Culture and Explosion (Semiotics, Communication and Cognition)
By Juri Lotman
* Publisher:Mouton de Gruyter
* Number Of Pages:195
* Publication Date:2009-09-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:3110218453
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9783110218459
Product Description:
Culture and Explosion is the English translation of the final book written by legendary semiotician Juri Lotman. The volume demonstrates, with copious examples, how culture influences the way that humans experience ""reality"". Lotman's renowned erudition is showcased in a host of well-chosen illustrations from history, literature, art and right across the humanities. Now appearing in English for the very first time, the volume is made accessible to students and researchers in semiotics, cultural/literary studies and Russian studies worldwide, as well as anyone with an interest in understanding contemporary intellectual life.
Summary: Classic Themes Explored in Novel Ways
Rating: 5
Culture and Explosion (Semiotics, Communication and Cognition) is a remarkable contribution to the study of cultures and cultural spaces, semiospheres and the mechanisms of meaning-generation that define these spaces. It is a brilliant conclusion to the body of invaluable contributions made by Juri Mikhailovich Lotman, a scholar whose lifetime of work is characterized not only by extraordinary and original research, but also by unlimited generosity to his students and colleagues.
Excerpt: Culture and Explosion opens with the paradoxical question of how a system (here, the system of culture) can develop and, at the same time, remain true to itself.
In 'Statement of the problem', Lotman draws attention to the relational aspects of his semiotic theory of culture and the notion that culture is not a 'closed' system but, rather, proceeds to a process of self-description only in terms of its relation to the extra-system, which he describes, here, as 'the world beyond the borders of language'. This positioning of culture as but one element within a polylingual semiotic reality is used to introduce the notion of dependency and reciprocity between co-existent systems, neither of which -- alone -- can wholly reflect the 'space of reality'. This inadequacy points to the 'necessity of the other (another person, another language, another culture) and thus produces the need for a form of translation to be effected between systems and at the same time reflects the multilayered complexity of semiotic space and the tensions and boundaries that are generated between the disparate systems that occupy it.
Lotman continues this theme in Chapter 2 where he uses Jakobson's communication model to elaborate on these notions of tension and translatability in the lingual spaces of communication. Differentiating between 'code' and 'language', he suggests that the former is an artificially created structure that implies no history, whereas the latter 'is a code plus its history'. He distinguishes between the linguistic and the lingual, suggesting that 'lingual communication reveals itself to us as the tense intersection between adequate and inadequate lingual acts' and uses the example of an exchange of codes, e.g. 'cat' and 'gato' as a relatively easy translation between two closely related languages, whereas a translation from poetic language to that of music is presented as much more problematic, if not impossible. In these notions of adequacy and inadequacy of the translation act, and the concomitant increase in informativity in the system generated by ambiguity and the apparent impossibility of translation Lotman, here introducing the notion of extra-lingual reality, not only distances himself from common perceptions of the relationships between language and culture, but also begins to sow the seeds of the concept of 'explosion'.
In 'Gradual progress', Lotman returns to the concept of cultural development, exploring this in terms of predictability and unpredictability, continuity and discontinuity and the stability and instability of the system and how these dynamic processes contribute to the gradual or radical development of culture. To gradual processes, he assigns the metaphor of a fast flowing river in spring; to radical ones, he assigns the metaphor of 'a minefield with unexpected explosive points'. That these two are mutually co-dependent, complex and antithetical is demonstrated in the examples Lotman gives of the relationships between the dandy, his artifice and his audience. In this chapter, Lotman also elaborates his view of the positive qualities of 'explosion' as a creative phenomenon reflected in the epoch of the Renaissance or the Enlightenment in contrast to the common perception of 'explosion' as a destructive tendency linked to gunpowder and nuclear fission.
The theme of 'continuity and discontinuity' is elaborated in more detail in chapter 4. Building on the notion of gradual and radical development introduced in the previous chapter, Lotman constructs a complex picture of the unfolding of cultural development in a multilayered synchronic space. Where gradual processes ensure succession, explosive ones ensure innovation. However, the multi-discursive nature of culture ensures that its component parts develop at different rates and, in this sense explosive moments in some layers may be matched by gradual ones in others. In this way, Lotman describes culture as being immersed in a semiotic space that is greater than the sum of its parts and which forms a unified, integrated semiosic mechanism.
In chapter 5, Lotman draws an interesting limitation in relation to the use of metaphor and mathematical models to represent the intersection of semantic spaces and the explosive tension this creates. He suggests, instead, that we have in a mind a mental model which comprises a 'specific semiotic mass whose boundaries are framed by a multiplicity of individual uses'. This notion of the indeterminate structure of the semiosphere and its boundary spaces echoes Lotman's earlier work in Universe of the Mind where the boundaries are described as permeable, filtering mechanisms, which intersect with the 'other' at multiple points and levels rather than boundaries in the sense of a solid line 'drawn in the sand'.
Lotman draws on the writings of Pushkin and the idea of 'inspiration' as a form of creative tension to illustrate the dynamic processes at work in the interactions of the individual in relation to the semiotic mass (that is the semiosphere). He frames 'inspiration' as the product of ambiguous tension in semiosic processes in which understanding is achieved and framed retrospectively as an element of 'discovery' that is simultaneously creative and logical. In a sense, Lotman, here, presents the notion of 'inspiration' as the 'moment of explosion' as an element which, as stated earlier, is 'out of time' and recognizable only in retrospect, at which stage it is no longer viewed as explosive but is framed by its participation in the gradual development of culture.
In 'Thinking reed', Lotman develops his notion of culture's opposition to non-culture which he relates to 'nature'. Lotman uses notions of harmony and disharmony in nature to frame man's disruptive presence. Whilst he acknowledges the signifying acts of animals, Lotman draws on the work of Tyutchev to distinguish these ritualized processes from those of man: 'as a "thinking reed" --he constantly finds himself at odds with the basic laws of his surroundings' whose behavior 'gravitates towards the invention of something new and unpredicted'. Thus, we see in man's capacity to generate a mental model of reality, a unique form of semiosis linked to culture, memory and representation.
In chapter 7, Lotman takes up this notion of representation, focusing on man's use of language and the use of proper names to categories and classify cultural artifacts. He uses this to highlight the concepts of choice, selection and the mental positioning of the individual within the dual framework of 'I' and `Other'. Once again, the distinction between 'one's own' and the 'other' or alien is made, generating a sense of boundary in the individual's social and cultural construction of the world. At the same time, he makes much of the ludic qualities made available to humans in their use of language in the interplay between the general and the specific, the individual and the collective. In 'The fool and the madman', Lotman considers the positioning of semiotic value in terms of 'the norm', however, he introduces the notion of a ternary structure where the more traditional structure of the binary opposition is refrained as a semiotic continuum marked by the extremes of 'the fool' on the one hand and the 'madman' on the other, each of which is balanced or 'measured' against the notion of 'the wiseman' which is the norm. Focusing on the 'madman' as an unpredictable entity Lotman suggests that there are, nevertheless, moments (of explosion) in which the madman is able to present his 'madness' as a moment of genius or effective exploit, e.g. in extreme circumstances, such as war, where the unpredictable behavior of the madman works to his advantage. He draws on examples from folklore, myth, war, chivalric literature and the theatre to demonstrate the use of 'folly' as permissible behavior with alternating semiotic values and as a harbinger of explosive potential.
Whereas in the previous chapter, Lotman focuses on the unpredictability of the text (in the sense of a singular scenario), in chapter 9, 'The text within the text', he turns his attention to the unpredictability of the system as a whole. He argues that semiotic space is populated by multiple systems that are in constant and dynamic interaction not only with each other but also with fragments of those systems which have been 'destroyed' as a result of which these systems are in dialogue not only with themselves but with others with which they frequently collide, occasionally producing a third, new and unpredictable phenomenon. As an interesting example, he refers to the `Frenchification' of the culture of the Russian nobility at the turn of the 18th century and the use of French language by Pushkin and Tolstoy as a reflection of everyday reality of the period, alongside Griboyedov's critique of the practice. In chapter 10, Lotman uses the example of the trope as a destruction or disruption of the norm to further elaborate the
value of the unpredictable as a measurement of cultural development, describing it as a 'complex dynamic reservoir' which constantly pushes 'the boundaries of the permissible'. He presents an interesting range of examples around fashion, cultural values and the 'signifying function of clothing' to demonstrate the relationship between ritualistic behavior on the one hand and eccentricity on the other. Describing this inverted world as 'the dynamics of the non-dynamic' he makes the point that explosive moments may also arise out of unexpected shifts in fashion, ritual, and other forms of behavior which pass beyond the bounds of the norm (e.g. tyranny, role-swapping -- whether by gender, status or intellect, and homosexuality) which are subsequently 'normalized' as forms of social ritual.
In 'The logic of explosion', we are returned to the paradox of language and culture and the struggle to free ourselves from its limits. Lotman writes:
We are immersed in the space of language. Even in the most basic abstract conditions, we cannot free ourselves from this space, which simply envelops us, and yet it is a space of which we are also a part and which, simultaneously, is part of us.
Here, again, Lotman draws a contrast between the seemingly stable, isolated texts of formalism and early structural studies and the heterogeneous, dynamic and (at least partially) chaotic nature of the semiosphere. Lotman presents the work of Charlie Chaplin as an example of 'a chain of sequential explosions, each of which changes the other, creating a dynamic multi-levelled unpredictability'. He points to the transfer of circus language (pantomime and gesture) to the film screen, which then developed into a completely different genre characterized by the sharp contrast between gesture and theme, e.g. the comic origins of pantomime and the depiction of life in the trenches during the First World War. The latter, in turn, paves the way for Chaplin to develop further semiotic distance between his initial forays into film and the complex mélange of language and topic theme apparent in his later movies such as 'The Great Dictator'. Thus, in this final satirical frame, we find traces of the previous semiotic systems framed by circus language and early cinematic slapstick comedy.
In 'The moment of unpredictability' Lotman reiterates the view that the `moment of explosion' is unpredictable not in the sense of randomness but in terms of 'its own collection of equally probable possibilities... from which only one may be realized'. At the point in which the explosive moment is realized, the 'others' are dispersed into semantic space, whereupon they become carriers of semantic difference. In chapter 13, Lotman explores culture from the point of view of its internal structures and external influences. He argues that culture is traditionally viewed as a bounded space and suggests that it is wrong to view culture this way. He posits culture as a dynamic entity which is in constant collision with the extra-cultural sphere within which it is immersed, whose development is the result of a 'constant transposition of internal and external processes'. In this sense, culture is seen to be in constant dialogue not only with itself but also with the greater semiosphere. What is internal is regarded as orderly, one's own, whereas what is outside is regarded as chaotic or alien. The perception of chaos is relative to culture itself and, Lotman suggests, the chaotic space is nevertheless organized in its own terms, albeit in a language unknown to the culture of origin. When the spaces of culture and extra-culture collide in this way, new texts are drawn into the cultural space, generating an act (or multiple acts) of explosion. In the avalanche of possibilities this presents, some elements are assimilated, whilst others are rejected and expelled. Those that are assimilated by the culture contribute, in turn, to the gradual or radical development of the cultural space.
In 'Two forms of dynamic' Lotman returns to the distinction between explosive and gradual processes. He is particularly at pains to emphasize that neither concept should be taken literally. In chapter 15, Lotman returns to the unique human trait of consciousness, contrasting this to the natural impulse of stimulus-response, which he links to the notion of memory and the development of the activity of mental representation and the translation of activity into a sign. The important element here is the notion of abstraction, the unique ability of man to generate meaning independently of the immediacy of the stimulus-response action. However, in this chapter, Lotman does not journey from symptom to language but rather, points to the threshold of meaning previously suggested in the chapter on 'inspiration' which is, here, evidenced as the dream. Interestingly, and almost in analogy to the phrase 'semiotic mass' used in chapter 5, Lotman uses the Russian word klubok (literally 'woollen ball') to describe the tangled web of meaning potentials and the polylingual nature of the dream space. In a beautifully expressed metaphor, he suggests that the space of the dream 'does not immerse us in visual, verbal, musical and other spaces' rather, it immerses us in their 'coalescence'. The 'coalescent' space is unpredictable, uncertain and indeterminate and, in Lotman's word equates to 'zero space' or a space absent of meaning, except in its correlation to the 'carriers of communication' which occupy it and which, in turn, are dependent on the 'interpreting culture' which generates them. To this 'zero space' Lotman assigns the value of an essential function in the development of culture, the provision of a 'reserve of semiotic uncertainty' which may act as a stimulus for creative (explosive) activity.
Following on from this Lotman, focusing on the artistic text, looks again at culture from the point of view of the move from the individual (unique) to the universal (general) and suggests that the structure "I" is one of the basic indices of culture. He points to the rationalist tendency to 'streamline contradictions' and to 'reduce diversity to singularity' but suggests that more needs to be understood about the contradictory nature of the artistic text.
In 'The phenomenon of art' Lotman outlines the transformative interaction between the 'moment of explosion', the modelling of consciousness and the act of memory, which he describes as the 'three layers of consciousness'. Turning from the realm of the dream, he focuses on the nature of art, its relation to freedom of action and, through this its ability to transform the real to the unreal, the illegitimate to the legitimate and the forbidden to the permissible. Art is construed as an experimental domain which creates its own world. As such, and like the inverted world of the trope discussed above, it generates a reservoir of dynamic processes which contribute to the explosive potential of the semiotic space of art. Here, too, Lotman provides with a much greater degree of clarity his understanding of the dynamic processes of the semiotic world.
... the dynamic processes of culture are constructed as a unique pendulum swing between a state of explosion and a state of organization which is realized in gradual processes. The state of explosion is characterized by the moment of equalization of all oppositions. That which is different appears to be the same. This renders possible unexpected leaps into completely different, unpredictable organizational structures. The impossible becomes possible. This moment is experienced out of time, even if, in reality, it stretches across a very wide temporal space. [... This moment concludes by passing into a state of gradual movement. What was united in one integrated whole is scattered into different (opposing) elements. Although, in fact, there was no selection whatsoever (any substitution was made by chance) the past is retrospectively experienced as a choice and as a goal-oriented action. Here, the laws of the gradual processes of development enter into the fray. They aggressively seize the consciousness of culture and strive to embed the transformed picture into memory. Accordingly, the explosion loses its unpredictability and presents itself as the rapid, energetic or even catastrophic development of all the same predictable processes.
In chapter 18, the notion of the 'end' and the principles of continuity and discontinuity are reflected in the stark boundary between life and death. Death is marked out as both the beginning and the end. Lotman speaks of the 'special semantic role of death in the life of man'. It is the boundary which frames all meaningful activity and which, simultaneously, marks the contradiction between life in the general sense and the 'finite life of human existence'. And yet, what is finite, is continued in the memory of the 'son' so that even the boundary of ' death', as it were, is permeable and filtered.
In 'Perspectives', Lotman reiterates the view that explosion is part and parcel of linear dynamic processes. He distinguishes between binary and ternary structures, emphasizing that explosion in the latter takes the form of a specific form of dynamic, whereas in the latter it permeates the multiple layers of semiotic space at different speeds and different intervals, such that whilst its effects are felt throughout all the layers of culture, traces of the old remain to which the ternary system strives to adapt itself, transporting them from periphery to centre. In binary structures, by contrast, the explosion penetrates life in its entirety, replacing all that previously existed in an apocalyptic manner. In these concluding remarks, Lotman expresses the hope that the events of the early 1990s in Russia reflect a shift in Russian culture from a binary structure towards a more accommodating ternary system, capable of generating renewal and innovation.
In the final chapter, Lotman offers his concluding remarks on the paradox of cultural development, returning to his initial question as to how a system (culture) can develop and at the same time, remain true to itself. He argues that the starting point of any semiotic system is not the isolated sign or model but, rather, semiotic space which itself is characterized as a 'conglomeration of elements whose relations with each other may be encountered in a variety of ways'. This interconnectivity of the system and the polylingual elements which populate it can, he argues, only be understood 'in terms of the ratio of each element to the other and all elements to the whole'. The foregrounding of the relational and interactional elements of culture in its immersion in semiotic space, and the sense that in these terms, culture is viewed as embedded in a semiotic network far greater and more inherently dynamic than itself, coupled with the heterogeneity and explosive potential of that structure, has important implications for the future study not only of culture, communication, and new trends in technology but also for the generation of new strands of interdisciplinary research into the ever expanding world of semiosis. In particular, this dynamic systemic approach to cultural analysis and semiosis offers interesting potential in the realm of new media technologies, cultural studies, and recent streams of semiotic study such as multimodality, nexus analysis, semiotic remediation, and, of course modeling systems theory itself.
In the closing chapters of the book, Lotman reflects on endings and new beginnings. It is particularly poignant in the titling of chapter 18 -- 'The end! How sonorous is this word' if we consider that at the time the book was produced, Lotman himself was sufficiently ill that this book was dictated rather than written by him and, indeed, he died less than a year after the book was published. In addition, his wife of many years had died shortly before the book was produced.
And, last but certainly not least, the former Soviet bloc was undergoing a period of immense change. The final chapter, 'In place of conclusions' is particularly interesting as Lotman, rather than drawing conclusions, invites us, instead, to look forward ... with an eye to the past, and our feet firmly in the present.
And to finish, a parting remark made by Professor Mikhail Lotman in the closing discussions of the 1st International Conference on Semiosphere, which may serve to illustrate Lotman's contribution to our ongoing researches:
"For my father there were two types of scholar - the one who has the questions and the one who has the answers. He belonged to the first."
Syntatic Aspects of Topic and Comment (Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today)
By Andre Meinunger
* Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Co
* Number Of Pages:255
* Publication Date:2000-11
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:9027227594
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9789027227591
Product Description
This title focuses on the syntactic behaviour of argument noun phrases depending on their discourse status. The main language of consideration is German, but it is shown that the observations can be carried over to other languages. The claim is that discourse-new arguments remain inside the VP where they are base generated. The hierarchy of argument projection is claimed to be fixed within and across languages. There is major attention to direct objects. It is then argued that discourse-old undergo raising to agreement projections.
When Words Lose Their Meaning: Constitutions and Reconstitutions of Language, Character, and Community
By James Boyd White
* Publisher:University Of Chicago Press
* Number Of Pages:394
* Publication Date:1985-10-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0226895025
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780226895024
Product Description:
Through fresh readings of texts ranging from Homer's Iliad, Swift's Tale of a Tub, and Austen's Emma through the United States Constitution and McCulloch v. Maryland, James Boyd White examines the relationship between an individual mind and its language and culture as well as the "textual community" established between writer and audience. These striking textual analyses develop a rhetoric—a "way of reading" that can be brought to any text but that, in broader terms, becomes a way of learning that can shape the reader's life.
"In this ambitious and demanding work of literary criticism, James Boyd White seeks to communicate 'a sense of reading in a new and different way.' . . . marriage of lawyerly acumen and classically trained literary sensibility—equally evident in his earlier work,The Legal Imagination—gives the best parts of When Words Lose Their Meaninga gravity and moral earnestness rare in the pages of contemporary literary criticism."—Roger Kimball, American Scholar
"James Boyd White makes a state-of-the-art attempt to enrich legal theory with the insights of modern literary theory. Of its kind, it is a singular and standout achievement. . . . selections span the whole range of legal, literary, and political offerings, and his writing evidences a sustained and intimate experience with these texts. Writing with natural elegance, White manages to be insightful and inciteful. Throughout, his timely book is energized by an urgent love of literature and law and their liberating potential. His passion and sincerity are palpable."—Allan C. Hutchinson,Yale Law Journal
"Undeniably a unique and significant work. . . .When Words Lose Their Meaningis a rewarding book by a distinguished legal scholar. It is a showcase for the most interesting sort of inter-disciplinary work: the kind that brings together from traditionally separate fields not so much information as ideas and approaches."—R. B. Kershner, Jr., Georgia Review
"White makes a state-of-the-art attempt to enrich legal theory with the insights of modern literary theory. . . . Writing with natural elegance, White manages to be insightful and inciteful."--Allan C. Hutchinson, Yale Law Journal
Foreign-Language Learning with Digital Technology (Education and Digital Technology)
By Michael Evans
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:224
* Publication Date:2009-04-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:1847060412
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9781847060419
Product Description:
In the last decade educational policies across the world have recognised ICT as a key vehicle for shaping foreign language learning at school and university. The focus of this book aims to fill a gap in understanding the role of ICT in foreign language learning.There is an apparent paradox in the fact that while digital technology is endlessly innovating and improving itself as a tool to support teaching and learning, the cognitive process of language learning itself remains perennially the same. However, it is also true that the medium has created new learning opportunities which were not possible before and therefore introduces new elements into the cognitive process of foreign language learning. The book's overall aim of examining foreign language learning primarily from the user's perspective (both teacher and learner) is broken down into 2 underlying questions: How does digital technology support existing foreign language learning needs and processes? What new learning experiences does it entail for the learner?More specifically, this book aims to meet the following objectives: To situate new insights into the value of digital technology for FL learning within the context of evidence from prior research and of educational policy-making; To present and examine key pedagogical uses of digital technology in relation to effective foreign language learning by pupils; To provide an in-depth description of the use of a range of digital media; To combine practical ideas for teaching and learning with critical analysis of evidence; And, to bring together analysis of technology-focused language learning across different sectors (secondary, university, TEFL) and in three national anglophone contexts (England, Australia and USA). This series takes a scholarly look at the significant impact digital technology has had on teaching. Each book takes a different subject and discusses the specific implications the increased used of digital technology as a tool for learning has on their particular topic.
Metaphor: A Practical Introduction
By Zoltan Kovecses
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:400
* Publication Date:2010-03-12
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0195374940
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780195374940
Product Description:
Combining up-to-date scholarship with clear and accessible language and helpful exercises, Metaphor: A Practical Introduction is an invaluable resource for all readers interested in metaphor. This second edition includes two new chapters--on 'metaphors in discourse' and 'metaphor and emotion' --along with new exercises, responses to criticism and recent developments in the field, and revised student exercises, tables, and figures.
Summary: Excellent, highly readable summary of research in conceptual metaphor
Rating: 5
Excellent book. Provides a clear and concise overview of current understanding of metaphor. Much more accessible than Lakoff's presentation in Woman, Fire, and Dangerous Things, although Lakoff is due significant credit for his seminal work in showing that metaphors are not just linguistic constructs but truly conceptual. Discusses cultural aspects, conceptual metaphor in idioms, restrictions on how metaphors are mapped, and theories of how metaphors relate to each other and metonymy.
Summary: Essential book for writers, teachers and thinkers.
Rating: 5
This is a great introduction to Metaphor and its practical uses. Although I'm interested in the scientific theory and research aspects of it, I am more interested in using these ideas to help students to become better writers. This book inspired further research, especially works by Lakoff, Turner, Johnson, Black, Pinker and their various collaborations over the years. As a writer, it provided a road map through the labyrinth of understanding and creating quality literature.
Kovecses is a natural teacher, and each chapter builds on the previous with clear accessibility. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in literature, writing or how our minds work. Metaphor: A Practical Introduction is now included in the intermediate fiction writing courses at Writers' Village University for 2008.
Summary: Thorough, within its limits
Rating: 3
The preface of this book says it's about "what has happened in the past two decades in the cognitive linguistic study of metaphor." I hadn't read a book on the subject of metaphor since 1978, so the precision of that comment went totally over my head. I'm writing this review so that the same doesn't happen to you.
The cognitive linguistic (CL) approach to metaphor is based on the work of Lakoff and Johnson (with whom the author of this book has worked, and to whom he dedicates the book). It emphasizes the conceptual, rather than merely linguistic, character of metaphor. It regards metaphor as a "mapping" from a "source (conceptual) domain" to a "target domain". So a statement like "I defended my argument" can be explained by a conceptual metaphor ARGUMENT IS WAR, where "argument" is the target and "war" is the source. The same mapping also underlies many other expressions (e.g., "He won the argument"). Using one concept to explain many expressions (and even non-linguistic instantiations) is supposed to be a special benefit of the CL approach.
The book seems to be a very comprehensive exposition of the CL theory of metaphor. Metonymy is also discussed quite thoroughly. There are exercises after each chapter, together with a complete answer key. But that's as far as it goes. The CL theory is one theory of metaphor among several, and you won't learn anything about any of the others (other than a bit about "blending") from this book.
Some of book's aplications of the CL approach were pretty neat, including the discussions of complex abstract systems (Ch. 10), pedagogical applications (Ch. 14) and historical semantics and grammar (Ch. 15). But it's hard to tell from this book whether the theory really has the "scientific" quality to which it seems to aspire (as evidenced by, among other things, its mathematical-sounding jargon: "domains", "mappings" etc.)
In particular: The book names hundreds of conceptual metaphors, as if they have some objective existence. But it leaves a lot unexplained. How can you know that a particular conceptual metaphor is the correct one to invoke in a given case, to the exclusion of others or even just in preference to others? (BTW, the exercises often ask you to do just that.) When a name is given to a conceptual metaphor, does this mean that the source domain and its mapping to the target have been verified by historical research? Does the giving of a name suggest, as with the naming of species in modern biology, that some effort has gone into verifying that there really is a distinct species, with specific features that can be reproducibly distinguished? Or are the names more ad hoc, and bestowed according to individual taste (or the taste of Lakoff and his clique)?
The book never addresses such questions, but the author's attributions of conceptual metaphors provide some clue. They're often arbitrary or downright bizarre. For example, he cites "The sight filled them with joy," "She couldn't contain her joy any longer," and "I was bursting with happiness," as examples of HAPPINESS IS A FLUID IN A CONTAINER (p. 86). OK, fluids are plausible here, though couldn't one also be filled with solids? Next he mentions "I couldn't keep my happiness to myself," "She gave way to her feelings of happiness," "His feelings of joy broke loose," and "He couldn't hold back tears of joy," as examples of HAPPINESS IS A CAPTIVE ANIMAL (id.). Where is the necessity of invoking a captive animal to explain these? Fluids could do just as well for most of them. Moreover, since we're told (at p. 16) that the "central idea" of the CL school is that the human body is the most important source of conceptual metaphors, excretion seems at least as appropriate a source for these metaphors as a captive animal. However, the author doesn't offer any justification for invoking the captive animal concept over any competing alternatives -- in fact, he doesn't mention any alternatives at all.
Such examples left me with the feeling that the CL theory is just as subjective as literary criticism and other traditional approaches to metaphor, but with an added layer of scientific pretension. That doesn't mean it can't produce occasional insights, but the pretension is irritating -- and misleading. Rather than having the relative rigor found in some branches of linguistics, CL theory of metaphor seems like just a lot of hand-waving (and a bit too much deference to Lakoff & Johnson). I'm not qualified to determine whether this is more a reflection of the theory per se or of the book's exposition of it, but it's disappointing in either case.
Speech Acts Across Cultures: Challenges to Communication in a Second Language (Studies on Language Acquisition)
By Susan M. Gars, Joyce Neu
* Publisher:Mouton de Gruyter
* Number Of Pages:350
* Publication Date:2006-10-30
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:3110191253
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9783110191257
Product Description:
This book investigates the notion of Speech Act from a cross-cultural perspective. The starting point for this book is the assumption that speech acts are realized from culture to culture in different ways and that these differences may result in communication difficulties that range from the humorous to the serious. Importantly, a recurring theme in this volume has to do with the need to verify the form, the function and the constraining variables of speech acts as a prerequisite for dealing with them in the classroom.
The book deals with three major areas of Speech Act research: 1) Methodological Issues, 2) Speech Acts in a second language, and 3) Applications. In the first section authors discuss general issues of methodology and present data in an effort to detail the efficacy of different methodologies. Research clearly shows the effect of methodology on the results. This section is followed by a discussion of specific speech acts, including speech acts and strategy use that have as their goal the creation and maintenace of solidarity (i.e. greetings, compliments, apologies) and speech acts that involve face-threatening acts (i.e.complaints, favor-asking, suggestions). In the final section, authors consider applications of speech act research within the context of advertising and business relationships.
The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections, Second Edition
By C. Edwards, L. Gandini, G. Forman
* Publisher:Elsevier Science
* Number Of Pages:520
* Publication Date:1998-04-21
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:156750311X
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9781567503111
Product Description:
The city-run early childhood program of Reggio Emilia, Italy, has become recognized and acclaimed as one of the best systems of education in the world. Over the past forty years, educators there have evolved a distinctive innovative approach that supports children's well-being and fosters their intellectual development through a systematic focus on symbolic representation. Young children (from birth to age six) are encouraged to explore their environment and express themselves through many "languages," or modes of expression, including words, movement, drawing, painting, sculpture, shadow play, collage, and music. Leading children to surprising levels of symbolic skill and creativity, the system is not private and elite but rather involves full-day child care open to all, including children with disabilities.
This new Second Edition reflects the growing interest and deepening reflection upon the Reggio approach, as well as increasing sophistication in adaptation to the American context. Included are many entirely new chapters and an updated list of resources, along with original chapters revised and extended. The book represents a dialogue between Italian educators who founded and developed the system and North Americans who have considered its implications for their own settings and issues. The book is a comprehensive introduction covering history and philosophy, the parent perspective, curriculum and methods of teaching, school and system organization, the use of space and physical environments, and adult professional roles including special education. The final section describes implications for American policy and professional development and adaptations in United States primary, preschool, and child care classrooms.
Summary: An excellent book about the Reggio Emilia approach
Rating: 4
This was a very thorough discussion and analysis of the Reggio Emilia approach. It's basically a compilation of individual perspectives - of American and Italian views and explanations of the approach. If you want to learn more about Reggio Emilia, this is a good choice. It's just a bit lengthy at 488 pages. It's written in a simple style (except for one chapter by an American) so it's easy to read. Nice pictures throughout.
Summary: The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach Advanced Reflections, Second Edition
Rating: 5
This book is a must for anyone interested in the Reggio Emilia approach. I have had an opportunity recently to visit Reggio Emilia and study at the Loris Malaguzzi centre. This book expresses the sentiments and understandings of Loris Malaguzzi who has cultivated this highly intellectual yet natual approach to guiding and supporting children as they learn about themselves and the place where they live and are part of. The culture, history and food of this little town can not be separated from the educational approach developed here after the war. This book expresses the dialogue of those involved with Reggio children, firstly Loris Malaguzzi as well as other world renown speakers and educators such as Howard Gardner, Lella Gandini, Carolyn Edwards, George Forman, Lillian Katz, Vea Vecchi and Rebecca New.The role of the Pedagogista is explained and supported in depth. I highly recommend this book above all other resources when exploring the Reggio Emilia approach.
Summary: Muddle Through for an Inspiring Result
Rating: 4
The Hundred Languages of Children is a fascinating philosophy originating in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia about 50 years ago. The "hundred languages" refer to how many ways children express themselves, or modes of expression. It's not just with words, but movement, drawing, collages, music, sculpture, etc. Reggio has gone through continuous reform and updating, as the approach relies heavily on questioning, reflection, research, and adaptation.
This book discusses the critical aspects of the philosophy such as community involvement, constructivist environment, teacher collegiality and heavy/various means of documentation of the educational process.
I was intrigued by the similarities of Joe Renzulli and Sally Reiss' work at UCONN, with their enrichment learning and teaching model. In addition, it is evident that the Reggio philosophy has had a major impact on America concerning expansion of earlier childcare or preschool, and the least restrictive environment legislation for children with disabilities.
The book is not really for leisure reading, but you will be inspired by its content. The read is for educators, and for anyone who is concerned about education.
Summary: Powerful, Knowledge Building, Thought Provoking
Rating: 5
Powerful, Knowledge Building, Thought Provoking...these are a few words that may come to your mind as you read The Hundred Languages of Children. The book is a must read for all educators, especially those that work with primary age children. It will make you reflect on your own practices as an educator and rethink your philosophy of education. One Hundred Languages of Children is an overview of the approaches used in Reggio Emilia's schools in Italy. The focus of the book centers around the roles of the teacher, children, parents, and community in a learner centered environment. Each stakeholder plays an important role in the processes of the child's learning experience. The children are encouraged to explore their environment through movement, dancing, singing, music, drawing and other modules of expression. One Hundred Languages of Children provides an excellent insight in ways to engage children in problem solving, communication, and exploring possibilities.
Summary: It's philosophical and complex
Rating: 4
Thought-provoking. It's not an "easy" read but well worth the effort if you appreciate children and their thinking. The writing is pretty complex and deep - which makes it a great book for ongoing reflection and discussion. This book offers understanding and insight into an alternative approach to educating young children. The high regard for children as thinkers, emphasis on professional collaboration, recognizion of different "languages" (modes?)for learning, attention to aesthetics and environmental factors, and genuine support for children and their parents to play an active role in education is defintiely refreshing.
Pragmatic Competence (Mouton Series in Pragmatics)
By Naoko Taguchi
* Publisher:Mouton de Gruyter
* Number Of Pages:364
* Publication Date:2009-09-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:3110218542
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9783110218541
Product Description:
In the disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition (SLA), the study of pragmatic competence has been driven by several fundamental questions: What does it mean to become pragmatically competent in a second language (L2)? How can we examine pragmatic competence to make inference of its development among L2 learners? In what ways do research findings inform teaching and assessment of pragmatic competence? This book explores these key issues in Japanese as a second/foreign language.
The Edge of Meaning
By James Boyd White
* Publisher:University Of Chicago Press
* Number Of Pages:296
* Publication Date:2003-04-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0226894800
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780226894805
Product Description:
Certain questions are basic to the human condition: how we imagine the world, and ourselves and others within it; how we confront the constraints of language and the limits of our own minds; and how we use imagination to give meaning to past experiences and to shape future ones. These are the questions James Boyd White addresses in The Edge of Meaning, exploring each through its application to great works of Western culture—Huckleberry Finn, the Odyssey, and the paintings of Vermeer among them. In doing so, White creates a deeply moving and insightful book and presents an inspiring conception of mind, language, and the essence of living.
Summary: The Edge of Writing
Rating: 5
James Boyd White has crafted another excellent exploration of the intersections of writing, law, culture, and society. A must read for those interested both in the art of writing well and in enhancing the ability to understand the various meanings contained in specific texts. While his specific areas of interest are Classical Studies and Law, the precise methods he uses apply to writers everywhere. Want to give an edge to your writing? Then read, "The Edge of Meaning."
Constituent Structure (Oxford Surveys in Syntax & Morphology)
By Andrew Carnie
* Publisher:Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages:320
* Publication Date:2010-03-05
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0199583455
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780199583454
Product Description:
This book explores the empirical and theoretical aspects of constituent structure in natural language syntax. It surveys a wide variety of functionalist and formalist theoretical approaches, from dependency grammars and Relational Grammar to Lexical Functional Grammar, Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar, and Minimalism. It describes the traditional tests for constituency and the formal means for representing them in phrase structure grammars, extended phrase structure grammars, X-bar theory, and set theoretic bare phrase structure. In doing so it provides a clear, thorough, and rigorous axiomatic description of the structural properties of constituent trees.
Andrew Carnie considers the central controversies on constituent structure. Is it, for example, a primitive notion or should it be derived from relational or semantic form? Do sentences have a single constituency or multiple constituencies? Does constituency operate on single or multiple dimensions? And what exactly is the categorial content of constituent structure representations? He identifies points of commonality as well as important theoretical differences among the various approaches to constituency, and critically examines the strengths and limitations of competing frameworks.
This new edition includes textual revisions as well as a new final chapter and ensures that Constituent Structure remains the definitive guide to constituency for advanced undergraduates and graduate students, as well as theoretical linguists of all persuasions in departments of linguistics, cognitive science, computational science, and related fields.
Teaching English Language Learners in Career and Technical Education Programs (Teaching English Language Learners Across the Curriculum)
By Victor M. Hernández-Gantes, William Blank
* Publisher:Routledge
* Number Of Pages:256
* Publication Date:2008-08-13
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0415957583
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780415957588
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0415957575
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780415957571
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0203894391
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780203894392
Product Description:
Exploring the unique challenges of vocational education, this book provides simple and straightforward advice on how to teach English Language Learners in today's Career and Technical Education programs. The authors' teaching framework and case studies draw from common settings in which career and technical educators find themselves working with ELLs—in the classroom, in the laboratory or workshop, and in work-based learning settings. By integrating CTE and academic instruction, and embedding career development activities across the curriculum, readers will gain a better understanding of the challenges of teaching occupationally-oriented content to a diverse group of learners in multiples settings.
Contents:
Teaching English Language Learners in Career and Technical Education Programs
Book Cover
Title
Copyright
Contents
Figures
Tables
Series Introduction
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part 1 Your English Language Learner
1.1 Orientation
1.2 The Process of English Language Learning and What to Expect
1.3 Deciding on the Best ESOL Program
1.4 Teaching for English Language Development
1.5 Not All ELLs are the Same
1.6 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
1.7 Not All Parents are the Same: Home–School Communication
1.8 English Language Learners with Special Needs
Part 2 The Changing Landscape of Career and Technical Education: Implications for English Language Learners
2.1 From Vocational Education to Career and Technical Education
2.2 Career and Technical Education: Learning about, through, for, and at Work
2.3 Nature of Teaching and Learning in Career and Technical Education Programs
Part 3 Teaching English Language Learners in Career and Technical Education Programs
3.1 A Starting Point
3.2 Using Interactive Instructional Strategies in the Classroom
3.3 Using Interactive Demonstration Strategies
3.4 English Language Learner Strategies for Work-Based Learning
3.5 A Challenging Task
Resources
Glossary*
Appendix A* Strategies for Working Effectively With Special Needs Students
Appendix B General Suggestions for Working with ELLs
Notes
References
Index
Using Talk Effectively in the Primary Classroom (David Fulton Books)
By Richard Eke, John Lee
* Publisher:David Fulton Publishers
* Number Of Pages:144
* Publication Date:2008-10-24
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0415342813
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780415342810
Product Description:
Drawing on their research into the quality, quantity and type of talk that happens in the everyday primary classroom, the authors offer insights into the most effective ways of using talk to improve teaching and learning. They consider broad classroom-based issues, such as:
* what is important about talk?
* what children know about talk when they get to school
* the voice of authority and the voice of the learner
* whole class teaching for diversity
* the experience of boys and girls, and children with special needs
* using talk in the Literacy and Numeracy Hours
* using talk in science and ICT.
Packed full of quotes from teachers and pupils in action, this innovative guide presents a range of practical ways that teachers can develop their interactions with their pupils to raise standards in all primary schools.
Table of Contents
PART I - USING TALK IN THE CLASSROOM
Ch. 1. What we think is really important about talk.
Ch. 2. The talk accomplishments of children starting primary school
Ch. 3. Whole class teaching- debates and data
Ch. 4. A focus on utterance
Ch. 5. Talk across the curriculum
PART II - USING TALK IN THE CURRICULUM
Ch. 6. Teaching the Literacy Hour
Ch. 7. Teaching of Numeracy
Ch. 8. Teaching science
Ch. 9. Teaching of contemporary ICT
Ch. 10. Conclusions -Teaching and learning for tomorrow
The Linguistics Enterprise: From knowledge of language to knowledge in linguistics (Linguistik Aktuell / Linguistics Today)
By Martin Everaert, Tom Lentz, Hannah de Mulder, 貀stein Nilsen, Arjen Zondervan
* Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Company
* Number Of Pages:379
* Publication Date:2010-01-15
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:9027255334
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9789027255334
Product Description:
The articles in this volume present a valuable addition to answering three important questions about knowledge in linguistics: What is knowledge in linguistics, how is it acquired and how is it put to use? Apart from the data on the specific phenomena addressed in the articles, the book presents insight into the palette of present-day linguistics. In this way, it aims to break open the division of linguistics into subfields, and thereby to make cross-fertilization possible.
The Syntactic Licensing of Ellipsis (Linguistik Aktuell / Linguistics Today)
By Lobke Aelbrecht
* Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Company
* Number Of Pages:230
* Publication Date:2010-01-27
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:9027255326
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9789027255327
Product Description:
This monograph presents a theory of ellipsis licensing in terms of Agree and applies it to several elliptical phenomena in both English and Dutch. The author makes two main claims: The head selecting the ellipsis site is checked against the head licensing ellipsis in order for ellipsis to occur, and ellipsis - i.e., sending part of the structure to PF for non-pronunciation - occurs as soon as this checking relation is established. At that point, the ellipsis site becomes inaccessible for further syntactic operations. Consequently, this theory explains the limited extraction data displayed by 'Dutch modals complement ellipsis' as well as British English do: These ellipses allow subject extraction out of the ellipsis site, but not object extraction. The analysis also extends to phenomena that do not display such a restricted extraction, such as sluicing, VP ellipsis, and pseudogapping. Hence, this work is a step towards a unified analysis of ellipsis.
New Discourse on Language: Functional Perspectives on Multimodality, Identity, and Affiliation
By Monika Bednarek, J. R. Martin
* Publisher:Continuum
* Number Of Pages:269
* Publication Date:2010-02-14
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:1847064833
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9781847064837
Product Description:
Martin and Bednarek address the need for innovative analyses of multi-modal discourse, identity and affiliation within functional linguistics. "New Discourse on Language" addresses the need for innovative analyses of multi-modal discourse, identity and affiliation within functional linguistics. The chapters in this volume are connected by their common underlying theoretical approach, Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and by their focus on semantic variation (across modalities of communication and between speakers) as well as the negotiation of identity and affiliation. The analyses focus on a diverse range of texts from very different contexts, using analytic techniques that are based on the latest research in this field. They represent a wealth of exploratory, innovative and challenging perspectives, and are a key contribution to the extension of systemic-functional theory to the analysis of multimodality, identity and affiliation. The volume is of interest to linguists, applied linguists, semioticians, and communication theorists.
Language and Equilibrium
By Prashant Parikh
* Publisher:The MIT Press
* Number Of Pages:360
* Publication Date:2010-03-31
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0262013452
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780262013451
Product Description:
In Language and Equilibrium, Prashant Parikh offers a new account of meaning for natural language. He argues that equilibrium, or balance among multiple interacting forces, is a key attribute of language and meaning and shows how to derive the meaning of an utterance from first principles by modeling it as a system of interdependent games.
His account results in a novel view of semantics and pragmatics and describes how both may be integrated with syntax. It considers many aspects of meaning—including literal meaning and implicature—and advances a detailed theory of definite descriptions as an application of the framework.
Language and Equilibrium is intended for a wide readership in the cognitive sciences, including philosophers, linguists, and artificial intelligence researchers as well as neuroscientists, psychologists, and economists interested in language and communication.
Bilingual By Choice: Raising Kids in Two (or More!) Languages
By Virginie Raguenaud
* Publisher:Nicholas Brealey Publishing
* Number Of Pages:240
* Publication Date:2009-10-25
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:1857885260
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9781857885262
Product Description:
More and more people-- hundreds of millions around the world-- are living in bilingual homes. In the U.S. alone, more than 54 million people over the age of 5 speak a language other than English at home. Yet once children enter school, the pull towards one language becomes stronger and maintaining the bilingual advantage requires a serious family commitment-- a bilingual choice.
The good news is it's worth it. Research shows that bilingual children are known to have more social, cultural and economic opportunities as they grow to adulthood and that learning a second language from birth can even result in protection against Alzheimer's later in life. Bilingual By Choice provides families with specific activities, games and insights that will show them how to not only teach their kids more than one language but also to help their kids retain and develop those language skills.
For parents, educators, immigrants and expatriates, Bilingual By Choice deals directly with the obstacles to sustaining a second language, including unsupportive relatives, issues at school, frequent relocations and discrimination, countering each one with the author's firsthand experience with both sides of the growing-up-bilingual journey, as a child and a parent. Commit to the choice and help your children become bilingual-- for life.
Summary: An Educator's Must Read!
Rating: 5
If you ever wondered what it is like to raise children bilingual this book, in its free flowing pages easily gives you an interesting insight. As an ESL teacher I found Bilingual By Choice to be essential in creating lesson plans and relating to the life of the children I teach. However, the prose is not simply a guide book for parents and teacher, but rather a fun read and an important perspective on learning about third culture kids and diversity in a multicultural world.
Summary: Well Researched Book
Rating: 5
Last year Virginie asked me for a quote to use in her book, as I am a naturopath doctor, author of the book "Beyond Natural Cures" and also a mother of three tri-lingual children. When the book came out this year-I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Virginie's research and footnotes. This book is a wonderful companion to parents and an inspiration to parents who would like to know the value of teaching a second language to their child. Thank you Virginie for this gift to humanity.Beyond Natural Cures
Summary: Finally! A clear, practical guide for multilingual families (and those who work with them!)
Rating: 5
This is the clearest, most practical guide I've ever read for parents wondering about the effects of multilingualism in the home. In today's globalizing world, more and more families have parents who speak different "mother tongues." In other homes, the language used at home may not be the language spoken in the dominant surrounding culture. Parents wonder, "Is it OK to teach a child different languages at the same time? What happens if I do? What happens if I don't? If I do,what are some good strategies?"
"Bilingual by Choice" not only gives clear answers to these questions based on solid research but the material is presented in an engaging, personal, and very readable style. It is a key book for educators who work with bi and multilingual children to read as well. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Grammar as Science
By Richard K. Larson
* Publisher:The MIT Press
* Number Of Pages:432
* Publication Date:2010-01-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:026251303X
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780262513036
Review
"Larson's book is an engaging and delightfully lucid introduction to the scientific nature of linguistic argumentation. While thoroughly covering the basics of syntax, it also shows students explicitly how to 'think like a linguist.' Students who use this book will come away with an extraordinarily strong grasp of the real underpinnings of linguistics." --Peggy Speas, Department of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst "What makes modern generative linguistics a science, and an interesting one at that, is a subtle interaction among several factors: the questions that it asks, the abstractions that it makes to answer these questions, the technical apparatus it uses to make these questions precise, the evidence it uses to adjudicate between different answers, and the aesthetic that animates it when putting all these ingredients together. Rich Larson is the perfect guide into these complex matters and his book an ideal roadmap. Though written for the neophyte, even the cognoscenti will benefit from his careful, clear, verbal, and visual exposition of what makes linguistics one of the great intellectual success stories of recent times." --Norbert Hornstein, Department of Linguistics, University of Maryland "Grammar as Science is an excellent textbook for an introductory syntax course, serving both intended linguistics majors and the general education population equally well. There isn't anything quite like it in the market. If I ever use a textbook, I would use this one." --Jorge Hankamer, Department of Linguistics, University of California, Santa Cruz
Product Description:
This introductory text takes a novel approach to the study of syntax. Grammar as Science offers an introduction to syntax as an exercise in scientific theory construction. Syntax provides an excellent instrument for introducing students from a wide variety of backgrounds to the principles of scientific theorizing and scientific thought; it engages general intellectual themes present in all scientific theorizing as well as those arising specifically within the modern cognitive sciences. The book is intended for students majoring in linguistics as well as nonlinguistics majors who are taking the course to fulfill undergraduate requirements.
Grammar as Science covers such core topics in syntax as phrase structure, constituency, the lexicon, inaudible elements, movement rules, and transformational constraints, while emphasizing scientific reasoning skills. The individual units are organized thematically into sections that highlight important components of this enterprise, including choosing between theories, constructing explicit arguments for hypotheses, and the conflicting demands that push us toward expanding our technical toolkit on the one hand and constraining it on the other.
Grammar as Science is constructed as a "laboratory science" course in which students actively experiment with linguistic data. Syntactica, a software application tool that allows students to create and explore simple grammars in a graphical, interactive way, will be available online in conjunction with the book. Students are encouraged to "try the rules out," and build grammars rule-by-rule, checking the consequences at each stage.
Case, Typology and Grammar (Typological Studies in Language)
By Anna Siewierska, Jae Jung Song
* Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Co
* Number Of Pages:395
* Publication Date:1998-05
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:9027229376
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9789027229373
Preface
The 15 papers in this volume have been written in honour of Barry John Blake,
Foundation Professor of Linguistics at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
to commemorate his 60th birthday. The title of the volume and the contents of the
contributions reflect the three themes that have played a dominant role in Barry’s
linguistic work.
Born in Ascot Vale, Victoria, Australia in 1937, Barry received his BA (honours)
in English Language and Latin in 1958 from the University of Melbourne. In 1960
—after a one-year stint as a secondary school teacher of English, Latin and Ancient
History—he went to work for the Department of Defence, initially as a linguist and
later as a language training officer. In 1966 he accepted a position as Australian
Institute of Aboriginal Studies research fellow at Monash University (in the first
linguistic department of Australia), which took him to western Queensland to work
on three languages: Kalkatungu, Pitta-Pitta and Yalarnnga. He obtained MA and
Ph.D degrees from Monash University in 1968 and 1975, respectively. He taught
at Monash University from 1970 till 1987. In recognition of his research achievements,
in 1987 he became a fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences. In 1988
he took up the Foundation Chair in Linguistics at La Trobe University.
Barry’s research for the last thirty years has been devoted to the study of Australian
Aboriginal languages. His numerous publications include: descriptive grammars
of individual languages (Kalkatungu and Pitta-Pitta), pan-Australian surveys of
aspects of clause structure, theory specific analyses of particular phenomena in
individual languages and across-languages, works on the genetic classification of
Australian languages and more popular accounts of the history and nature of Australian
languages.
Barry’s research on language classification has put to rest the long standing
debate among Australianists as to the existence of a genetic as opposed to merely
typological distinction between the Pama–Nyungan and non-Pama–Nyungan languages.
By demonstrating that the verb pronominal prefix forms in a range of non-
Pama–Nyungan languages could have evolved from a single proto-language, he has
provided strong evidence for the genetic unity of the non-Pama–Nyungan languages,
on the one hand, and the Pama-Nyungan languages, on the other. This work on
pronouns resulted in the establishing of a set of proto-pronouns for the non-Pama-
Nyungan languages in addition to the proto-Australian pronouns reconstructed earlier
byR.M.W. Dixon. The implications of there being two separate proto-languages
in Australia are, needless to say, highly significant and will undoubtedly constitute
an imporatant topic of future research on Australian languages.
While Barry has been concerned with diverse facets of the structure of Australian
languages, as epitomized in his 1987 book Australian Aboriginal Grammar (London:
Croom Helm), the theme which has most consistently reoccurred throughout
hiswork is case. Given the rich concentration of inflectional case languages in Australia,
this is not altogether surprising. As is well known, most Australian languages
have rich inflectional case systems, though some, only for the non-core relations.
Moreover, unlike in other parts of the world, the majority of the languages with
inflectional case marking in Australia, display ergative or split ergative case marking,
a phenomenon which has aroused not only much theoretical interest but also
considerable controversy. The issues that have featured most prominently in Barry’s
discussions of case are: the identification of cases, particularly the use of distributional
as opposed to functional criteria, the relationship between synthetic and
analytic exponents of case, the order of the emergence and decay of morphological
cases, the relationship between case marking and alternative forms of marking via
cross-referencing pronouns on the verb and word order, and the nature, origin and
distribution of ergative as opposed to accusative case marking systems. His interest
in the distribution of ergativity in particular has more recently taken him beyond his
home continent into the Philippines and Indonesia, and led him to ‘discover’ the
existence of ergativity in languages of these regions, thereby demonstrating that
ergativity is much more widely attested than previously thought. Many of Barry’s
insights on these topics, which appeared in his books and articles published in the
70s and 80s, are summarised in Case (1994) written for the Cambridge Textbooks
in Linguistics series.
Inherently intertwined with Barry Blake’s work on case is the second central
theme of his research, linguistic typology. His Language Typology: Cross-linguistic
Studies in Syntax (1981), written with Graham Mallinson, together with Bernard
Comrie’s Language Universals and Linguistic Typology were the first textbooks in
the field of language typology. Both books are widely regarded as having had a
considerable impact on developing interest in the field of typology and inspiring
new work in this area. A particularly valuable feature of Barry’s textbook is the
inclusion of a range of statistical data, which enables the reader to form a better
understanding of typological methodology and provides a sound basis for evaluating
the relevance of the typological correlations discussed. Another laudable characteristic
of this book is the insistence on viewing typological generalizations not as sole
ends of typological research but rather as essential means to formulating external
explanations for the distributuion of cross-linguistic data. Despite the passage of
time, most of the topics covered in the book continue to be relevant and the explanations
offered for the presented typological generalizations have lost little of their
appeal.
While the analyses of cross-linguistic data in Language Typology are presented
in an essentially model-neutral framework, incorporating general functional princi
ples, much of Barry’s typological work has been coupled, in a symbiotic manner,
with his interest in different models of grammar. Unlike many typologists, who
eschew formal models of grammar altogether or restrict their attention to only one,
Barry has constantly sought to bring the insights of language typology into the realm
of formal syntactic theory, and vice versa. He has developed analyses of various
syntactic phenomena, particularly grammatical relations and grammatical relations
changing operations such as passives, antipassives, and applicative constructions in
a number of grammatical frameworks including: Case Grammar, Relational Grammar,
Lexical Functional Grammar, Role and Reference Grammar, Lexicase and
Word Grammar. He has also elaborated, independently of Kenneth Hale, a nonconfigurational
analysis of the clause structure of Kalkutungu. Barry’s attitude to
grammatical models is reflected most admirably in Relational Grammar (1990,
London: Routledge) in which he not only presents a highly lucid account of the
basic tenets of the theory, but also greatly informs the RG analyses of clause structure
by bringing his expertise in a wide range of languages to bear on them.
The above three themes of Barry’s research, case, linguistic typology and grammar
cover much of the ground of modern theoretical linguistics. It is no coincidence
therefore that the contributions to this volume cover a suitably wide range of language
phenomena and several different theoretical persuasions, and thus reflect his
research themes closely. The editors sought to limit the contributors to this volume
to three different categories: Barry’s Ph.D students, Barry’s colleagues at Monash
and La Trobe universities, and finally scholars who have shared or exchanged their
ideas about, and admiration for, language with Barry. Some of the contributors fall
into more than one category. Needless to say, there are many students, colleagues,
and friends of his who may have been left out, and the editors express their abject
apologies, and implore their understanding. It is hoped that there will be more
opportunities for all in the future.
Perhaps it is fitting to close this preface by reflecting on one important feature of
language which the editors years ago learned about from Barry as his students. He
not only showed them that language is an object of great sophistication. But he also
taught them to appreciate it as an object of beauty. The editors would like to invite
the reader to not only view the following chapters as contributions to the discipline,
but also appreciate them in this spirit, just as Barry will.
Lancaster A.S.
Melbourne J.J.S.
September 1997
Wittgenstein on the Arbitrariness of Grammar
By Michael N. Forster
* Publisher:Princeton University Press
* Number Of Pages:264
* Publication Date:2005-10-17
* ISBN-10 / ASIN:0691123918
* ISBN-13 / EAN:9780691123912
Product Description:
What is the nature of a conceptual scheme? Are there alternative conceptual schemes? If so, are some more justifiable or correct than others? The later Wittgenstein already addresses these fundamental philosophical questions under the general rubric of "grammar" and the question of its "arbitrariness"--and does so with great subtlety. This book explores Wittgenstein's views on these questions.
Part I interprets his conception of grammar as a generalized (and otherwise modified) version of Kant's transcendental idealist solution to a puzzle about necessity. It also seeks to reconcile Wittgenstein's seemingly inconsistent answers to the question of whether or not grammar is arbitrary by showing that he believed grammar to be arbitrary in one sense and non-arbitrary in another.
Part II focuses on an especially central and contested feature of Wittgenstein's account: a thesis of the diversity of grammars. The author discusses this thesis in connection with the nature of formal logic, the limits of language, and the conditions of semantic understanding or access.
Strongly argued and cleary written, this book will appeal not only to philosophers but also to students of the human sciences, for whom Wittgenstein's work holds great relevance.
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
PART ONE
GRAMMAR, ARBITRARINESS, NON-ARBITRARINESS
1. Wittgenstein’s Conception of Grammar 7
2. The Sense in Which Grammar Is Arbitrary 21
3. The Sense in Which Grammar Is Non-Arbitrary 66
4. Some Modest Criticisms 82
PART TWO
THE DIVERSITY THESIS
5. Alternative Grammars? The Case of Formal Logic 107
6. Alternative Grammars? The Limits of Language 129
7. Alternative Grammars? The Problem of Access 153
Appendix. The Philosophical Investigations 189
Notes 193
Index 241
Summary: Kantian influences
Rating: 4
If anything the book begins by giving a good collection of quotations from many different selections where Wittgenstein says the sorts of things he does on the nature of grammar. This is examined in light of Kantian views and the author points out the similarities - something I do not recall reading about before. I was under the impression that Wittgenstein was relatively unschooled philosophically. So seeing his views described as Kantian is exciting. "Wittgenstein's position can quite properly be described as idealist, in a sense closely analogous to that in which Kant's was." (P. 17) F contrasts his view (the diversity thesis) with that of Bernard Williams (may he rest in peace) and others, and in agreement with Norman Malcolm, on the interpretation of the later Wittgenstein's position on the "I" and the "We". (p. 24) So, the examples described here do not lead to the negative view that the alternatives given are unintelligible but rather that they are "either actual or possible." "In short, grammar is neither correct nor incorrect, neither true nor false, but is instead antecedent to correctness and incorrectness, truth and falsehood." (p. 48) Why does W hold this view? F says because "grammatical principles ... are rules or conventions, like those which govern games, that they have somewhat the character of commands, commandments, or categorical imperatives with which we enjoin ourselves to order our empirical or factual claims in specific ways." (p. 49) In some sense grammatical principles are non-arbitrary since they are "required to be useful." (p. 81) Chapter 4 deals with some criticisms. Part II of the book deals with the "diversity thesis."
Introduction
Recent philosophers—Donald Davidson, for example—have
been much concerned with the topic of “conceptual schemes”
and the question of whether or not there are radically different
and incommensurable “conceptual schemes.”1 Roughly
the same themes already appear in the later Wittgenstein’s
work under the rubric of “grammar” and the question of the
“arbitrariness of grammar.”
Wittgenstein’s views on these matters indeed occupy a central
place in his later philosophy. One could, I think, make a
good case that they are at least as important for the understanding
of his later thought, and at least as philosophically
interesting, as his views on such other central topics as the
nature of rule-following, the impossibility of a private language,
and the character of psychological states and processes.
And yet, in comparison with such topics, they have
been relatively neglected by the secondary literature.2
The reasons for this neglect are doubtless multiple, but neither
severally nor collectively do they constitute anything like
a justification of it: Wittgenstein’s views on grammar and the
question of its arbitrariness are not set out in any detail in the
only late work polished for publication by Wittgenstein himself,
the Philosophical Investigations.3 Their fullest statement is
instead found in such works as The Big Typescript, the Philosophical
Grammar, the Remarks on the Foundations of Mathematics,
Zettel, and On Certainty, which are commonly thought to
have a less official status and are less often read. Also, Wittgenstein’s
views on the question of the arbitrariness of grammar
entail, or at least seem to entail, positions which contemporary
philosophers are often prone to regard as anathema
(though usually due more to questionable philosophical instincts
than to good reasons): in particular, deep mental plu2
i n t r o d u c t i o n
ralism and a sort of relativism.4 Also, Wittgenstein’s views on
the question of the arbitrariness of grammar tend to give an
even stronger impression of unclarity and ambiguity than
other areas of his later thought—an appearance which this
essay will be concerned to minimize in certain ways, but will
by no means entirely dispel. (This essay is not intended as an
exercise in the—rather intellectually unhealthy—activity of
Wittgenstein-interpretation as bible-study.5)
This essay is devoted, then, to an examination of the later
Wittgenstein’s views concerning grammar and the question
of its arbitrariness.6 The essay is divided into two parts. Part 1
begins by providing a brief introductory characterization of
Wittgenstein’s concept(ion) of “grammar” (chapter 1), and
then goes on to pursue the first of the essay’s two main goals:
to explain Wittgenstein’s general position on the question of
the arbitrariness of grammar. One’s initial impression on
reading the texts is likely to be that he is unclear and inconsistent
on this subject, since some passages seem to say that
grammar is arbitrary (for example, PG, I, 68, 133; Z, 320,
331; PI, 497) whereas others seem to say that it is not (for
example, Z, 358; PI, 520, p. 230; WL, p. 70; LC, p. 49).7 This
impression is a superficial one, however. For his considered
position is one which he sums up succinctly in the following
remark from Zettel concerning a specific area of our grammar
(our color system): “It is akin both to what is arbitrary and to
what is non-arbitrary” (Z, 358; cf. WL, p. 70; LC, p. 49).
Accordingly, my main exegetical task in this part of the essay
will be to distinguish and explain in turn a sense in which he
supposes grammar to be arbitrary (chapter 2) and another
sense in which he supposes it to be non-arbitrary (chapter 3).
Doing this should considerably reduce the appearance of unclarity
and ambiguity in his views on the question of the arbitrariness
of grammar. I then conclude that exegetical exercise
by arguing that the position which emerges from it stands in
need of certain modest revisions, however (chapter 4).
Part 2 pursues the second main goal of the essay. This is to
focus on an especially fundamental, dramatic, and—both exegetically
and philosophically—controversial component of
i n t r o d u c t i o n 3
Wittgenstein’s claim that grammar is in a sense arbitrary,
namely a thesis to the effect that for all grammatical principles
in all areas of our grammar, alternatives are either actual
or at least possible and conceivable (for short, “the diversity
thesis”), and to consider three aspects of his later thought
which seem to stand in rather sharp tension with this thesis
(chapters 5, 6, and 7). The tendency of these chapters will thus
initially be to accentuate rather than reduce the appearance of
ambiguity and tension in his position. However, their end result
will be a certain sort of dissolution of the ambiguity and
tension in question, leaving a position that is both unified and
philosophically compelling.