. The author carefully examines the close connection between focus and ellipsis in the two constructions. A considered discussion of focus structure demonstrates that the conjuncts are informationally dependent on each other. This co-dependence is also reflected in their particular intonational contour which is argued to be responsible for ellipsis in coordination.
Textual Parameters in Older Languages
Jan 2001
Book
Editor(s):
Susan C. Herring,
Pieter van Reenen and
Lene Schøsler
Textual Parameters in Older Languages takes a contemporary approach to the inherent limitations of using older texts as data for linguistic analysis drawing on methods of text analysis pragmatics and sociolinguistics to supplement traditional historical and philological methods. The focus of the book is on the importance of controlling for textual parameters-defined by the editors as dimensions of variation associated with texts and their production including text type degree of poeticality orality and dialect-in the analysis of older language data. Failure to do so can result in invalid generalizations; recognizing the influence of textual parameters conversely raises a myriad of issues for the practice and theory of historical linguistics.
The 12 essays in this collection apply this approach in analyses of anaphora non-finite verbal forms particles punctuation word order and other phenomena in a wide range of languages including Ancient Tamil Sanskrit Latin Heian Japanese Medieval Greek Old French Old Russian Middle English and Modern Danish. An in-depth introduction by the editors lays out the goals of the textual parameters approach and considers the methodological and theoretical consequences of the evidence presented in the book as a whole.
The 12 essays in this collection apply this approach in analyses of anaphora non-finite verbal forms particles punctuation word order and other phenomena in a wide range of languages including Ancient Tamil Sanskrit Latin Heian Japanese Medieval Greek Old French Old Russian Middle English and Modern Danish. An in-depth introduction by the editors lays out the goals of the textual parameters approach and considers the methodological and theoretical consequences of the evidence presented in the book as a whole.
Word Order Change in Icelandic : From OV to VO
Jan 2001
Book
Author(s):
Thorbjörg Hróarsdóttir
While Modern Icelandic exhibits a virtually uniform VO order in the VP Old(er) Icelandic had both VO order and OV order as well as ‘mixed’ word order patterns. In this volume the author both examines the various VP-word order patterns from a descriptive and statistical point of view and provides a synchronic and diachronic analysis of VP-syntax in Old(er) Icelandic in terms of generative grammar. Her account makes use of a number of independently motivated ideas notably remnant-movement of various kinds of predicative phrase and the long movement associated with “restructuring” phenomena to provide an analysis of OV orders and correspondingly a proposal as to which aspect of Icelandic syntax must have changed when VO word order became the norm: the essential change is loss of VP-extraction from VP. Although this idea is mainly supported here for Icelandic it has numerous implications for the synchronic and diachronic analysis of other Germanic languages.