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How different are sign languages across the world? Are individual signs and signed sentences constructed in the same way across these languages? What are the rules for having a conversation in a sign language? How do children and adults learn a sign language? How are sign languages processed in the brain? These questions and many more are addressed in this introductory book on sign linguistics using examples from more than thirty different sign languages. Comparisons are also made with spoken languages. This book can be used as a self-study book or as a text book for students of sign linguistics. Each chapter concludes with a summary some test-yourself questions and assignments as well as a list of recommended texts for further reading. The book is accompanied by a website containing assignments video clips and links to web resources.

This volume addresses the relation between finiteness and nominalization which is far more complex than the simple opposition finite-nonfinite. The contributions analyze finiteness cross-linguistically from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives focusing on a number of topics that has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. First the correlation between finiteness and nominalization is also affected by a third factor information structure. Second there is a correlation between the continuum of finiteness and the scale from main/independent clauses to dependent clauses. Given that of nominalized constructions occur not only in dependent clauses but also in independent clauses it is possible to grade according to degree of nominalization which can then be related to the scale of finiteness. Finally each of these scales can also be seen as a product the diachronic process of re-finitization and of finitization.

This volume presents a state-of-the-art survey of synchronic and diachronic dimensions of Ergativity in the Indo-Aryan language family. It contains an introduction drawing on the most important recent typological and theoretical contributions to this field plus seven papers about the origin development and distribution of ergative alignment in ancient and modern Indo-Aryan languages written by well-established expert authors. The articles provide detailed explorations of language-specific synchronic systems or patterns of change and large-scale studies of the distribution of ergative morphosyntax across the Indo-Aryan languages. The papers have a typological-functional approach and are based on thorough fieldwork experience and/or philological investigation. As the Indo-Aryan language family has played a paramount role in recent theories of Ergativity and of alignment typology and change this volume is highly relevant to experts working on these languages and to scholars interested in grammatical relations and it will figure in all future debates in these fields

The field of morphology is particularly heterogeneous. Investigators differ on key points at every level of theory. These divisions are not minor issues about technical implementation but rather are foundational issues that mold the underlying anatomy of any theory. The field has developed very rapidly both theoretically and methodologically giving rise to many competing theories and varied hypotheses. Many drastically different and often contradictory models and foundational hypotheses have been proposed. Theories diverge with respect to everything from foundational architectural assumptions to the specific combinatorial mechanisms used to derive complex words. Today these distinct models of word-formation largely exist in parallel mostly without proponents confronting or discussing these differences in any major forum. After forty years of fast-paced growth in the field morphologists are in need of a moment to take a breath and survey the drastically different points of view within the field. This volume provides such a moment.

The papers in this tightly focused collection all report recent research on aspects of rendaku (‘sequential voicing’) the well-known morphophonemic phenomenon in Japanese that affects initial consonants of non-initial elements in complex words (mostly compounds). The papers include broad surveys of theoretical analyses and of psycholinguistic studies meticulous assessments (some relying on a new database) of many of the factors that putatively inhibit or promote rendaku an investigation of how learners of Japanese as foreign language deal with rendaku in-depth examinations of rendaku in a divergent dialect of Japanese and in a Ryukyuan language and a cross-linguistic exploration of rendaku-like compound markers in unrelated languages. Since rendaku is ubiquitous but recalcitrantly irregular it provides a challenge for any general theory of morphophonology. This collection should serve both to restrain oversimplified accounts of rendaku and to inspire to further research.

Redefining Trial by Media: Towards a critical-forensic linguistic interface applies a range of linguistic models to recast trial by media not as a sensationalist and infrequent phenomenon but as a systematic and routine process. Using critical discourse analysis and cognitive linguistic models this book builds a Spectrum of Trial by Media which views juries in criminal trials as moulded by ideological media-made constructions of crime. The role of these media constructions is enhanced by the isolation levied on jurors by the linguistic composition of trial language and reinforced by the language strategies of legal professionals in court. Critically deconstructing media portrayals of crime and forensically examining the language of criminal proceedings this book offers a redefinition of trial by media which casts the role of the press as much more prevalent in the courtroom trial than is presently appreciated.

The conference interpreting skillset – full consecutive and simultaneous interpreting – has long been in demand well beyond the multilateral intergovernmental organizations notably in bilateral diplomacy business international tribunals and the media. This comprehensive coursebook sets out an updated step-by-step programme of training designed to meet the increasingly challenging conditions of the 21st century and adaptable by instructors with the appropriate specializations to cover all these different applications in contemporary practice.

After an overview of the diverse world of interpreting and the prerequisites for this demanding course of training successive chapters take students and teachers through initiation and the progressive acquisition of the techniques knowledge and professionalism that make up this full skillset. For each stage in the training detailed carefully sequenced exercises and guidance on the cognitive challenges are provided in a spirit of transparency between students and teachers on their respective roles in the learning process. For instructors course designers and administrators more detailed and extensive tips on pedagogy curriculum design and management will be found in the companion Trainer’s Guide.

This book focuses on learner-computer interactions (LCI) in second language learning environments drawing largely on sociocultural theories of language development. It brings together a rich and varied range of theoretical discussions and applications in order to illustrate the way in which LCI can enrich our comprehension of technology-mediated communication hence enhancing learners’ digital literacy skills. The book is based on the premise that in order to fully understand the nature of language and literacy development in digital spaces researchers and practitioners in linguistics sciences and engineering need to borrow from each others’ theoretical and practical toolkits. In light of this premise themes include such aspects as educational ergonomics affordances complex systems learning learner personas and corpora while also describing such data collecting tools as video screen capture devices eye-tracking or intelligent learning tutoring systems. The book should be of interest to applied linguists working in CALL language educators and professionals working in education as well as computer scientists and engineers wanting to expand their work into the analysis of human/learner interactions with technology communication devices with a view to improving or (re)developing learning and communication instruments.<br xmlns="http://pub2web.metastore.ingenta.com/ns/"/>As of January 2019 this e-book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched.

The volume presents Louw's Contextual Prosodic Theory from its beginnings to its newest applications. It journeys from delexicalisation and relexicalisation into Semantic Prosody and then to the heart of its contextual requirements within collocation and the thinking of J.R. Firth. Once there it moves much of Firth’s and Malinowski’s thinking into a computational method based upon the ability of language to govern and analyse itself using collocation to plot its scope and limits. With the assistance of analytic philosophy it parts logic (grammar) from metaphysics (vocabulary) along the lines of a non-computational formula of Bertrand Russell and so falsifies the major premise of the Vienna Circle using its own central tenet: the Principle of Verification. Having arrived at corpus-derived subtext (the semantic aura of grammar strings as distinguished from Semantic Prosody) the second half of the book proceeds to verify the theory on Slavic languages. The focus is on the poet Alexander Pushkin whose authorial intention becomes computationally recoverable. Prose is handled on samples authored by David Lodge where authorial (in)sincerity (Louw 1993) is viewed on a cline of inspiration and quality of discourse. Other applications in the volume include studies on translation negotiation humour and the reception of CPT.

This book provides a collection of articles that reflect the current state of affairs in the blossoming field of World Englishes by bringing together several innovative synchronic and diachronic approaches. It contributes to the ongoing theoretical discussion concerning the criteria that make a low-frequency item represent an incipient change and examines the suitability of the sociolinguistics of globalisation theory for the study of non-traditional avenues for the spread of vernacular varieties of English (recent migrations the entertainment industry the web). It explores crucial aspects of language change and dialect evolution through the study of grammatical phenomena and the particular linguistic and socio-historical factors conditioning them. Together with theoretical questions the volume shows a concern for methodological issues such as sociolinguistic interviews map-task experiments metalinguistic comments acceptability judgments and corpus-based methods. This volume represents the latest trends in the field and will undoubtedly set the agenda for the years ahead.

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