In The Essence of Linguistic Analysis by R. M. W. Dixon relates together, in a clear and succinct manner, individual grammatical categories, showing their dependencies and locating each in its place within the overall tapestry of a language.
The study of how language varies in social context, and how it can be analyzed and accounted for, are the key goals of sociolinguistics. Until now, however, the actual tools and methods have been largely passed on through 'word of mouth', rather than being formally documented. This is the first comprehensive 'how to' guide to the formal analysis of sociolinguistic variation. It shows step-by-step how the analysis is carried out, leading the reader through every stage of a research project from start to finish. Topics covered include fieldwork, data organization and management, analysis and interpretation, presenting research results, and writing up a paper. Practical and informal, the book contains all the information needed to conduct a fully-fledged sociolinguistic investigation, and includes exercises, checklists, references and insider tips. It is set to become an essential resource for students, researchers and fieldworkers embarking on research projects in sociolinguistics.
This collection contains original translations of essays, discussions, and papers including six previously unpublished works from the International Colloquium on Heidegger’s Conception of Language, held at The Pennsylvania State University in 1969. This volume endeavors to place Martin Heidegger’s ideas within a wide range of philosophical thought. It contains critical reflections on his conception of speech in Being and Time, linguistic meditations on Heidegger’s use of language, and analysis of his view on the relationship between thought and the language in which it is expressed. In this book, Heidegger scholars will find additional insights into his conception of language and his philosophy as a whole.
This book uses the study of philosophical texts to raise and explore metaphysical issues. On one level, each essay addresses a scholarly issue in a classical text, often a text of Aristotle's. On a deeper level, the issues Halper considers are metaphysical. However, unlike thinkers who have brought linguistic analysis and contemporary metaphysical notions to these texts, Halper approaches them to find their formulations of issues and their strategies of pursuit. Halper is not concerned with the defense of metaphysical commitments but with finding and exploring paths of metaphysical inquiry. The essays in this volume are exploratory and exegetical rather than decisive. Their contribution to metaphysics lies in the issues they raise, the methods they explore, and their conception of metaphysics as a discipline rooted in philosophical problems.
This is a new edition of the first volume of G.P.Baker and P.M.S. Hacker’s definitive reference work on Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. Takes into account much material that was unavailable when the first edition was written. Following Baker’s death in 2002, P.M.S. Hacker has thoroughly revised the first volume, rewriting many essays and sections of exegesis completely. Part One – the Essays – now includes two completely new essays: 'Meaning and Use' and 'The Recantation of a Metaphysician'. Part Two – Exegesis §§1–184 – has been thoroughly revised in the light of the electronic publication of Wittgenstein’s Nachlass, and includes many new interpretations of the remarks, a history of the composition of the book, and an overview of its structure. The revisions will ensure that this remains the definitive reference work on Wittgenstein’s masterpiece for the foreseeable future.
The volume is published on the occasion of the birth centennial of Eugenio Coseriu (1921–2002). It is the first collective volume to appear in English in which various scholars present a variety of perspectives on Coseriu’s scholarly work and discuss its continuing relevance for the language sciences. Coseriu’s international reputation has suffered from his commitment to publish in languages such as Spanish, German, French, Italian, Romanian and Portuguese, to the detriment of English. As a consequence, his work is less well-known outside Romance and German linguistics. The volume aims to raise the general awareness of Coseriu’s work among linguists around the world, in accordance with Coseriu’s own adage that it takes a constructive mindset (acknowledging "accomplishments and limitations") to do justice to all scholarly work in the humanities. The articles are organized into three major thematic clusters: 1) philosophy of language, 2) history of the language sciences and 3) theory and practice of "Integral Linguistics". The volume is essential reading for anyone working in these fields and for those seeking to gain deeper understanding of Coseriu’s goal to develop a unitary approach to language which takes as its point of departure the "activity of speaking".
Language is a stratified system, and phonology belongs in the stratum of expression, where language physically manifests as phonic substance. It is the most unconscious of all the language systems, the one we usually refer to when we say "it is not what s/he said, but the way s/he said it". Although the term "expression" might be misleading, the stratum of expression is an integral part of language. Sounds are not the expression of something else which exists independently from them; they are the form and essence of language and have a function in its meaning potential. Intonation features constitute a set of resources available in speakers' voices which, in many languages such as English or Spanish, signal textual and interpersonal meanings in discourse. Phonological features do not project specific meanings by themselves but rather situationally, at a certain stage in the discourse, and in combination with choices at other strata of the language system. Intonation patterns constitute a meaning-making prosody, which quite often accompanies and reinforces similar meanings realised in other strata. There are instances, however, in which the different grammars come into tension and the intonational choices become the carriers of interpersonal and textual meanings in discourse. Phonology in Systemic Functional Linguistics provides an account of the intonation systems in SFL and their meaning-making functions in oral discourse. It proposes a way of interpreting phonological choices as integral to language in context and discourse meanings. In addition, the book puts SFL in dialogue with other approaches that also consider the role of phonology in discourse.
In Basic Linguistic Theory R. M. W. Dixon provides a comprehensive guide to the nature of human languages and their description and analysis. The books are a one-stop text for undergraduate and graduate students, the triumphant outcome of a lifetime's immersion in every aspect of language, and a lasting monument to innovative scholarship.
Approaches to Discourse Analysis demonstrates the importance of the diverse perspectives that various approaches to discourse bring to bear on human communication. Linguists and other readers interested in the interplay of language and culture will gain new insight and understanding from this rich compilation.