Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in World Languages: (Greenwood Professional Guides in School Librarianship)
By Grete Pasch, Kent Norsworthy
* Publisher:Greenwood Press
* Number Of Pages:152
* Publication Date:2000-11-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0313312591
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780313312595
* Binding:Hardcover
Book Description:
Language teachers, social studies teachers, and school library media specialists will find this resource invaluable for providing lessons and activities in critical thinking for students in grades 7-12. It is filled with over 200 primary source Internet sites covering the Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Latin languages. Each Web site will help reinforce language skills while providing students with interactive lessons on the unique culture of the peoples who speak the language. The next best thing to visiting the country itself! For each of the 56 primary Web sites, a site summary is given describing its contents and usefulness to teachers and school library media specialists. Site subjects may include: a country's radio or news program; the history of a country and its visual arts, including museums; foods eaten by the people who speak this language and recipes on how to prepare them; ceremonies, customs, and sports enjoyed; geography of the countries who speak this language; and sites to help practice the language itself. Following are a list of questions and activities which students can prepare orally or in written form, and at least four more related Web sites are provided for further study. Using this book will not only help students increase their language skills, but it will also open up the entire culture, to enable students to experience it just as if they were visiting!
Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts
By John R. Searle
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:208
* Publication Date:1985-11-27
* Sales Rank:290418
* ISBN / ASIN:0521313937
* EAN:9780521313933
* Binding:Paperback
Phonetics, phonology, prosody (speech)
Social & political philosophy
Linguistics (Specific Aspects)
Philosophy
General
Philosophy / General
Speech acts (Linguistics)
Book Description:
John Searle’s Speech Acts made a highly original contribution to work in the philosophy of language. Expression and Meaning is a direct successor, concerned to develop and refine the account presented in Searle’s earlier work, and to extend its application to other modes of discourse such as metaphor, fiction, reference, and indirect speech arts. Searle also presents a rational taxonomy of types of speech acts and explores the relation between the meanings of sentences and the contexts of their utterance. The book points forward to a larger theme implicit in these problems - the basis certain features of speech have in the intentionality of mind, and even more generally, the relation of the philosophy of language to the philosophy of mind.
Date: 2000-10-06Rating: 4
Review:
Speech Act Theory
If your reading Jacques Derrida, esp. Limited Inc and Psyche this work along with Austin's How to do Things with Words are essential. These two books are the fundamental texts of Speech Act Theory. So if you want to find out about Locutions, Illocutionary Force and whatnot check out this text.
Relevance in Argumentation
By Douglas Walton
* Publisher:Lawrence Erlbaum
* Number Of Pages:360
* Publication Date:2003-09-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0805847596
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780805847598
* Publisher:Lawrence Erlbaum
* Number Of Pages:311
* Publication Date:2003-09-01
* Sales Rank:1313163
* ISBN / ASIN:080584760X
* EAN:9780805847604
* Binding:Paperback
Product Description:
In Relevance in Argumentation, author Douglas Walton presents a new method for critically evaluating arguments for relevance. This method enables a critic to judge whether a move can be said to be relevant or irrelevant, and is based on case studies of argumentation in which an argument, or part of an argument, has been criticized as irrelevant. Walton's method is based on a new theory of relevance that incorporates techniques of argumentation theory, logic, and artificial intelligence.
The work uses a case-study approach with numerous examples of controversial arguments, strategies of attack in argumentation, and fallacies. Walton reviews ordinary cases of irrelevance in argumentation, and uses them as a basis to advance and develop his new theory of irrelevance and relevance. The volume also presents a clear account of the technical problems in the previous attempts to define relevance, including an analysis of formal systems of relevance logic and an explanation of the Grecian notion of conversational relevance.
This volume is intended for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in those fields using argumentation theory--especially philosophy, linguistics, cognitive science and communication studies, in addition to argumentation. The work also has practical use, as it applies theory directly to familiar examples of argumentation in daily and professional life. With a clear and comprehensive method for determining relevance and irrelevance, it can be convincingly applied to highly significant practical problems about relevance, including those in legal and political argumentation.
Book Description:
Vol. presents a method for critically evaluating relevance in arguments based on case studies & a new relevance theory incorporating techniques of argumentation theory, logic & artificiaI intelligence. For scholars/students in argumentation & rhetoric.
posted byreilly354 days ago Hardcover: 328 pages
Publisher: LEA, Inc. (September 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN: 0805847596
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: LEA, Inc. (September 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN: 080584760X
Amazon Categories
Communication
General
Logic
Philosophy
Psychology
Relevance (Philosophy)
Language Testing in Practice: Designing and Developing Useful Language Tests (Oxford Applied Linguistics)
By Lyle F. Bachman, Adrian S. Palmer
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:384
* Publication Date:1996-09-12
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0194371484
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780194371483
Product Description:
This book relates language testing practice to current views of communicative language teaching and testing. It builds on the theoretical background expounded in Bachman's Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing and examines the design, planning, and organization of tests. The book is divided into three sections which discuss 1) objectives and expectations, the context of language testing, and the abilities to be tested; 2) the process of test development, including blueprints, resources, operationalization, and scoring methods; and 3) ten examples which illustrate the principles discussed in Parts One and Two.
Summary: Language Testing in Practice
Rating: 5
I have been very pleased with the way the transection pertaining to this book went. There has not been any delays and the book had no defects or any writing .All the pages were clean and the price was also the best.
I have been impressed and I believe I will have no fears to order anything from Amazon in future.
Moagisi Seleka
Summary: Teaching Resource
Rating: 5
This book isn't really a how-to-guide in the sense that it gives you one method to build a "perfect" test (which does not exist). The text does give you ways to think about what kind of information you want from a test, how to structure effective tests, how to use the information from proctoring the test, and so forth. I find this text to be a great resource for teachers both new and experienced. The text shows great examples of the process of building useful tests in a language learning situation. Examples come from the authors' experiences as well as from others they have reviewed.
Summary: Test development concepts and procedures for the real world
Rating: 4
Bachman and Palmer have targeted this book halfway between theory and practice, with an audience whose interests are practical but not limited to classroom testing. The book is divided into three parts: the first is concerned with presenting their model of testing theory, the second provides a step by step account of how to develop tests for real life contexts and the classroom, and the third provides ten case studies of different kinds of tests, worked out in greater or lesser detail according to the model they present earlier. The book is therefore useful for students beyond a practically oriented teacher training level, and is suitable to introduce the concept of test development as a team effort, a project planned and managed by a team leader. At the same time, it is simple enough for those on applied linguistics or language teacher education courses who do not have the time or interest to pursue theoretical issues in detail. It presents one model, that of the authors, which draws a great deal on Bachman (1990) Fundamental considerations in language testing. It does not compare or evaluate different models in the way McNamara (1996) does. All of this makes the book accessible and useful, hence its popularity in the sales figures. The emphasis they place on keeping an eye of the context of situation and an analysis of language use and related factors as the basis for test design are very useful and sound. Also, the procedures given for developing tests are easy enough to follow. However, the book has at least a couple of things that might make it a bit difficult to follow, at least until you get used to it. For a start, the language used by the authors tends to be a bit dry and abstract. For example, for they call the planning stage of test development `design', the writing stage `operationalization' and the use and review stage `administration'. They use the abbreviation TLU for target language use situation, a way of referring more or less to the sociolinguistic concept of context of situation. The use of terms like `channel', `form', `language' and `type' in the section on the communicative context may be a bit abstract for some. Despite the many examples of real situations used to illustrate their concepts throughout the book, the writing remains uninspiring, and it might have been better to use more colloquial language, a la Steven Pinker or Jean Aitchison. In addition, the structure or organization of the book with its three sections requires that some ideas are presented not in one section, but are found in smaller bits throughout the book. For example, the material on `quality control' for tests, the plan for the evaluation of usefulness, is split between the theoretical coverage in section one, the actual `how to do it' in section two, and the various case studies in section three. Overall, however, I found their approach sound, and the book is certainly a very useful one. I would recommend its use in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in applied linguistics and in language testing.
Cambridge Guide to Second Language Teacher Education
By Anne Burns, Jack C. Richards
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:334
* Publication Date:2009-03-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521760127
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521760126
Product Description:
This collection provides an overview of current issues, debates, and approaches in Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) presented by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars. Chapters address such issues as distance education, non-native English-speaking educators, technology, assessment, standards, and the changing contexts of contemporary language teaching and teacher education.
Testing for Language Teachers (Cambridge Language Teaching Library)
By Arthur Hughes
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:264
* Publication Date:2002-12-23
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521823250
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521823258
Product Description:
This is a second edition of this classic text on language testing. Over the years the first edition has established itself as a core text on many ESL teacher training programs. There is no other text that is as comprehensive and accessible as Testing for Language Teachers. All of the chapters for this second edition have been revised and updated. It also has new chapters on tests for young learners and testing overall ability, as well as new and accessible appendices on statistical analysis and item banking. No other book on language testing covers the areas that all language teachers need to know when testing their students' language skills.
Summary: good
Rating: 4
The book was in good condition just as described.
The shipment took a little longer than I expected, but still in the range of claim.
Summary: An Excellent Resource for Practicing Teachers
Rating: 5
It seems that a lot of books in the market on testing deal with the theoretical background of designing large scale tests on the institutional level. Those sorts of books are not so useful for the practicing teacher who is looking for a little guidance on improving their test writing skills for daily classes. This book is written with that teacher in mind. It doesn't overload the reader with loads of statistics, but if you are interested in the statistical basis of the ideas presented in this book, there is a section on statistics in the appendix.
Basically, this book is divided into three sections. The first section covers the different types of test a teacher might want to give and the differences between those types. The second part delves into the theory of validity and realiability, but doesn't overwhelm the reader with loads of numbers and figures. The third part goes into how to test different skills. The attitude the author takes toward testing is that a test should focus on one of the four basic skills: speaking, reading, writing, or listening. Grammar and vocabulary, he claims, are not ends in themselves, but merely components of the four basic skills, so they don't need to be given much emphasis in testing. I thought that was an interesting idea.
If you're a teacher looking for a book to help you with your test writing skills, I can recommend this one.
Language Evolution and Syntactic Theory (Approaches to the Evolution of Language)
By Anna R. Kinsella
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Number Of Pages:236
Publication Date:2009-08-31
ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521895308
ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521895309
Product Description:
Evolution has not typically been recognised by linguists as a constraining factor when developing linguistic theories. This book demonstrates that our theories of language must reflect the fact that language has evolved. It critiques a currently dominant framework in the field of linguistics - the Minimalist Program - by showing how it fails to take evolution into account. It approaches the question of the evolution of human language in a novel way by applying findings from the field of evolutionary biology to language. Key properties associated with typically evolving systems are identified in language, and the shortcomings of the Minimalist Program in its outright rejection of these features are exposed. The book will be of interest to individual researchers and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, biology, anthropology and cognitive science.
Evaluation (Language Teaching : a Scheme for Teacher Education)
By Pauline Rea-Dickins, Kevin Germaine
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Number Of Pages:192
Publication Date:1993-01
ISBN-10 / ASIN:0194371387
ISBN-13 / EAN:9780194371384
Product Description:
Testing is only one component in the evaluation process. This book shows how this process can form an integral part of teaching and learning, how it can provide teachers and other ELT professionals with valuable data that can be used to inform, and develop classroom practice. It both examines the principles underlying evaluation and provides practical guidance in the planning of evaluation activities.
Elements of Language Curriculum: A Systematic Approach to Program Development
By James Dean Brown
* Publisher:Heinle ELT
* Number Of Pages:262
* Publication Date:1994-08-31
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0838458106
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780838458105
Product Description:
The Element of Language Curriculum examines language teaching in detail from a systematic curriculum development perspective. The text presents a comprehensive but practical overview of the different phases and activities involved in developing and implementing a sound rational and effective language program.
Summary: useful and practical guide book for curriculum evaluation
Rating: 5
This book is quite useful for writing researcher paper on language curriculum or program evaluation. It is academically valuable, but it is also easily understandable for everyone because the language is not diffcult at all. It has good literature review of related topics. It also includes real examples of some ESL programs in the US. This books helped me a lot to write a research paper on a langauge course evaluation. It is good for individual use as well as a textbook for any graduate courese of curriculum development or evaluation. Plus, the layout of this book is pretty pleasant.
Introduction to Government and Binding Theory (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics)
By Liliane Haegeman
* Publisher:Wiley-Blackwell
* Number Of Pages:728
* Publication Date:1994-06-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0631190678
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780631190677
Product Description:
Since its first publication in 1991 Liliane Haegeman's Introduction to Government and Binding Theory has become established as the most authoritative introduction to the Principles and Parameters approach to syntactic theory. This new edition has been extensively updated throughout. Major structural changes include new chapters on Functional Heads and Head Movement and on Relativized Minimality. Discussions of a number of topics missing from or not paid due attention in the first edition have been integrated or expanded, for example: the structure of small clauses (in chaprer 2), chain formation (in chapter 6), and reconstruction, multiple movement, wh-absorption, Full Interpretation, and expletive replacement (in chapter 9). The copious exercises have been revised to increase potential for creativty and flexibility of approach. New exericases highlight further controversial issues. In short, this book offers a complete, updated introduction to the current state of Government and Binding Theory, suitable for readers with some basic knowledge of generative linguistics.
Summary: Introduction to GB theory.
Rating: 4
This is a very clear and at the same time thorough introduction to GB. Each chapter discusses a module or concept of the theory, like phrase structure, case theory, logical form, etc. By means of data from mainly English each part of the theory is developed and explained at an easy to follow pace. At the end of a chapter you will have a good basic knowledge of the topic, and at the end of the book you will be ready to read the primary literature.
At the same time that this book introduces you to GB theory, it also teaches you how "to do" linguistics. By means of example data preliminary principles about language are stated. Those principles are being made more precize as more data is introduced.
I find this book to be a very fascinating read. If you like linguistics and want to know about GB theory this book is a good choice.
Summary: A Popular Textbook
Rating: 3
This is a rather popular textbook because it clearly explains the Government and Binding Theory, though Chomsky prefers to call it the Theory of Principles and Parameters. There are quite a number of trees drawn for students to have a better understanding of the concerning structure, which usually lacks in other similar textbooks. This is particularly welcome by beginners since the analysis with squared brackets often makes new hands feel confused and even lost. It is also part of the reason why the book is so thick. The exercises are helpful for students to review what they have learned and to find out what concepts are not fully understood. This is the 2nd edition, which usually means it has a good readership. In fact, it is true.
Syntax: A Minimalist Introduction
By Andrew Radford
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:293
* Publication Date:1997-08-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521581222
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521581226
Product Description:
This textbook is a concise, readable introduction to current work in syntactic theory, particularly to Chomsky's Minimalist program. It gives an overview of theoretical concepts and descriptive devices. The discussion is based on varieties of English (Modern Standard, Belfast, Shakespearean, Jamaican Creole) and does not assume prior knowledge of syntax. There are exercises and a glossary. It is an abridged version of Radford's major new textbook Syntactic Theory and the Structure of English: A Minimalist Approach (CUP, 1997).
Summary: A Good Textbook to Learn the Minimalist Program
Rating: 4
Radford is well known for his comprehensible textbooks of generative syntax. This book is very helpful for beginners to get access to Chomsky's revolutionary ideas in his minimalist program (MP), which is radically different from his previous versions of grammar. What is the particular of this book is that the reader does not need to learn Chomsky's arguments starting from his early works. The book leads the reader to the MP in a straightforward way. The book first reviews Chomksy's philosophy of language, and then demonstrates the operation of the principles and parameters in the framework by using the examples which can explain our intuition of English. To reduce the burden of the reader, as he did in his other books, the author uses vivid analogies to illustrate some critical concepts. There are also excises attached to each chaper. Besides, the book includes a glossary of the terms which appear in the book. If you want to learn about the MP or to read Chomksy's latest works, or if you want to find a textbook for your students in the course of generative syntax, this book,I believe, as a warm-up candidate, should be under your consideration.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies, Second Edition
By Mona Baker, Gabriela Saldanha
* Publisher:Routledge
* Number Of Pages:680
* Publication Date:2008-12-09
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0415369304
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780415369305
Product Description
Delivering a thoroughly revised and updated version of the most authoritative reference work in the field, this new and expanded edition of the "Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies" draws on the expertise of over ninety contributors from all over the world, providing an unparalleled global perspective which makes this volume unique.Including approximately thirty new entries, the Encyclopedia presents a genuinely comprehensive overview of the rich and complex academic discipline of translation studies, and consists of two sections which cover the following key areas: the conceptual framework of the discipline, including a wide variety of research topics, theoretical issues and practices; and, the history of translation in major linguistic/cultural communities, and a range of new entries, including the Irish, Korean and South African traditions.With all entries alphabetically arranged, extensively cross-referenced and including suggestions for further reading, this text combines clarity with scholarly accuracy and depth, defining and discussing key terms in context to ensure maximum understanding and ease of use. Practical and unique, this second edition of the "Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies" is an essential, one-stop resource for all students and teachers of translation, interpreting and literary theory.
From the Back Cover
Praise for the previous edition of the Encyclopedia of Translation Studies.
'Translation has long deserved this sort of treatment. Appropriate for any college or university library supporting a program in linguistics, this is vital in those institutions that train students to become translators.' - Rettig on Reference
'Congratulations should be given to Mona Baker for undertaking such a mammoth task and ... successfully pulling it off. It will certainly be an essential reference book and starting point for anyone interested in translation studies.' - ITI Bulletin
'This excellent volume is to be commended for bringing together some of most recent research. It provides a series of extremely useful short histories, quite unlike anything that can be found elsewhere. University teachers will find it invaluable for preparing seminars and it will be widely used by students.' - The Times Higher Education Supplement
' ... a pioneering work of reference ...' - Perspectives on Translation
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies has been the standard reference in the field since it first appeared in 1998. The second, extensively revised and extended edition brings this unique resource up to date and offers a thorough, critical and authoritative account of one of the fastest growing disciplines in the humanities.
The Encyclopedia is divided into two parts and alphabetically ordered for ease of reference.
Part I (General) covers the conceptual framework and core concerns of the discipline. Categories of entries include:
central issues in translation theory (e.g. equivalence, translatability, unit of translation)
key concepts (e.g. culture, norms, ethics, ideology, shifts, quality)
approaches to translation and interpreting (e.g. sociological, linguistic, functionalist)
types of translation (e.g. literary, audiovisual, scientific and technical)
types of interpreting (e.g. signed language, dialogue, court).
New additions in this section include entries on globalisation, mobility, localization, gender and sexuality, censorship, comics, advertising and retranslation, among many others.
Part II (History and Traditions) covers the history of translation in major linguistic and cultural communities. It is arranged alphabetically by linguistic region. There are entries on a wide range of languages which include Russian, French, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese and Finnish, and regions including Brazil, Canada and India. Many of the entries in this section are based on hitherto unpublished research. This section includes one new entry: Southeast Asian tradition.
Drawing on the expertise of over ninety contributors from thirty countries and an international panel of consultant editors, this volume offers a comprehensive overview of translation studies as an academic discipline and anticipates new directions in the field. The contributors examine various forms of translation and interpreting as they are practised by professionals today, in addition to research topics, theoretical issues and the history of translation in various parts of the world.
With key terms defined and discussed in context, a full index, extensive cross-references, diagrams and a full bibliography the Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies is an invaluable reference work for all students and teachers of translation, interpreting, and literary and social theory.
Mona Baker is Professor of Translation Studies at the University of Manchester, UK. She is co-founder and editorial director of St Jerome Publishing, a small press specializing in translation studies and cross-cultural communication. Apart from numerous papers in scholarly journals and collected volumes, she is author of In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation (Routledge 1992), Translation and Conflict: A Narrative Account (2006) and Founding Editor of The Translator: Studies in Intercultural Communication (1995– ), a refereed international journal published by St Jerome since 1995. She is also co-Vice President of the International Association of Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS).
Gabriela Saldanha is Lecturer in Translation Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. She is founding editor (with Marion Winters) and current member of the editorial board of New Voices in Translation Studies, a refereed online journal of the International Association of Translation and Intercultural Studies, and co-editor (with Federico Zanettin) of Translation Studies Abstracts and Bibliography of Translation Studies.
TRANSLATION STUDIES/LANGUAGE LEARNING
Summary: This is my new Bible!
Rating: 5
If you are doing any research on the subject of translation, this book will be your new Bible! It is written in encyclopedia format, so if you know what you're looking for it is easy to find. If not, the table of contents is really well arranged.
Summary: Encyclopedic, as an encyclopedia should be...
Rating: 5
A rare blend of fascinating reading and authoritative instruction. The example translations alone are reason to pick up the book.
A Neural Network Model of Lexical Organization (Continuum Studies in Theoretical Linguistics)
By Michael Fortescue
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:245
* Publication Date:2009-09-10
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:1441111433
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9781441111432
Product Description:
This is an engaging study of the mental lexicon - the way in which the form and meaning of words is stored by speakers of specific languages. Fortescue attempts to narrow the gap between the results of experimental neurology and the concerns of theoretical linguistics in the area of lexical semantics. The prime goal as regards linguistic theory is to show how matters of lexical organization can be analysed and discussed within a neurologically informed framework that is both adaptable and constrained. It combines the perspectives of distributed network modelling and linguistic semantics, and draws upon the accruing evidence from neuroimaging studies as regards the cortical regions involved. It engages with a number of controversial current issues in both disciplines. This text is intended as a tool for linguists interested in psychological adequacy and the latest advances in Cognitive Science. It provides a principled means of distinguishing those semantic features required by a mental lexicon that have a direct bearing on grammar from those that do not. "A Neural Network Model of Lexical Organisation" is essential reading for researchers in neurolinguistics and lexical semantics. "Continuum Studies in Theoretical Linguistics" publishes work at the forefront of present-day developments in the field. The series is open to studies from all branches of theoretical linguistics and to the full range of theoretical frameworks. Titles in the series present original research that makes a new and significant contribution and are aimed primarily at scholars in the field, but are clear and accessible, making them useful also to students, to new researchers and to scholars in related disciplines.
Issues in Second Language Proficiency
By Alessandro G. Benati
* Publisher:Continuum International Publishing
* Number Of Pages:270
* Publication Date:2009-09-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826435157
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826435156
Product Description:
Benati provides clarity about the characteristics and notion of language proficiency in the field of second language acquisition. He looks at four areas of research paradigmatically related to the role of proficiency: theorizing and measuring second language proficiency; the dimensions of L2 proficiency; factors contributing to the attainment of L2 proficiency; and attaining L2 proficiency in the classroom. It also contains a variety of research accounts about the specific factors which have an effect on proficiency together with a theorised measurement of proficiency in second language research. It will be required reading for researchers in applied linguistics and second language acquisition.
Race, Language, and Culture
By Franz Boas
Publisher:The MacMillan Company
Number Of Pages:650
Publication Date:1940
ISBN-10 / ASIN:0226062414
ISBN-13 / EAN:9780226062419
Product Description:
This volume is a collection of the most important essays written by Franz Boas on the science of anthropology. While the thumbnail is that of the University of Chicago Press 1995 edition, this pdf is in fact the outright 1940 edition.
Culturally Speaking: Culture, Communication and Politeness Theory
By Helen Spencer-Oatey
Publisher:Continuum
Number Of Pages:372
Publication Date:2008-05-07
ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826493106
ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826493101
Product Description
This is an updated second edition of the comprehensive introduction to intercultural pragmatics, providing essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students.This comprehensive introduction to intercultural pragmatics examines the theoretical, methodological and practical issues in the analysis of talk across cultures.The book includes: an introduction to the key issues in culture and communication; an examination of cross-cultural and intercultural communication; empirical case studies from a variety of languages, including German, Greek, Japanese and Chinese; practical chapters on pragmatics research, recording and analysing data, and projects in intercultural pragmatics; exercises at the end of each chapter; and, a glossary of termsThis second edition of "Culturally Speaking" will be an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and researchers interested in communication across cultures.
The book includes:
* introduction to the key issues in culture and communication
* examination of cross-cultural and intercultural communication
* empirical case studies from a variety of languages, including German, Greek, Japanese and Chinese
* practical chapters on pragmatics research, recording and analyzing data, and projects in intercultural pragmatics
* exercises at the end of each chapter
* glossary of terms
This second edition of Culturally Speaking will be an essential guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in communication across cultures.
English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review
By Brian Tomlinson
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:333
* Publication Date:2008-05-17
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826493505
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826493507
Product Description:
This research collection presents a critical review of the materials used for learning English around the world. The first section includes a discussion of materials for specific learners and purposes, such as young learners, self-study, academic writing and general proficiency. The second section presents a detailed study of the materials used in Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Africa and Australia, and critically evaluates their effectiveness in the teaching of English to speakers of other languages. Taking both the teacher's and the learner's needs into consideration, the book makes a positive contribution to the future of research in materials development, and has practical applications.
This comprehensive, critical analysis of materials in use around the world will be useful for academics researching materials development and applied linguistics and for students on post-graduate applied linguistics and ELT courses.
Introduction to Conversation Analysis
By Anthony J. Liddicoat
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:333
* Publication Date:2007-02-27
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826491146
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826491145
Product Description:
This introduction is designed to give an overview of conversation analysis. It begins by locating conversation analysis as a methodology amongst other methodologies, and describing conversation analysis as body of knowledge which reveals the ways in which language works in communication. The chapters introduce every aspect of conversation analysis in a logical, step-by-step examination, including coverage of transcription, turn-taking, sequence organisation, repair, and storytelling. Comprehensive and accessible, "An Introduction to Conversation Analysis" is essential reading for undergraduate and graduate students in sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, sociology and applied linguistics courses.
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
1 Conversation and Conversation Analysis 1
2 Transcribing Conversation 13
3 Turn-taking in Conversation 51
4 Gaps and Overlaps in Turn-taking 79
5 Adjacency Pairs and Preference Organization 105
6 Expanding Sequences 125
7 Repair 171
8 Opening Conversation 213
9 Closing Conversation 255
10 Story-telling in Conversation 279
References 303
Index
A First Language: The Early Stages
By Roger Brown
* Publisher:Harvard University Press
* Number Of Pages:449
* Publication Date:1973-06
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0674303261
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780674303263
Product Description:
For many years, Roger Brown and his colleagues have studied the developing language of pre-school children-the language that ultimately will permit them to understand themselves and the world around them. This longitudinal research project records the conversational performances of three children, studying both semantic and grammatical aspects of their language development.
These core findings are related to recent work in psychology and linguistics-and especially to studies of the acquisition of languages other than English, including Finnish, German, Korean, and Samoan. Roger Brown has written the most exhaustive and searching analysis yet undertaken of the early stages of grammatical constructions and the meanings they convey.
The five stages of linguistic development Brown establishes are measured not by chronological age-since children vary greatly in the speed at which their speech develops-but by mean length of utterance. This volume treats the first two stages.
Stage I is the threshold of syntax, when children begin to combine words to make sentences. These sentences, Brown shows, are always limited to the same small set of semantic relations: nomination, recurrence, disappearance, attribution, possession, agency, and a few others.
Stage II is concerned with the modulations of basic structural meanings-modulations for number, time, aspect, specificity-through the gradual acquisition of grammatical morphemes such as inflections, prepositions, articles, and case markers. Fourteen morphemes are studied in depth and it is shown that the order of their acquisition is almost identical across children and is predicted by their relative semantic and grammatical complexity.
It is, ultimately, the intent of this work to focus on the nature and development of knowledge: knowledge concerning grammar and the meanings coded by grammar; knowledge inferred from performance, from sentences and the settings in which they are spoken, and from signs of comprehension or incomprehension of sentences.
Ways of Meaning - 2nd Edition: An Introduction to a Philosophy of Language
By Mark Platts
* Publisher:The MIT Press
* Number Of Pages:320
* Publication Date:1997-03-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0262661071
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780262661072
Product Description:
"This is the book that turned on a generation of philosophers of language--turned them on to the Davidsonian program, that is ... More than that, he surveyed a number of natural language constructions, showing how they could be handled in such a framework, and thereby mapping out the landscape of what has since become a full-blown philosophical research program." -- Peter Ludlow, State University of New York at Stony Brook
The philosophy of language is not an isolated philosophical discipline of merely technical interest to other philosophers. Rather, as Mark Platts shows, the philosophy of language can help to solve traditional problems in other areas of philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Ways of Meaning provides a clear, comprehensive introduction to such issues at the forefront of philosophy. Assuming only minimum knowledge of elementary formal logic, the book shows how taking truth as the central notion in the theory of meaning can clarify the relations between language, reality, and knowledge, and thus illuminate the nature of each. This second edition of the book contains a new chapter on the notions of natural-kind words and natural kinds. Unlike other discussions of the subject, this one places the semantic issues involved in the context of questions about the relations between knowing subjects and known objects. The author has also added a bibliography of further readings published since the first edition appeared in 1979.
Summary: What Does Philosophy of Language Matter to Morality?
Rating: 4
This is a textbook in the philosophy of language. It is intended as a introduction to the Davidsonian program in the philosophy of language, and it introduces that program by explaining its outlines and applying it a variety of components of ordinary language: sentences involving quantification, quoted speech, names, adjectives, sentences about actions and other events, and (in the second edition) natural kind terms.
I'm not expert on this material, so I have little to say about these parts of the book. I do, however, want to talk about Chapter X, where Platt's applies this program as providing a defense for a form of moral realism (i.e. the view that there are mind-independent moral facts). This is a brief, cogent, and influential defense a sort of non-naturalist intuitionism. And, unlike some defenders of views like these (e.g. McDowell and Wiggins), the arguments here are pretty straightforward and the outlines of the resulting position are clear. Indeed, I think this chapter is the best place to start studying views of this sort.
Here's an outline of the elements of Platts's position in this chapter. The first element is cognitivism. That is, he claims that moral claims are truth-apt, and that they purport to describe mind-independent moral facts.
The second element is autonomy. Platts argues that morality is both semantically and epistemologically autonomous in a very strong sense. Moral language is autonomous of other language in that it cannot be analyzed in terms of non-moral language. Platts also argues that morality is epistemologically autonomous in that we do not reach moral conclusions by drawing inferences from the non-moral facts. We do not first discover what the non-moral facts are, and then apply some general principles about the relation between moral and non-moral facts in order to infer what the moral facts are like. Instead, we intuit the moral facts. Importantly, though, intuition does not require us to possess some special moral fact-detecting power that allows us to be influenced by special moral facts. How, then, does intuition work? Grasping the relevant concepts allows us to simply see, to look and observe, the moral properties of things. Nevertheless, unlike other intuitionists, Platts does not hold that what we intuit is self-evident or certain; for he thinks we have to acknowledge the pervasiveness of fallibility in all areas of inquiry.
The third element is a sort of pluralism that is a response to the reality of moral dilemmas and genuine moral conflicts. Platts thinks there can be genuine moral dilemmas--cases in which people are unable to fulfill all there real obligations, cases in which a person does both good and evil. There can be such dilemmas and conflicts since the moral facts do not consist in particulars actions, people, etc. having certain overarching goodness or badness; rather, they consist in these things possessing sundry more specific moral properties. And a single thing may possess many different specific moral properties, some good and some bad. And this conception of moral properties leads Platts to accept a particularist moral epistemology. Moral intuitions are intuitions about particular actions in particular cases, and they are arrived at by looking and seeing all the multifarious details in that particular case rather than by coming to particular cases with a set of general moral rules.
After outlining his position in the first part of his chapter, Platts considers two important objections to his view. The first problem his view faces is the challenge of dealing with the sociological and anthropological facts of moral disagreements and differences. Why, if morality is a matter of objective matters of fact, do we find deep, persistent, and apparently unsettleable disagreements and differences of sort we actually find?
Platts construes this challenge as the challenge posed by forms of relativism about morality, though I think he's actually concerned with something more general. The data here pose a problem for the realist only if there is no standpoint outside the different moral conceptions of people from which we can decide who is right and who is wrong. What is especially worrying for a realist of Platts's stripe is the possibility that others have moral concepts we lack (and do not understand), and that this allows them to see facts that we cannot see. Such people would be able to intuit facts of we which simply aren't aware and perhaps can't be aware. The relativist declares that the best response to these facts is to understand moral facts as conventional; they are set by the conventions of the relevant groups. A nihilist might come to these same facts and say that they show there are no moral facts.
Platts's response to this worry is complicated, and I can only sketch it here. First, he thinks the relativist needs to do more than show that there are such differences and disagreements; she needs to show that the realist cannot account for them. But he thinks relativists rarely meet this requirement. For a realist like Platts, one who thinks all our beliefs are fallible, has no problem with accepting moral errors in some cases. We recognize that people commit such errors in other objective areas of inquiry, like the sciences. What about cases in which we find radical differences in moral concepts possessed by different groups? First, sometimes it turns out that this is really just a matter of groups having different accounts of a common concept. One group thinks a property is possessed by one set of things, and the other group thinks it's possessed by another. Second, in some cases, there do appear to be different conceptual schemes. Yet we find the same thing in the sciences--some groups lack scientific concepts we possess--and the relativist needs to distinguish the differences here from moral differences.
The second type of challenge concerns the connection between moral judgments and reasons for action and the connection between moral judgments and motivation. These are traditional considerations that have led people to accept some sort of nihilism or noncognitivism, for they suggest that there is something more than a belief to moral judgments. I'm afraid I don't have the space to discuss either the problems or Platts's responses to them here. But they're worth your time, I assure you.