Linguistic and Literary Studies in Eastern Europe

This book is devoted to the mathematical foundations of categorial grammar including type-theoretic foundations of mathematics, grammatical categories and other topics related to categorial grammar and to philosophical and linguistic applications of this framework. The volume consists of three parts. The first, introductory part, contains the editor's addresses and two survey chapters concerning the history (W. Marciszewski) and current trends of the discipline (J.van Benthem). The second part consists of 10 chapters devoted to categorial grammar proper, and the third part 7 chapters devoted to areas close to categorial grammar. Most of the contributions are original papers, but five of them are reprints of classics (M.J. Cresswell, P.T. Geach, H. Hiz, J. Lambek, T. Potts).

This volume presents a rather complete survey of the research activities of the Prague group of algebraic linguistics. Some of the papers included bear witness to the fact that algebraic linguistics, or the formal description of language, is not the only domain in which the Prague group is active. Typological and empirically oriented discussions are represented as well, and so are accounts of some of the experimental systems from the domains of computational linguistics and natural language comprehension. Most of the papers included here have been published (partly in Czech) in periodicals and miscellanies, some of which are not easily accessible; a smaller part consists of papers written specifically for the present volume. The volume is divided into four sections, the first of which contains generally oriented papers. The second section consists of contributions devoted to the core of the empirical problems of sentence structure. The third section includes papers concerning specific questions of the syntax of Czech, and section four is oriented towards the experimental systems prepared by the Prague group.

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.

After a period of crisis in the 1960s, Contrastive Analysis has now regained its firm position, although in a different form and with broader goals. This collection of papers reflects the scope of research and the range of interest of linguists who are involved in contrastive linguistics research. The volume contains 35 contributions by 37 authors from 13 different countries and includes an Index of names and an Index of terms.

Translation from the original Russian edition. The first Soviet text-book on sociolinguistics, the book introduces the reader to some of its basic problems, such as language and social structure, language as a social factor, language and nation, language and culture, language and the sociology of an individual, sociolinguistics and Marxist sociology. It focuses on such theoretical issues as the subject-matter of sociolinguistics, the functioning of sociocommunicative systems, language policy and social aspects of verbal behavior.

This book investigates the functioning of linguistic phenomena, especially in the area of semantics and pragmatics of the language of schizophrenics. By making semantics and pragmatics the primary objects of this work, the author departs from the traditional approach of those psycholinguistic and psychiatric studies which aim to explain how the language of schizophrenics differs from the common language. This book, on the other hand, basically attempts to provide the reason why this language differs. The shift from description to explanation required the development of a new psycholinguistic method and the assertion that schizophrenia is a semiotic illness. The remarkable humanistic value of this book lies in the sensitivity of the author's approach to the mentally ill and in the concept that the language of schizophrenics is understandable, and consequently, that it is possible to actually understand the sick person. The social consequences of this are of immense significance for those attempting to communicate, whether as doctors or family members, with the one in 100 persons who use schizophrenic language. Dr. Wrobel's interpretation of so-called schizophrenic illumination, in which the curtain is torn, behind which the essence of things is cancelled and the schizophrenic reaches the heart of the meaning of everything, numbers among the most apt descriptions of this unusual psychopathological phenomenon. Z. Ryn, Professor of Psychiatry

The essays in this two-volume anthology provide the reader with an overview of current Czech, Polish and Hungarian research in language, literature and meaning as well as some new perspectives on the major theoretical contributions of Roman Ingarden, Georg Lukács and Jan Mukařovský. For the most part, the emphasis is on Poetics and Literary Theory; however, in some of the essays the focus shifts to such related disciplines as Aesthetics, Linguistics and Semiotics. The heterogeneity of this collection reflects the broad spectrum of interests and approaches to problems of theory being pursued at present in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Much of the work being done in these countries remains relatively unknown outside of Eastern Europe. This anthology is an attempt to rectify this situation and make better known the nature and extent of research which promises new insights into a whole range of phenomena in language, literature and culture.

The papers in this volume deal with subjects ranging from sound change and general phonological issues to analyses of specific problems in Polish and English, while some papers are of a crosslinguistic/contrastive nature. No single phonological paradigm has been followed, and this diversity of theoretical approaches, from natural phonology to non-linear phonology, reflects recent developments in Europe and the U.S.

The papers in this volume are divided into two sections. Part 1 Quantitative Linguistics contains contributions by Marie Těšitelová; M. Ludvíková; H. Confortiová; Ludmila Uhlířová; I. Nebeská; Jan Králík; J. Krámský; J. Sabol; J. Štěpán. Part 2 Algebraic Linguistics contains contributions by M. Novotný; Pavel Materna; Eva Hajičová, Petr Sgall & Petr Piťha; Jarmila Panevová & Petr Sgall.

The papers in this volume are divided into two sections. Part 1 Quantitative Linguistics contains contributions by Marie Těšitelová; M. Ludvíková; H. Confortiová; Ludmila Uhlířová; I. Nebeská; Jan Králík; J. Krámský; L. Klimeš; J. Štěpán; Z. Lišková. Part 2 Algebraic Linguistics contains contributions by M. Novotný; L. Nebeský; Petr Sgall; Eva Hajičová; Jarmila Panevová; Petr Piťha; J. Sabol; Zdenek Kirschner; P. Jirků & Petr Sgall; Eva Buráňová & Svatava Machová; Pavel Materna.