Spoken language interference patterns (SLIPs) are aspects of speaking that appear in writing, sometimes creating a conversational tone, but often lowering the formality. Occasionally, this results in errors, particularly when the writer is inexperienced. This study linguistically classifies and illustrates SLIPs in several forms of written discourse: student writing, early modern English, «plain English», email, and scientific writing. As written language evolves, SLIPs become part of the standard. Writers who learn to effectively use SLIPs can strengthen the readability of their texts by engaging their readers while avoiding errors.
In the first decade of the twenty first century, Corpus Linguistics as a methodology had already proved to be an impeccable one, and is probably the most elaborate way to approach empirical studies on languages. At present this seems to be essential to formulate general theories about most aspects of languages in different stages of their evolution. Corpora and Corpus Linguistics have been present in research for a reasonably long time now. The evolution of the discipline has been assessed by conferences, new publications and all sorts of events related to the field. Therefore, it seems most convenient to offer an outline of the advances made in the past decade as well as to try and make a guess as for what is yet to come. The editors have used their experience to collect a volume that certainly will have something to offer to the scientific community. Their work as compilers of the Coruña Corpus of English Scientific Writing has made them familiar with corpus-compilation and the time-consuming tasks it entails. As users of this and other corpora, they can also appreciate the tools modern technology offers researchers and what the possibilities of exploitation are. In this way, the selection of papers contained in this volume address a wide range of scholars interested in the discipline, both corpus compilers and users.
“Vastly informative and vastly entertaining…A scholarly and fascinating book.” —Los Angeles Times With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can’t), to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world’s largest growth industries.
This volume constitutes a unique contribution to the literature on literacy and culture in several respects. It links together aspects of social variation that have not often been thus juxtaposed: ethnicity/nationality, gender, and participant role relations. The unifying theme of this collection of papers is that all of these factors are aspects of writers' identities -- identities which are simultaneously expressed and constructed in text. The topic of social identity and writing can be approached from a variety of scholarly avenues, including humanistic, critical, and historical perspectives. The papers in the present volume make reference to and contribute to such humanistic perspectives; however, this book lies squarely within the tradition of social science. It draws primarily upon the disciplines of linguistics, discourse analysis, anthropology, social and cognitive psychology, and education studies. The constituent topics of social identity, style, and writing themselves lie at the intersections of several related fields of scholarship. Writing remains of peak interest to educators from many fields, and is still a "hot" topic. The instructional ramifications of the particular issues addressed in this volume are of vital concern to educational systems adjusting to the realities of our multicultural society. This publication, therefore, should attract a substantial and diverse readership of scholars, educators, and policymakers affiliated with many fields including applied linguistics, composition and rhetoric, communication studies, dialect studies, discourse analysis, English composition, English/language arts education, ethnic studies, language behavior, literacy, sociolinguistics, stylistics, women's studies, and writing research and instruction.
"A vital new resource for rhetoric and composition teachers and writing program administrators has arrived. In the twenty years I have been training teachers and tutors of writing, there have been few collections that specifically address the training of teachers of composition. While excellent, such collections are often not updated to reflect the most current research in rhetoric and composition, especially those theoretical and pedagogical influences that Negotiating a Meta-Pedagogy includes. It is not surprising, then, that training composition teachers is often dependent upon cobbled-together course packs and anecdotal pedagogy. The field needs this book, and each contribution the editors have chosen significantly helps ratchet-up the pedagogy of pedagogy—and now rhetoric, long considered a meta-discipline by those of us in the field, has an official meta-pedagogy resource to call its own." -- Cynthia Haynes, Clemson University
The high degree of internet penetration and its social (and linguistic) effects evidently influence how people, and especially the highly susceptible younger generations, use language. The primary aim of the book is not only to identify the characteristic features of the digital language variety (this has already been done by several works) but to examine how digital communication affects the language of other mediums of communication: orality, handwritten texts, digitally created but not digitally perceived, that is printed texts, including in particular advertisements (which quickly respond to linguistic change). Naturally, the book presents the characteristics of the digital language variety (and coins the term digilect) but only to give a framework to the impact analysis. It is important to document changes in progress and thus direct attention to potential outcomes. The current linguistic change is different from previous ones primarily in its speed and form of spreading, and it not only brings innovative grammatical forms and writing/spelling solutions but may also have far-reaching cultural and educational consequences in the long run.
Preparing to Teach Writing, Fourth Edition is a comprehensive survey of theories, research, and methods associated with teaching composition successfully at the middle, secondary, and college levels. Research and theory are examined with the aim of informing teaching. Practicing and prospective writing teachers need the information and strategies this text provides to be effective and well prepared for the many challenges they will face in the classroom. Features Current—combines discussions and references to foundational studies that helped define the field of rhetoric and composition, with updated research, theories, and applications Research based—thorough examination of relevant research in education, literacy, cognition, linguistics, and grammar Steadfast adherence to best practices based on how students learn and on how to provide the most effective writing instruction A Companion Website provides sample assignments and student papers that can be analyzed using the research and theory presented in the text.
First Published in 1982. This is Volume 1 of a series on Writing, the nature, development and teaching of written communication and focuses on Variation in Writing: Functional and linguistic-Cultural Differences. The theme of these two volumes, broadly defined, might best be phrased as two questions: How can we learn more about writing? and How can we learn more about the interaction between teaching to write and learning to write? The papers in these two volumes were originally prepared in draft form for the National Institute of Education's first Conference on Writing in June, 1977.
Teaching the Language Arts helps readers envision their future classrooms, including the role technology will play, as they prepare to be effective teachers. The book’s multimedia digital format represents a distinctive way to learn about teaching—combining traditional and electronic content, resources, and pedagogy to create a powerful, interactive experience that encourages active learning. Readers can explore a rich array of teaching tools and experiences, including an effective blend of classroom photographs (taken by the authors during school visits), student samples, podcast interviews with teachers and students, classroom videos, and online resources—all of which allow readers to learn from real-world classrooms. This book’s unique and engaging voice, supported by its multimedia approach, will help future and in-service teachers bring the language arts to life in their own classrooms. Visit the Companion Website at www.routledge.com/cw/dobler for information on accessing the interactive e-book and additional ideas and resources to help you and your students use it to its full potential.
The book draws upon linguistic, psychological, philosophical, and sociolinguistic principles and uses practical examples from second, foreign, and mother tongue teaching. It attempts to integrate theoretical and empirical work with the practical needs of institutions and of teachers without losing sight of learners' needs for free personal choice combined with effective communication.
