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This book aims to contribute to a growing interest amongst psycholinguists and morphologists in the mechanisms of meaning predictability. It presents a brand-new model of the meaning-prediction of novel context-free naming units relating the wordformation and wordinterpretation processes. Unlike previous studies mostly focussed on N+N compounds the scope of this book is much wider. It not only covers all types of complex words but also discusses a whole range of predictability-boosting and -reducing conditions. Two measures are introduced the Predictability Rate and the Objectified Predictability Rate in order to compare the strength of predictable readings both within a word and relative to the most predictable readings of other coinages. Four extensive experiments indicate inter alia the equal predicting capacity of native and non-native speakers the close interconnection between linguistic and extra-linguistic factors the important role of prototypical semes and the usual dominance of a single central reading.

The volume provides a multidisciplinary approach of the discursive dimension of power. It challenges the usual conception of discourse and power that underlies most of the current theories in contemporary discourse analysis and shows that it is unsatisfying in so far as it reduces power to domination and discourse to power technology. In opposition to such a conception an alternative model of power-in-discourse is constructed. It is called "Dialogical Model" in accordance with its being grounded in a dialogical conception of discourse that naturally leads to a participative conception of power (as empowerment). Part One provides the DM with theoretical and philosophical foundations while Part Two affords empirical evidence by applying the DM to such typical situations as journalistic discourse under censorship classroom sessions and children interaction in a problem-solving situation.

This fourth volume of the Iconicity series is like its predecessors devoted to the study of iconicity in language and literature in all its forms. Many of the papers turn the notion of iconicity ‘inside-out’ some suggesting that ‘less-is-more’; others focus on the cognitive factors ‘inside’ the brain that are important for the iconic phenomena that are produced in the ‘outside’ world. In addition this volume includes a paper related to iconicity in music and its interaction with language. Other papers range from the theoretical issues involved in the evolution of language to those that offer many ‘inside-out’ claims such as claiming that nouns are derived from pronouns and as such should more properly be called ‘pro-pronouns’. Also this volume includes perhaps the first English-language analysis of the iconic aspects of sound symbolism in a prayer from the Koran. This is a truly interdisciplinary collection that should turn some of the notions of iconicity in language and literature ‘outside-in’ and ‘inside-out’.

Originating at an international forum held at the University of Vic (Spain) the twelve essays collected here attest to important changes in translation practice and the assumptions which underpin them. Leading theorists respond to the state of Translation Studies today particularly the epistemological dilemma between theories that are empirically oriented and those that are inspired by developments in Cultural Studies. But the volume is also practical. Experienced instructors survey existing pedagogies at translator/interpreter training programs and explore new techniques that address the technological and global challenges of the new millennium. Among the topics considered are: how to use translation technology in the classroom how to construct a syllabus for a course in audiovisual translating or in translation theory and how to develop guidelines for a program for community interpreters or conference interpreters. <br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>The contributors all assume that translation whether written or oral does not occupy a neutral space. It is a cross-cultural exchange that produces far-reaching social effects. Their essays significantly advance the theoretical and practical understanding of translation along these lines.

The notion ‘construction’ has become indispensable in present-day linguistics and in language studies in general. This volume extends the traditional domain of Construction Grammar (CxG) in several directions all with a cognitive basis. Addressing a number of issues (such as coercion discourse patterning language change) the contributions show how CxG must be part and parcel of cognitively oriented studies of language including language universals. The volume also gives informative accounts of how the notion ‘construction’ is developed in approaches that are conceptually close to and relatively compatible with CxG: Conceptual Semantics Word Grammar Cognitive Grammar Embodied Construction Grammar and Radical Construction Grammar.

Sverker Johansson has written an unusual book on language origins with its emphasis on empirical evidence rather than theory-building. This is a book for the student or researcher who prefers solid data and well-supported conclusions over speculative scenarios. Much that has been written on the origins of language is characterized by hypothesizing largely unconstrained by evidence. But empirical data do exist and the purpose of this book is to integrate and review the available evidence from all relevant disciplines not only linguistics but also e.g. neurology primatology paleoanthropology and evolutionary biology. The evidence is then used to constrain the multitude of scenarios for language origins demonstrating that many popular hypotheses are untenable. Among the issues covered: (1) Human evolutionary history (2) Anatomical prerequisites for language (3) Animal communication and ape "language" (4) Mind and language (5) The role of gesture (6) Innateness (7) Selective advantage of language (8) Proto-language.

Consciousness lies at the core of being human. Therefore to understand ourselves we need a theory of consciousness. In Sisyphus's Boulder Eric Dietrich and Valerie Hardcastle argue that we will never get such a theory because consciousness has an essential property that prevents it from ever being explained. Consequently philosophical debates over materialism and dualism are a waste of time. Scientific explanations of consciousness fare no better. Scientists do study consciousness and such investigations will continue to grow and advance. However none of them will ever reveal what consciousness is. In addition given the centrality of consciousness in philosophy Dietrich and Hardcastle claim that philosophy itself needs to change. That the central problems of philosophy persist is actually a profound epistemic fact about humans. Philosophy then is a limit to what humans can understand. (Series A)

Anaphora processing is a central topic in the study of natural language and has long been the object of research in a wide range of disciplines. The correct interpretation of anaphora has also become increasingly important for real-world natural language processing applications including machine translation automatic abstracting information extraction and question answering.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>This volume provides a unique overview of the processing of anaphora from a multi- and inter-disciplinary angle. It will be of interest and practical use to readers from fields as diverse as theoretical linguistics corpus linguistics computational linguistics computer science natural language processing artificial intelligence human language technology psycholinguistics cognitive science and translation studies.<br/>The readership includes but is not limited to university lecturers researchers postgraduate and senior undergraduate students.<br/>

Collocations are both pervasive in language and difficult for language learners even at an advanced level. In this book these difficulties are for the first time comprehensively investigated. On the basis of a learner corpus idiosyncratic collocation use by learners is uncovered the building material of learner collocations examined and the factors that contribute to the difficulty of certain groups of collocations identified. An extensive discussion of the implications of the results for the foreign language classroom is also presented and the contentious issue of the relation of corpus linguistic research and language teaching is thus extended to learner corpus analysis.

This is the first collection of articles devoted entirely to less translated languages a term that brings together well-known widely used languages such as Arabic or Chinese and long-neglected minority languages — with power as the key word at play. It starts with some views on English the dominant language in Translation as elsewhere considers the role of translation for minority languages — both a source of inequality and a means to overcome it — takes a look at translation from less translated major languages and cultures and ends up with a closer look at translation into Catalan a paradigmatic case of less translated language in a final section that includes a vindication of six prominent Catalan translators. Combining sound theoretical insight and accurate analysis of relevant case studies the contributors to this collection make a convincing case for a more thorough examination of less translated languages within the field of Translation Studies.