Language, Culture and Identity (Advances in Sociolinguistics)
By Philip Riley
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:276
* Publication Date:2007-06-23
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826486282
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826486288
Product Description:
How language shapes and is shaped by identity is a key topic within sociolinguistics. An individual's identity is constituted through a variety of different factors, including the social, linguistic, cultural and ethnic contexts. In this book, Philip Riley looks at these issues against the theoretical background of the sociology of knowledge, and ethnolinguistics, asking how we learn who we are and how social identities are negotiated. The idea of 'the foreigner' is central to this account, yet traditional views of the role of being socially 'other' largely neglect the role of language. Riley bridges this gap by examining problematic aspects of multilingual identities, with particular reference to the notions of 'ethos' and the 'communicative virtues'. This engaging analysis of language and social identity will be essential reading for students of sociolinguistics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Language and Education (Collected Works of M.A.K. Halliday)
By M.A.K. Halliday
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:418
* Publication Date:2007-03-29
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826458750
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826458759
Product Description:
This work is the ninth volume in the "Collected Works of M.A.K. Halliday" series. The ninth volume in Professor M.A.K. Halliday's collected works is dedicated to the subject of language and education. Professor Halliday sums up the scope of language education under the following five headings: mother tongue education; second language learning; multilingual societies; contexts of language education; and educational linguistics. In addition to the previously unpublished "Applied Linguistics as an Evolving Theme" (2002) originally presented by Professor Halliday on the occasion of his being awarded the first Gold Medal by the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), this volume contains another nineteen papers covering a comprehensive breadth of topics in language and education addressed by Professor Halliday over the course of his career. The chapters cover language development, language teaching, multilingualism, functional variation in language, and the place of linguistics in education.
Metadiscourse (Continuum Discourse)
By Ken Hyland
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:242
* Publication Date:2005-09-12
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826476104
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826476104
Product Description:
This book provides an accessible introduction to metadiscourse, discussing its role and importance in written communication. It explores examples from a wide range of texts from business, journalism, academia and student writing to present a new theory of metadiscourse. The final section of the book explores the importance of metadiscourse for teachers and students, and details its practical advantages and applications in the writing class. Accessibly written and packed with examples, Metadiscourse is an essential introduction for students of applied linguistics, language teachers and academics.
Metaphor in Educational Discourse (Advances in Applied Linguistics Series)
By Lynne Cameron
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:306
* Publication Date:2003-03-13
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826449409
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826449405
Product Description:
Metaphor is recognized as widespread and intrinsic to language use. This work examines the use and understanding of metaphor in everyday classroom discourse and in informational texts.
Pragmatics and Non-Verbal Communication
By Tim Wharton
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:230
* Publication Date:2009-10-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521691443
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521691444
Product Description:
The way we say the words we say helps us convey our intended meanings. Indeed, the tone of voice we use, the facial expressions and bodily gestures we adopt while we are talking, often add entirely new layers of meaning to those words. How the natural non-verbal properties of utterances interact with linguistic ones is a question that is often largely ignored. This book redresses the balance, providing a unique examination of non-verbal behaviours from a pragmatic perspective. It charts a point of contact between pragmatics, linguistics, philosophy, cognitive science, ethology and psychology, and provides the analytical basis to answer some important questions: How are non-verbal behaviours interpreted? What do they convey? How can they be best accommodated within a theory of utterance interpretation?
Games for Language Learning (Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers)
By Andrew Wright, David Betteridge, Michael Buckby
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:224
* Publication Date:1984-07-27
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:052127737X
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521277372
Product Description:
Games provide meaningful and enjoyable language practice at all levels and for all age groups. They can be used to practise any of the skills - speaking, listening, reading and writing - at any stage of the learning process, from controlled repetition through guided practice to free expression. To enable teachers to select the activities most suitable for their needs, precise information is provided, both at the beginning of each game and in the summary chart, about the language content, the skills to be practised, the level, the degree of teacher-control, and the time and materials required. Clear advice is given on preparation and classroom procedure, with many illustrations and examples. There is a comprehensive index.
Summary: very satisfied of my purchase
Rating: 5
the book was really like new. I appreciated the beautiful gift paper :-)))the shipping was very fast. thank you so much!
Summary: Great addition to any ESL classroom
Rating: 5
This book contains many games grouped into helpful categories such as picture games and sound games, and for each game there is an overview of time, level, materials, skills, and language. I especially like the games because most are simple, don't require complex materials or a lot of them, and can be easily adapted or modified. I would definitely recommend this book to ESL teachers of any level.
Summary: Best ESL Book Ever
Rating: 5
This is one of the best ESL Books ever written or should I say compiled. There are great creative games that can be adapted to all levels and all grammar points. Its a must have for any good conversation teacher.
Summary: Very good resource book
Rating: 4
This is a very good resource book for your ESL classes. The games were easily adapted to our specific needs and I'm glad that I purchased it.
Summary: Games for Language Learning
Rating: 5
It's an excellent educational resource for teaching ESL. I recommend it. My students have enjoy the games I have done with them the first few days of class.
Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives (Language, Culture, and Teaching Series)
By Sonia Nieto
* Publisher:Routledge
* Number Of Pages:296
* Publication Date:2009-08-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0415999685
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780415999687
Product Description:
Distinguished multiculturalist Sonia Nieto speaks directly to current and future teachers in this thoughtful integration of a selection of her key writings with creative pedagogical features. Offering information, insights, and motivation to teach students of diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds, this text is intended for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level students and professional development courses.
Examples are included throughout to illustrate real-life dilemmas about diversity that teachers face in their own classrooms; ideas about how language, culture, and teaching are linked; and ways to engage with these ideas through reflection and collaborative inquiry. Each chapter includes critical questions; classroom activities; and community activities suggesting projects beyond the classroom context.
About the Second Edition: Over half of the chapters are new to this edition, bringing it up-to-date in terms of recent educational policy issues and demographic changes in our society.
Sonia Nieto is Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy, and Culture, School of
Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Introduction: Language, Literacy, and Culture:
Intersections and Implications 1
PART I
Setting the Groundwork 25
1 What is the Purpose of Schools? Reflections
on Education in an Age of Functionalism 27
2 The Limitations of Labels 36
3 Understanding Multicultural Education in a
Sociopolitical Context (with Patty Bode) 38
4 Multicultural Education and School
Reform (with Patty Bode) 66
5 Public Education in the Twentieth Century
and Beyond: High Hopes, Broken Promises, and an
Uncertain Future 88
6 We Speak in Many Tongues: Language
Diversity and Multicultural Education 112
PART II
Identity and Belonging 133
7 Culture and Learning 135
8 Lessons From Students on Creating a
Chance to Dream 160
9 Beyond Categories: The Complex Identities
of Adolescents (with John Raible) 199
PART III
Becoming Critical Teachers 215
10 Profoundly Multicultural Questions 217
11 Solidarity, Courage, and Heart: Learning
From a New Generation of Teachers 225
PART IV
Praxis in the Classroom 245
12 Affirmation, Solidarity, and Critique:
Moving Beyond Tolerance in Multicultural Education 247
13 Nice is Not Enough: Defining Caring for
Students of Color 264
14 What Does it Mean to Affirm Diversity in
Our Nation’s Schools? 269
Index 275
Preface
Ten years have passed since the first edition of Language, Culture, and Teaching
was published, and they have been momentous years both nationally and globally.
Because of events such as 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, as well as global immigration
and the dramatic demographic changes in our own society during the
past decade, the issues addressed in this book remain significant for today’s
classrooms. Whether you teach in a large urban public school system, a small
rural schoolhouse, or an affluent private academy in the suburbs, you will face
students who are more diverse than ever in terms of race, language background,
ethnicity, culture, and other differences. The United States today is enormously
different from what it was just a generation ago. For example, in 1970, at the
height of the public school enrollment of the “baby boom” generation, White
students accounted for 79 percent of total enrollment, followed by 14 percent
African American, 6 percent Hispanic, and 1 percent Asian and Pacific Islander
and other races. The situation is vastly different now: Currently, about 60 percent
of students in U.S. public schools are White, 18 percent Hispanic, 16 percent
African American, and 4 percent Asian and other races. The Census Bureau’s
population projections indicate that the student population will continue to
diversify in the coming years. In addition, the number of students who are foreign
born or have foreign-born parents is growing rapidly. More than 49 million
students, or 31 percent of those enrolled in U.S. elementary and secondary
schools, are foreign-born or have at least one parent who was foreign-born (Shin,
2005). This situation has major implications for teaching and learning, and for
whether or not teachers feel sufficiently prepared to meet the challenges of
diversity.
Because of these changing demographics and dramatic global realities, including
massive relocations of populations due to war, famine, and other natural
and human catastrophes, language and culture are increasingly vital concerns in
contemporary classrooms across the United States. Yet few educators besides
specialists in bilingual education, ESL, or urban education feel adequately prepared
through their course work and other pre-practicum experiences to teach
students who embody social and cultural differences. As a result, many educators
are at a loss as to what to do when faced with students whose race, ethnicity, social
class, and language differ from their own. They are equally unprepared to
understand—or to deal effectively with—the significant achievement gaps that
arise from unequal and inequitable learning conditions. For many teachers, their
first practicum or teaching experience represents their introduction to a broader
diversity than they have ever experienced before. This is true for all teachers—not
just White teachers—because our society is still characterized by communities
that are largely segregated by race, ethnicity, and social class.
In spite of these realities, many textbooks designed for current and future
teachers devote little attention to issues of difference, and even less to critical
perspectives in teaching. In looking over the variety of textbooks available for
current and future teachers, I found many to be little more than dry and boring
treatments of so-called “best practices” or thoughtless techniques that leave
teachers’ creativity and analysis on the sidelines. Thus the motivation behind
this textbook is to provide a different model, one that engages you as an active
learner and that builds on your creativity. It is addressed primarily to you, current
and future teachers in our nation’s schools, and in it I hope you will find the
information, insights, and motivation to teach students of diverse backgrounds.
Throughout this book I have attempted to present examples of: real-life
dilemmas about diversity that you will face in your own classrooms; ideas about
how language, culture, and teaching are linked; and ways to engage with these
ideas through reflection and collaborative inquiry. There are no easy answers, no
pre-packaged programs that can fix the uncertainties that teachers encounter
every day. However, there are more thoughtful ways to address these problems
than those which are currently presented in many textbooks; there are ways
that honor both teachers’ professionalism and students’ abilities and social and
cultural realities. Specifically, the goals of this book are to:
• explore how language and culture are connected to teaching and learning
in educational settings;
• examine the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts of language and
culture to understand how these contexts may affect student learning and
achievement;
• analyze the implications of linguistic and cultural diversity for classroom
practices, school reform, and educational equity;
• encourage practicing and preservice teachers to reflect critically on their
classroom practices, as well as on larger institutional policies related to
linguistic and cultural diversity based on the above understandings;
• motivate teachers to understand their ethical and political responsibilities
to work, together with their students, colleagues, and families, for a more
socially just classroom, school, and society.
About the Second Edition
Language, Culture, and Teaching is a compilation of previously published journal
articles and book chapters, most of which I have written over the past decade.
Although the goals and basic framework of this second edition remain the same
as those of the first edition, more than half of the chapters are new to this edition.
Given the vast changes in our schools and society in the past decade, I thought it
xii Preface
was important to attend to some of these changes in this edition. For example,
newer and more nuanced understandings of identity led me to include a number
of chapters that address this topic in more contemporary ways (for example, see
Chapters 2 and 9). I have also added two chapters (3 and 4) that discuss the
current focus on rigid accountability processes, and specifically No Child Left
Behind (NCLB), topics that are now at the top of most educators’ agendas but
were just looming on the horizon a decade ago.
Overview
The book is organized in four parts, and each begins with a brief description of
the themes considered in that section of the text. Following the chapters are
critical questions, ideas for classroom and community activities, and suggested
resources for further reflection and study. Critical Questions are based on the
ideas presented in the chapter and they ask you to build on the knowledge you
have learned by analyzing the concepts further. Activities for Your Classroom are
suggestions for applying what you have learned by engaging in a deeper analysis
of the concepts. Often, it is suggested that you work with colleagues in developing
curriculum or other classroom-based projects. Community-Based Activities and
Advocacy are projects outside of your particular classroom setting, and they may
take place in the school or the school district, in the city or town in which you
teach, or even at the state or national level. Supplementary Resources for Further
Reflection and Study end each chapter with a list and brief description of
resources that will be helpful as you continue to reflect on and study the issues
addressed in the chapter.
The Introduction consists of a preliminary chapter, “Language, Literacy,
and Culture: Intersections and Implications.” This chapter provides an overall
background for the text by describing how language and culture are manifested in
twenty-first century schools and society. It also suggests some implications for
teaching and learning.
Part I: Setting the Groundwork consists of six chapters that set the conceptual
framework for links among language, culture, and teaching. Chapter 1 concerns
the age-old question of the purpose of schools, a consequential question all
teachers should be asking themselves as they enter the profession. Chapter 2, “The
Limitations of Labels,” is a brief piece that repudiates the all-too-common
practice, based on deficit views of students, to use labels to describe children.
Chapter 3, co-authored with Patty Bode, proposes a sociopolitical definition of
multicultural education and introduces you to major concepts and significant
literature in the field, including an analysis of NCLB. Chapter 4, also co-authored
with Patty Bode, provides a comprehensive definition of multicultural education
that takes it far beyond superficial approaches that focus only on holidays and
heroes. Chapter 5 presents an overview of public education in the twentieth
century through three focal movements for social justice—desegregation, multicultural
education, and bilingual education—and it discusses the future of these
and other movements for equity in education. The final chapter in this section
(Chapter 6), “We Speak in Many Tongues,” expands the conventional framework
Preface xiii
of multicultural education by incorporating language and language differences as
central to diversity.
Young people of all backgrounds struggle with issues of identity and belonging,
and for those who are culturally marginalized, the stress is even greater. Questions
of identity are related to learning because it is through their identities as competent
learners that students can succeed academically. Hence, matters of identity
are central to an appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity. Part II: Identity
and Belonging focuses on identity—social, cultural, racial, and linguistic—and
how it influences students, teaching, and learning. Chapter 7 introduces you to a
wide-ranging definition that rejects simplistic understandings of culture that
focus primarily on superficial trappings. Chapter 8, first published some 15 years
ago yet still relevant today, centers on the views of a diverse group of young
people about schooling, identity, and success. Part II ends with Chapter 9, which
I wrote with John Raible on the complex identities of adolescents, including
understanding identity as complex, heterogeneous, and hybrid.
The chapters in Part III: Becoming Critical Teachers concern the kind of
information teachers need about diversity in order to be effective with a wide
range of students. The two chapters in this section focus on what it takes to
become critical teachers of such students. Chapter 10 is a short piece that encourages
teachers to look beyond the superficial treatments of diversity and to instead
ask “profoundly multicultural questions,” that is, questions that are at the heart
of social justice, access, and equity. Chapter 11 gives concrete examples of teachers
who work with students of diverse backgrounds with “solidarity, courage, and
heart,” suggesting the lessons that all teachers can learn from them.
The final part of the text, Part IV: Praxis in the Classroom, is a critical analysis
of multicultural education in practice. Chapter 12, “Affirmation, Solidarity, and
Critique: Moving Beyond Tolerance in Multicultural Education,” describes five
concrete scenarios that illustrate different levels of support for multicultural
education and suggests specific practices for classroom instruction. Because many
teachers have had little personal or professional experience with diversity, they are
often unaware of how to critically address questions of race, identity, and
achievement. Chapter 13 provides specific suggestions for “going beyond niceness”
in teaching students of color. The final chapter (Chapter 14), “What Does it
Mean to Affirm Diversity in Our Nation’s Schools?,” is a short piece that proposes
a number of guidelines for affirming diversity. It also serves to recapitulate many
of the points addressed throughout the book.
Final Thoughts
Educational inequality is repugnant in a society that has pledged to provide an
equal education for all students regardless of rank or circumstance. Yet educational
inequality is commonplace in schools all over our country. It continues
to be the case that far too many students are shortchanged because educational
policies and practices favor students from backgrounds that are more privileged
in social class, race, language, or other differences. At the same time, schools
remain grossly unequal in terms of the resources they are given, and it is undenixiv
Preface
ably true that students’ zip codes have more to do with the quality of the education
they receive than most of us would care to admit. In addition, students’
linguistic and cultural differences are often dismissed or ignored by teachers who
have been trained to be “color-blind” and refuse to see differences. The chapters
in this book ask you not only to see differences but also to critically affirm and use
them in your teaching.
These realities make it apparent that educational change needs to take place in
a number of domains, including at the ideological, societal, and national levels.
In the meantime, students who differ culturally and linguistically from the mainstream
are particularly vulnerable in a society that has deemed differences to be
deficiencies and poverty to be a moral transgression. But change can begin at any
level, and the chapters in this book are based on the assumption that teachers can
and, in fact, must make a difference in the lives of the children they teach.
Teachers alone cannot do it all, of course, because institutional barriers to student
learning—including macro-level impediments such as lack of access to higher
education for parents and guardians, substandard housing, lack of appropriate
health care, inadequate employment opportunities, and lack of access to quality
child-care—are enormous. Nevertheless, when teachers work together with other
educators and concerned citizens, they can do a great deal to change not only
their own practices but also help schools and districts change their policies to
become more equitable for all students. When district-wide policies as well as
classroom practices change to promote the learning of all students and when our
society, teachers, and schools view students’ differences in a more hopeful and
critical way, the result can be that more students will soar to the heights that they
are capable of reaching and deserve.
We are living in a new century. This century different from any other in many
ways, not the least of which is the tremendous cultural and linguistic diversity
evident in our schools. Yet the ways in which new teachers are prepared to face
these differences, and the books used to help them, have not changed enough.
New times deserve new textbooks that respect the professionalism of teachers and
other educators, honor the identities of students and their families, and validate
the nation’s claim to educate all students of all backgrounds. That is the premise
of this book.
Acknowledgments
Finally, a word of thanks to friends and colleagues who had a hand in this book.
When I originally wrote the journal articles and book chapters reprinted in this
text, many of them helped me think more clearly and carefully about my ideas.
These friends and colleagues are too numerous to mention here, but I acknowledged
them in the original works. For this edition, I want to specifically thank
Patty Bode, my co-author for Chapters 3 and 4, and John Raible, my co-author
for Chapter 9, for allowing me to include them in the book. Their insights have
contributed greatly to my thinking. I also want to reiterate that my work has been
enormously enriched by the wise counsel of the numerous colleagues, students,
and young people I have worked with over the years. Finally, I want to express my
Preface xv
gratitude and profound respect for Naomi Silverman, Senior Acquisitions Editor
at Routledge and friend of many years. Many years ago when we first met, Naomi
helped me think differently and creatively about textbooks for teachers, and I
feel blessed to still be working with her on this and other projects.
Reference
Shin, H. B. (2005). School enrollment: Social and economic characteristics of students—
October 2003. Current Population Reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
The Logic of Typed Feature Structures: With Applications to Unification Grammars, Logic Programs and Constraint Resolution (Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science)
By Bob Carpenter
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:280
* Publication Date:1992-06-26
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521419328
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521419321
Product Description:
This book develops the theory of typed feature structures, a new form of data structure that generalizes both the first-order terms of logic programs and feature-structures of unification-based grammars to include inheritance, typing, inequality, cycles and intensionality. It presents a synthesis of many existing ideas into a uniform framework, which serves as a logical foundation for grammars, logic programming and constraint-based reasoning systems. Throughout the text, a logical perspective is adopted that employs an attribute-value description language along with complete equational axiomatizations of the various systems of feature structures. Efficiency concerns are discussed and complexity and representability results are provided. The application of feature structures to phrase structure grammars is described and completeness results are shown for standard evaluation strategies. Definite clause logic programs are treated as a special case of phrase structure grammars. Constraint systems are introduced and an enumeration technique is given for solving arbitrary attribute-value logic constraints. This book with its innovative approach to data structures will be essential reading for researchers in computational linguistics, logic programming and knowledge representation. Its self-contained presentation makes it flexible enough to serve as both a research tool and a textbook.
Summary: This book is like coolymundo, man!
Rating: 5
An excellent introduction to the logic underlying typed feature structures which is also the logic underlying formal linguistic theories such as HPSG or LFG. This book is a bible for computational linguists!
And Bob Carpenter is a supah kool guy, too...
The Semantics of Clause Linking: A Cross-Linguistic Typology (Explorations in Linguistic Typology)
By R. M. W. Dixon, Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:432
* Publication Date:2009-09-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0199567220
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780199567225
Product Description:
This book is a cross-linguistic examination of the different grammatical means languages employ to represent a general set of semantic relations between clauses. The investigations focus on ways of combining clauses other than through relative and complement clause constructions. These span a number of types of semantic linking. Three, for example, describe varieties of consequence - cause, result, and purpose - which may be illustrated in English by, respectively: Because John has been studying German for years, he speaks it well; John has been studying German for years, thus he speaks it well; and John has been studying German for years, in order that he should speak it well. Syntactic descriptions of languages provide a grammatical analysis of clause types. The chapters in this book add the further dimension of semantics, generally in the form of focal and supporting clauses, the former referring to the central activity or state of the biclausal linking; and the latter to the clause attached to it. The supporting clause may set out the temporal milieu for the focal clause or specify a condition or presupposition for it or a preliminary statement of it, as in Although John has been studying German for years (the supporting clause), he does not speak it well (the focal clause). Professor Dixon's extensive opening discussion is followed by fourteen case studies of languages ranging from Korean and Kham to Iquito and Ojibwe. The book's concluding synthesis is provided by Professor Aikhenvald.
Etymological Glossary of Old Welsh (Buchreihe der Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, Bd. 18)
By A. I. Falileev, Alexander Falileyev
* Publisher:Max Niemeyer Verlag
* Number Of Pages:159
* Publication Date:2000-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:3484429186
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9783484429185
Product description:
The present 籈tymological Glossary of Old Welsh
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: The Classic First Edition (Oxford World's Classics)
By H. W. Fowler
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:832
* Publication Date:2009-11-23
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0199535345
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780199535347
Product Description:
No book had more influence on twentieth-century writers of English than Henry Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage. It rapidly became the standard work of reference for the correct use of English in terms of choice of words, grammar, and style. Much loved for his firm opinions, passion, and dry humor, Fowler has stood the test of time and is still considered by many to be the best arbiter of good practice.
Now Oxford is bringing back the original long-out-of-print first edition of this beloved work, enhanced with a new introduction by one of today's leading experts on the language, David Crystal. Drawing on a wealth of entertaining examples, Crystal offers an insightful reassessment Fowler's reputation and his place in the history of linguistic thought. Fowler, Crystal points out, was far more sophisticated in his analysis of language than most people realize and many of his entries display a concern for descriptive accuracy which would do any modern linguist proud. And although the book is full of his personal likes and dislikes, Fowler's prescriptivism is usually intelligent and reasoned. Crystal concludes warmly that Fowler was like "an endearingly eccentric, schoolmasterly character, driven at times to exasperation by the infelicities of his wayward pupils, but always wanting the best for them and hoping to provide the best guidance for them.... He may shake his stick at us, but we never feel we are actually going to be beaten."
In the concluding section of the book, Crystal examines nearly 300 entries in detail, offers a modern perspective on them, and shows how English has changed since the 1920s. This exciting and long awaited re-release of one of the classic works of English reference will delight everyone interested in language.
Summary: Nothing Modern or Useful About It!
Rating: 1
H.W. Fowler's, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, "Edited" by David Crystal. What a disappointment! I expected SOMETHING in addition to the original Fowler. Exactly what did David Crystal "edit"? I note with great interest that the spine of the dust jacket says "Edited" while the cover observes with greater veracity that only a new introduction and "notes" were contributed. I scanned the book for quite a while before finally realizing that the only notes are end notes in the back of the book, which, apparently, if you read the publisher's sales puffery, double as the "concluding section" of the book in which Prof. Crystal "examines" over 300 entries. This is a disturbingly inconvenient arrangement that forces the reader to turn to the notes after reading any of the thousands of entries on the off chance that it is one of the few to which Prof. Crystal has added a few words of his own.
More importantly, by definition the title of Fowler's work grows more misleading with each passing year. Fowler's writing is so dated it is difficult for a "modern" English speaker or writer to glean useful usage information from it. His examples seem to be so frequently in the negative that it can be extremely difficult to distinguish proper usage from im-. As a piece of history, you may want this book on your shelf. As a primary source of proper usage information, don't waste your money or your time.
Summary: they went back one too far
Rating: 5
Here's the deal with Fowler's.
1918: Henry Watson Fowler dies.
1926: First irascible version of his "Dictionary of Modern English Usage" published. Owing to the author's idiosyncrasies and clear-headed prescriptions, it earns a place on every writer's shelf.
1965: An new edition comes out, edited by Sir Ernest Gowers. Most people believe Gowers only brought the language up-to-date where absolutely necessary, keeping the spirit of the original intact. In other words, this revision was hailed as welcome and necessary.
1996: Massive overhaul of the text published, edited by the famous Robert W. Burchfield. Burchfield thoroughly changes the language and even the spirit of Fowler's original, resulting in a book that is much more observational than prescriptional. Much of what made the original beloved was excised.
2009: David Crystal digs up the 1926 edition, reprints it, and writes a big honkin' essay at the end, (almost needlessly) justifying the resuscitation of the original.
Thus what we have is generally thought to be superior to the 1996 edition, but I think most writers and editors would have been happy to do without Crystal's contributions and simply had Oxford University Press flood the world with a bunch of reprints of the 1965 edition, which, since that's the one everybody seems to want, is becoming danged hard to find.
Summary: The REAL Fowler, with only one misprinted page
Rating: 5
Fowler's strong and often cranky opinions are all here, expressed in his elegant prose. Notes and other material by David Crystal are all interesting; as always, Crystal knows what he's talking about when he talks about the English language.
The main text of this reprint is an exact copy of my worn, brittle original, except that the new edition ends with the penultimate page, page 741. Page 742 is entirely blank, depriving the reader of Fowler's final entries for "Z", about two-thirds of a page. It looks as though some summer intern or apprentice printer thought that the page had to be blank because it precedes a section of David Crystal's new material.
The book is still entirely worthwhile even without the missing page. One can only wonder what Fowler (and Oxford's printers of yore) would say about the error.
Analogy in Grammar: Form and Acquisition
By James P. Blevins, Juliette Blevins
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:400
* Publication Date:2009-07-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0199547548
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780199547548
Product Description:
In this book, leading researchers in morphology, syntax, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and computational linguistics address central questions about the form and acquisition of analogy in grammar. What kinds of patterns do speakers select as the basis for analogical extension? What types of items are particularly susceptible or resistant to analogical pressures? At what levels do analogical processes operate and how do processes interact? What formal mechanisms are appropriate for modelling analogy? The novel synthesis of typological, theoretical, computational, and developmental paradigms in this volume brings us closer to answering these questions than ever before.
Predication Theory: A Case Study for Indexing Theory (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics)
By Donna Jo Napoli
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:380
* Publication Date:1989-05-26
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521368200
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521368209
Product Description:
Napoli's study takes a refreshing look at the notions of argument and predicate. Recent discussions of predication with Government and Binding theory stress the configurational properties of the phrases involved, and Napoli argues that this has led to proposals for more and more elaborate syntactic structures that still fail to give genuinely explanatory accounts. She presents a convincing case for the idea of predicate as a semantic primitive that cannot be defined simply by looking at the lexicon or simply at semantic structure, and offers a theory of predication where the key to the subject-predicate relationship is theta role assignment. Napoli then offers principles for the coindexing of a predicate with its subject role player. The coindexing principles use Chomsky's 1986 notion of barriers, but this study argues that binding is sensitive to thematic structure rather than to configurational notions such as Government and C-Command. Napoli's approach successfully handles the data traditionally considered in discussions of predication, as well as constructions that are not generally treated in the literature. Although exemplification is from English and Italian, the conclusions apply to all configurational languages.
The Study of Language
By George Yule
* Publisher:Cambridge University Press
* Number Of Pages:228
* Publication Date:1985-11-29
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0521318777
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780521318778
Product Description:
This textbook provides a straightforward and comprehensive survey of the basic issues and topics involved in the study of language. Its twenty chapters range over speculation about the origin of language, the relationship between language and animal communication, the principal concepts involved in linguistic analysis, the new fields of discourse analysis and computer understander systems, sign language, current views on how children acquire language and how adults learn new languages, how languages change over time and how language is affected by various social, cultural and regional factors. Written in a clear and lively style, with frequent examples from English and other languages, this textbook is designed to introduce the non-specialist reader to issues that fascinate and sometimes frustrate professional linguists. Students taking an introductory course on the nature of human language will find the carefully selected study questions, discussion topics and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter particularly useful. Both as a coursebook and as a book for the general reader, The Study of Language as an exciting way to explore how language works and the role it plays in human life.
Summary: Great Book. Fast Shipping
Rating: 5
This book is great. Very informative and helpful. Very good quality when shipped. Shipping was fast. Great overall.
Summary: Great book
Rating: 5
I feel that this a great book. One thing thats great is that the chapters are short enough to get through, especially for those that use the book for college.
Summary: Best choice for an introduction
Rating: 5
Probably the best introduction into the vast field of linguistics. George Yule covers all parts of language studies; and his book is highly readable (actually entertaining) to boot. Highly recommended for undergraduate classes or as an introductory book in general.
Summary: a well-written textbook
Rating: 5
This book makes a very good introductory to linguistics. It is easy to read. The concepts are clearly explained.
Summary: Not worth its weight in sand
Rating: 1
From a student who has studied linguistics in the past, George Yule's book is almost a complete waste of time. He brings up interesting points, describes them, and drops them just as quickly without making any sort of progress. The book has precious few examples of the concepts he is discussing, and his discussion of the concepts themselves is muddy and incomplete. For a much clearer way to learn lingustics, check out Edward Finnegan's "Language: Its Strucuture and Use". There are many other books out there that do a much better job of presenting the theories in linguistics.
The Interactional Instinct: The Evolution and Acquisition of Language
By Namhee Lee, Lisa Mikesell, Anna Dina L. Joaquin, Andrea W. Mates, John H. Schumann
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:248
* Publication Date:2009-05-21
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0195384237
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780195384239
Product Description:
The Interactional Instinct explores the evolution of language from the theoretical view that language could have emerged without a biologically instantiated Universal Grammar. In the first part of the book, the authors speculate that a hominid group with a lexicon of about 600 words could combine these items to make larger meanings. Combinations that are successfully produced, comprehended, and learned become part of the language. Any combination that is incompatible with human mental capacities is abandoned. The authors argue for the emergence of language structure through interaction constrained by human psychology and physiology.
In the second part of the book, the authors argue that language acquisition is based on an "interactional instinct" that emotionally entrains the infant on caregivers. This relationship provides children with a motivational and attentional mechanism that ensures their acquisition of language. In adult second language acquisition, the interactional instinct is no longer operating, but in some individuals with sufficient aptitude and motivation, successful second-language acquisition can be achieved.
The Interactional Instinct presents a theory of language based on linguistic, evolutionary, and biological evidence indicating that language is a culturally inherited artifact that requires no a priori hard wiring of linguistic knowledge.
Learning Through Language In Early Childhood (Open Linguistics)
By Clare Painter
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:356
* Publication Date:2005-10-02
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826478727
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826478726
Product Description:
Language is a child's major tool for learning about the world. Through the taken-for-granted interactions of everyday conversation, a child not only learns the mother tongue, but uses it as a resource for thinking and reasoning. This book presents a rich naturalistic case study of one child's use of language from two-and-a-half to five years, drawing on systemic functional theory to argue that cognitive development is essentially a linguistic process and offering a new description and interpretation of linguistic and cognitive developments during this period. The case study examines the child's changing language in terms of its role in interpreting four key domains of experience - the world of things, the world of events, the world of semiosis (including the inner world of cognition) and the construal of cause and effect. It shows how new linguistic possibilities constitute developments in cognitive resources and prepare the child for later learning in school. The book extends M. A. K. Halliday's theory of language development from the earlier studies of protolanguage and initial grammar, and will be of interest to researchers across a range of disciplines, including systemic functional theory, child language, developmental psychology and educational linguistics.
Relations And Functions Within And Around Language (Open Linguistics)
By Peter Howard Fries, Michael Cummings, David Lockwood, William Spruiell
* Publisher:Continuum International Publishing Group
* Number Of Pages:399
* Publication Date:2005-07
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826478751
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826478757
Product Description:
This book describes language as a network of functional relations involving a context which is also a network of functional relations. The essays in Part I present several perspectives on the theory of language as functional relations. The essays in Part II discuss an oral text using a variety of functional perspectives. All of the essays are by linguists interested in oral and written texts who have achieved international recognition in their fields. Illustrated in this book are cognitive, social construction, social praxis and anthropological approaches to the description of text. Currently in linguistics there is a movement towards careful use of corpora in linguistic and text analysis. This movement has involved the use of written corpora, spoken corpora and corpora which consist of combinations of spoken and written text. But little detailed discussion of the language of a single oral text from multiple perspectives has been published. Most text analyzes address written texts - often literary works. This book is among the first to integrate the analysis of the language of spoken and written texts.
Word Grammar: New Perspectives on a Theory of Language Structure
By Kensei Sugayama, Richard Hudson
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:232
* Publication Date:2006-02-28
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826486452
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826486455
Product Description:
This book is an introduction to Word Grammar, a theory of language structure founded and developed by Dick Hudson. In this theory, language is a cognitive network - a network of concepts, words and meanings containing all the elements of a linguistic analysis. The theory of language is therefore embedded in a theory of knowledge, in which there are no boundaries between one form of knowledge and any other. Contributors to this volume are primarily Word Grammar grammarians from across the world. All the chapters here manifest theoretical potentialities of Word Grammar, exploring how powerful Word Grammar is to offer analysis for linguistic phenomena in various languages. The chapters come from varying perspectives and include work on a number of languages, including English, German, Japanese, Swahili, Turkish and Ancient Greek. Phenomena studied include verbal inflection, case agreement, extraction, construction and code-mixing. This new collection will be of interest to academics encountering Word Grammar for the first time, or for those who are already familiar with this theory and are interested in reading how it has evolved and what its future may hold.
The Development of Language: Functional Perspectives on Species And Individuals (Open Linguistics)
By Geoff Williams, Annabelle Lukin
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:272
* Publication Date:2006-05-10
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826488781
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826488787
* Publisher:Continuum International Publishing Group
* Number Of Pages:272
* Publication Date:2004-07
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0826457584
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780826457585
Product Description:
This book presents a unique range of interdisciplinary work on questions of language development and evolution. It makes visible the significant contribution which meaning-oriented linguistics is making to debates about the origins of language - from the perspective of language evolution in the species as well as language development in the child. As well as linguistics in the systemic functional, or Hallidayan, tradition, the book offers contributions from primatology, psychiatry, sociology and education.
English As a Second Language in the United Kingdom: Linguistic and Educational Context (English Language Teaching Documents, 121)
By C. J. Brumfit
* Publisher:Janus Book Pub/Alemany Pr
* Number Of Pages:208
* Publication Date:1986-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0080315577
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780080315577