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The papers in this volume reflect the renewed interest in the semantics of grammatical categories and the issues of invariance and variation in grammar. In particular this collection presents the current understanding of invariance of grammar with respect to the synchronic and diachronic analyses of specific languages and as realized in work on typology and universals.The book is divided into five sections: The Question of Invariance; Invariance and Grammatical Categories; Grammar and Discourse; Grammar and Pragmatics; Typology and Universals.

Today computer-mediated communication spans a range of activities from interactive messages to word processing. Researchers interested in this new technology have concentrated on its effects in the workplace for knowledge production and dissemination or on its word processing function. The study reported here examines communication events in which the computer is the medium and views such computer-mediated communication from the perspective of language use. Its goal is to understand through data collected from an anthropological perspective the ways of communicating used by members of an established community of computer users. In particular it answers the questions: (i) How do computer communicators choose among the available media and modes of communication? (ii) What are the basic and recurring discourse patterns across media and modes through which this community achieves its institutional goals of innovation and product development? (iii) How do the answers to the previous two questions inform our understanding of language use in general?

This is a postmodernist history of the historical novel with special attention to the political implications of the postmodernist attitude toward the past.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>Beginning with the poetics of Sir Walter Scott Wesseling moves via a global survey of 19th century historical fiction to modernist innovations in the genre.<br/>Noting how the self-reflexive strategy enables a novelist to represent an episode from the past alongside the process of gathering and formulating historical knowledge the author discusses the elaboration of this strategy introduced by novelists such as Virginia Woolf and William Faulkner in the work of among others Julian Barnes Jay Cantor Robert Coover and Graham Swift. Wesseling also shows how postmodernist writers attempt to envisage alternative sequences for historical events. Deliberately distorting historical facts authors of such uchronian fiction like Thomas Pynchon Ishmael R. Read Salman Rushdie and Gunter Grass imagine what history looks like from the perspective of the losers rather than the winners.

This wide-ranging book presents the linguistic achievements of four major cultures to readers presumably conversant with modern theoretical linguistics. The chapter on India discusses in detail Pāṇini's (c. 400 B.C.) grammar Ast-adhy-ay-i as well as the work of his commentators Kātyāyana Patanjali and Bhartṛhari. In the Chinese tradition the Confucian doctrine of the Rectification of Names' is singled out for treatment. Arabic linguistics is represented by Sibawaihi's (d. 793) grammar al-Kitāb in particular its syntax as well as the subsequent commentary tradition. The chapter on Europe which is the most comprehensive of the four covers the time span from antiquity to the 20th century; special attention is devoted to the contributions of Plato Aristotle the Stoics Varro Apollonius Dyscolus and the Modistae. The achievements of the cultures in linguistics are treated throughout from a deliberately value-laden point of view. The achievements of Western antiquity and the Middle Ages are shown to be much more than the average linguist is inclined to believe. Even more importantly it is shown that the Indian and the Arab traditions have been superior to the European tradition at least until the 20th century. The fact that a linguistic theory created some 2400 years ago is fully as adequate as our best theories today must have far-reaching implications for the notion of 'scientific progress'. More precisely it proves necessary to distinguish between 'progress in the human sciences' and 'progress in the natural sciences'. These issues which pertain to the general philosophy of science are treated in the final chapter of the book.

Until recently grammars of English have received surprisingly little scholarly attention while a lot of research is done on dictionaries. It appears however that learners of English shy away from modern grammars and prefer to consult dictionaries or traditional reference grammars instead. This raises questions as to the relationship between theoretical linguistics and grammar writing and calls for more research into this area especially for the period from 1800 onwards which was crucial for the development of grammatical thinking and its acceptance (or rejection) at all educational levels today.This volume brings together work from international experts on the historiography of English grammar writing who deal with a variety of topics grouped into three overlapping sections: I. Native Grammars of English II. Non-native Grammars of English and III. Grammatical Analyses. The volume includes summaries of the articles and a name index.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>

This volume comprises the first part of selected papers of the International Pragmatics Conference in Antwerp August 1987.

The subject of this two part work is the acquisition of language structure in which the development of syntax and morphology is examined by investigations on children without language problems and on children with developmental dysphasia. The author uses a comparative acquisition study to provide insights into the structure and development of the language acquisition device which cannot be obtained by isolated analysis of only one type of learning. The theoretical framework used for the investigations is the learnability theory in which acquisition models are proposed which are heavily influenced by theoretical linguistics. Part I shows how child grammar acquisition can be explained in the framework of learnability theory and Part II deals with deficiencies in normal grammar acquisition using the learnability theory.

Reprint of the original Latin text Tentamina semiologica sive quaedam generalem theoriam signorum spectantia (1789) edited translated and with an Introduction by Robert E. Innis The 33 sections of this classic text by Hoffbauer have a twofold focus: a descriptive inventory of signs and a comparison of the expressive and cognitive powers of different sign systems. Using his sign typology as a point of departure Hoffbauer inquires into the elements of matter and form both necessary and adequate to arrive at a definition of the sign. His purpose in doing so is to present his own version of a general sign theory after pointing out significant errors and weaknesses in the characteristicae universalis of Leibniz Becher Toennis Kalmar etc. Against the background of criticism of the contemporary deductive sign theories of Lambert Baumgarten Mendelssohn Daries Wilkins Kircher and others Hoffbauer's general semiology gives shape to an outline of a deductive-hypothetical theory of signs. In this historical perspective Hoffbauer's semiology is of outstanding importance and provides the opportunity to think through once again central and permanent problems of the general science of signs.

The study of grammaticalization raises a number of fundamental theoretical issues pertaining to the relation of langue and parole creativity and automatic coding synchrony and diachrony categoriality and continua typological characteristics and language-specific forms etc. and therefore challenges some of the basic tenets of twentieth century linguistics.This two-volume work presents a number of diverse theoretical viewpoints on grammaticalization and gives insights into the genesis development and organization of grammatical categories in a number of language world-wide with particular attention to morphosyntactic and semantic-pragmatic issues.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The papers in Volume I are divided into two sections the first concerned with general method and the second with issues of directionality. Those in Volume II are divided into five sections: verbal structure argument structure subordination modality and multiple paths of grammaticalization.

The first Symposium on Germanic Linguistics was organized at the University of Chicago by Jan Terje Faarlund. The notable success of this undertaking led Elmer H. Antonsen Hans Henrich Hock and James W. Marchand to arrange the Second Symposium on Germanic Linguistics at the University of Illinois. This volume contains revised versions of selected papers from the two symposia. The thirteen papers cover a broad cross-section of Germanic linguistics including problems in synchronic syntax mainly of Dutch and German; the synchronic morphology of German; synchronic morphophonology of various Germanic languages; historical and comparative Germanic phonology; language contact and early Germanic morphosyntax; and early Germanic historical and comparative syntax with extensive reference to Beowulf. Bibliographic references are consolidated in a single Master List of References; there also is an Index of Names.

This collection contains a selection of papers presented a the very First All-European Canandian Studies Conference that took place in The Hague October 24-27 1990. This unique meeting took place for the first time in the history of Canadian Studies. The focus of the papers is on the future rather than the past and it took place at a moment in time when Canada went through major crises that raised serious doubts about the country’s future. The papers of this volume explore the main issues and problems that Canada faces. The volume contains sections on demography environmental problems economic transformations Canadian identity political power structure aboriginal issues and Canada’s international relations. As a whole the book takes stock where Canada stands and where it is going.

Worldwide interest in Yiddish has often concentrated on its secular forms of expression: its literature its theater its journalism and its political-party associations. This all-encompassing study covers these phenomena as well as investigating the demographic and political mushrooming of Yiddish-speaking Ultra-Orthodoxy both in America and in Israel. As the title suggests this volume attempts to show that Yiddish is now finally on the path towards recovery. The volume consists of 17 papers grouped into five sections: Yiddish and Hebrew: Conflict and Symbiosis; Yiddish in America; Corpus Planning: The ability to change and grow; Status Planning: The Tshernovits Conference of 1908; Stock-taking: Where are we now? Each section is prefaced by an introduction. In addition there are also five papers written in Yiddish. The work emphasises an empirical and theoretical approach to the growing Ultra-Orthodox sector that until now has largely been ignored. Fishman's interest in Yiddish (among other Jewish languages) has previously been difficult to access and it is hoped that the appearance of this book will go some way toward alleviating this situation. The volume also includes a statistical appendix bringing together data on Yiddish for the past 100 years from the Czarist Empire the USSR Poland Israel the USA and other parts of the world. This extensive and enlightening study should be of interest to sociolinguists and all those engaged in efforts on behalf of small languages everywhere.

The results of the dialect surveys of Great Britain have been published in the form of hundreds of single and collected maps but so far there has been no actual handbook to the charted material. The Index to Dialect Maps of Great Britain containing a full introduction an alphabetical word-list and a comprehensive bibliography fills this gap. As a compendious directory to mapped words it provides not only a lexical compass in a cartographic jungle but serves as a guide to the major dialect surveys (Survey of English Dialects Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects Linguistic Survey of Scotland) and the numerous publications they have spawned. All atlases as well as the maps in the many individual studies and scattered articles are fully documented. Each of the over 2000 lexical entries identifies the original survey by questionnaire number and gives a detailed list of all the references to printed maps in which these words and phrases are contained. The present volume will prove an indispensable guide for all researchers in the field of dialectology and linguistic variation enabling its users to gain quick access to the various sources of maps. In this way the Index — while still a simple work of reference — may also furnish the materials for more thorough studies of map-making and its implications.

The papers in this volume offer several analyses of verb serialization written within various theoretical frameworks: grammatical comparative and cognitive/functional. They cover a wide range of language families. All authors address two basic questions about verb serialization: First what is the structure and thematic constitution of the construction? The answers to this question cover the spectrum of the options that are available in current grammatical theory. Second what aspect of the grammar differentiates between languages which have serial constructions and those which do not? The specific proposals made by the authors are discussed by R. Larson in the concluding paper. Larson opens new perspectives for research on verb serialization by posing the following question: what analogues for verb serialization can be found in the more familiar grammatical apparatus of English? It is suggested that verb serialization finds a clear parallel in the secondary predicate structures of English.

This study by Starnes and Noyes was immediately recognized as a unique and pioneering work of scholarship and has long been the standard work on the emergence and early flowering of English lexicography. Within the last 20 years we have been witnessing a remarkable scholarly interest in the study of dictionary-making and the role played by dictionaries in the transmission and preservation of knowledge and learning. It is therefore essential to have this classic work available again to all students of linguistic history. In its new edition the book has been vastly enhanced by a lengthy and invaluable introduction by Gabriele Stein Professor of English Linguistics in Heidelberg and author of The English Dictionary before Cawdrey (1985). In her introduction to the present volume she sets out in scholarly detail the work that has emerged since 1946 which makes this study of the English dictionary from Cawdrey to Johnson as complete as the original authors themselves would have wished.

The term “crosscurrent” is defined as “a current flowing counter to another.” This volume represents crosscurrents in second language acquisition and linguistic theory in several respects. First although the main currents running between linguistics and second language acquisition have traditionally flowed from theory to application equally important contributions can be made in the other direction as well. Second although there is a strong tendency in the field of linguistics to see “theorists” working within formal models of syntax SLA research can contribute to linguistic theory more broadly defined to include various functional as well as formal models of syntax theories of phonology variationist theories of sociolinguists etc. These assumptions formed the basis for a conference held at Stanford University during the Linguistic Institute there in the summer of 1987. The conference was organized to update the relation between second language acquisition and linguistic theory. This book contains a selection of (mostly revised and updated) papers of this conference and two newly written papers.

Every grammar has to a greater or lesser extent a functional aspect. In this book Bondarko provides a comprehensive discourse on the theoretical foundations of grammar concentrating on functional-semantic fields with emphasis on the diversity of their structural types. Criteria for distinguishing between linguistically structured meaning and non-linguistic cognitive content is developed in a discussion on “the Category of Aspect and its Environment” which includes an analysis of aspectual opposition according to the Prague School. Special attention is also paid to analysing polycentric fields and specifically taxis in the Russian language. The book is divided into three sections: Functional Grammar: Subject Matter and Goals — Structural Types of Functional-Semantic Fields — Categorial Situations. This book is intended for those interested in the general theory of linguistics.

This volume contains interdisciplinary essays on bilingual education in various countries of the world. Some contributions deal with policy and curricular issues with regard to minority and majority language some consider the enrichment aspect of bilingual education. Others focus on language maintenance and revitalization still others look at ways in which bilingual education could stabilize the functions of the societal languages. All contributions support bilingualism in society and consider how bilingual education could promote that goal. A special section is devoted to US policies and politics

Through critical sociological appraisals of literary theory research and pedagogy this volume presents challenges to dominant psychological approaches in reading research and to mainstream discourses about reading and writing pedagogy. Bringing together the recent work of literacy researchers in Australia Europe and North America the volume offers novel critiques and theorisations from within political economy neomarxist and critical theory ethnomethodology interactive sociolinguistics poststructuralism and postmodernism. The volume is arranged in four sections; The Politics of Pedagogy; Reading in Classrooms; Reconstructing Theory; Reading the Social. This collection is provocative and innovative offering clear alternatives for conceptualising literacy for conducting literacy research and for reconstructing the discourses and practices of reading and writing in schools. The volume is addressed to a broad audience of researchers educators and students.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>

The papers in this book respond to the public debate over literary canons in the United States and elsewhere by placing the political-ideological aspects of the conflict inside perspectives derived from comparative literature. Canons are seen by most of the contributors as based on democratic and communal intentions or choices inevitable filtered through and colored by historical experiences and social biases.An examination of the canonical process over many centuries reveals both the impressive durability of its elements and the amazing flexibility of its outlines. The careful individual analyses as well as the thought-provoking general contributions in this volume agree that the democracy of play is one of the strongest bonds uniting the human race. “Canons or canons” the contributors argue are based on it and reflect the intimate interdependence of cultural and intellectual matters with the workings of society as a whole. Contributors Charles Altieri Lilian R. Furst Michael G. Cooke Robert Royal Roger Shattuck Rosa E.M.D. Penna Glen M. Johnson Yves Chevrel Raymond A. Prier Peter Walker Christopher Clausen Virgil Nemoianu.

Charles S. Peirce (1839-1914) is een invloedrijke Amerikaanse wetenschapsfilosoof. Hij is de grondlegger het van semiotisch pragmatisme een tegenhanger van het structuralisme van Ferdinand de Saussure.De filosofie van Peirce gaat er vanuit dat kennis over de werkelijkheid niet anders kan worden verkregen dan via tekens: de kenleer of semiotiek. Van daaruit onderzoekt hij hoe verschijnselen beschreven kunnen worden om de waarheid zo dicht mogelijk te benaderen: pragmatisme. Daarbij ontwikkelt hij een logica die de werkelijkheid beschrijft als een netwerk van relaties: semotisch pragmatisme.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>In deze bundel introduceren Nederlanse filsosofen theologen en literatuurwetenschappers het gedachtengoed van Peirce. Met bijdragen van J. F. Glastra van Loon D. Nauta H. van Driel B. van Heusden E. J. van Wolde en W. Staat.

Pretend play in early childhood arises in the context of social interaction and as such constitutes a form of discourse indigenous to the child's world. The present study is a first detailed investigation of thematic-ideational structure in young children's dyadic pretend play with special emphasis on major generative strategies involved in the realization of coherent play action sequences. Play was conceptualized as a story in a dramatic mode where two actors jointly generate or attempt to generate ideationally coherent action sequences or play plots resulting in a complex ever-evolving thematic structure at a number of levels of analysis. Methodological problems of analysis resulted in the creation of an analytic procedure — Master Text — that simultaneously addresses structural and processual features of play and is able to deal with lengthy play segments. The results characterize playing as a form of discourse which proceeds according to patterned regularities at the level of Thematic Core Structures and associated schemata which underly the plot surface. The realization of such structurizations comes about during the play process in a complex interplay with features of the setting and requires establishing and modifying a shared knowledge base. These findings are discussed in light of their significance for childhood socialization.

In this brilliant overview of parodic praxis in the Spanish-American novel during the years 1960-1985 Elzbieta Skłodowska examines several aspects of parody: its role in the renovation of anachronistic forms of discourse (mock-epic) and the re-writing of the canon of the historical novel; its function in transgressing literary formulas (detective novel); its subversive quality in the counter-discourse of women writers; and the relation between parody satire irony humor and metafiction. This sound analysis of some twenty-five novels carefully illustrated by works little treated in critical discourse takes as its theoretical basis the works of the Russian Formalists and Linda Hutcheon's theory of parody.

Like Roland Barthes' well-known book L’Empire des signes from which the title of the present collection is taken this volume contains essays dealing with certain aspects of Japanese culture.