In this volume, the author deals explicitly and literally with the speech-thought relationship. Departing boldly from contemporary linguistic and psycholinguistic thinking, the author offers us one of the truly serious efforts since Vygotsky to deal with this question. A unifying theme is the organization of action, and speech is seen as growing out of sensory-motor representations that are simultaneously part of meaning and part of action.
The first edition of this major introduction to linguistics rapidly established itself as an important student textbook, and a reference tool for those who already have some acquaintance with linguistics. This second edition has been updated and revised and includes new chapters on syntax and on current developments in generative grammar, as well as new material on the nature of language and on morphology. This book first provides a comprehensive critical review of the analytic tools and theories of linguistics and systematically surveys major concepts in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Having established the basic nature and structure of language, the final part of the book engages some of the wider issues concerning the use of language in speaking and understanding (psycholinguistics), language development in children, social aspects of language (sociolinguistics), and historical language choice.
Is the study of language ideologically neutral? If so, is this study objective and autonomous? One of the most cherished assumptions of modern academic linguistics is that the study of language is, or should be, ideologically neutral. This professed ideological neutrality goes hand-in-hand with claims of scientific objectivity and explanatory autonomy. Ideologies of Language counters these claims and assumptions by demonstrating not only their descriptive inaccuracy but also their conceptual incoherence.
When you picture human-data interactions (HDI), what comes to mind? The datafication of modern life, along with open data initiatives advocating for transparency and access to current and historical datasets, has fundamentally transformed when, where, and how people encounter data. People now rely on data to make decisions, understand current events, and interpret the world. We frequently employ graphs, maps, and other spatialized forms to aid data interpretation, yet the familiarity of these displays causes us to forget that even basic representations are complex, challenging inscriptions and are not neutral; they are based on representational choices that impact how and what they communicate. This book draws on frameworks from the learning sciences, visualization, and human-computer interaction to explore embodied HDI. This exciting sub-field of interaction design is based on the premise that every day we produce and have access to quintillions of bytes of data, the exploration and analysis of which are no longer confined within the walls of research laboratories. This volume examines how humans interact with these data in informal (not work or school) environments, paritcularly in museums. The first half of the book provides an overview of the multi-disciplinary, theoretical foundations of HDI (in particular, embodied cognition, conceptual metaphor theory, embodied interaction, and embodied learning) and reviews socio-technical theories relevant for designing HDI installations to support informal learning. The second half of the book describes strategies for engaging museum visitors with interactive data visualizations, presents methodologies that can inform the design of hand gestures and body movements for embodied installations, and discusses how HDI can facilitate people's sensemaking about data. This cross-disciplinary book is intended as a resource for students and early-career researchers in human-computer interaction and the learning sciences, as well as for more senior researchers and museum practitioners who want to quickly familiarize themselves with HDI.
The academic discipline of linguistics is at a critical stage of development. Whatever consensus there may have been fifteen or even ten years ago is fast disappearing. A process of redefinition is underway, and it is the aim of this volume to contribute to that process, explain why a redefinition is needed, and how it should proceed. In the case of linguistics the subject is also the subject matter. Many linguists have ignored the problem of definition, simply regarding linguistics as the ‘science of language itself’. What, though, is ‘language itself’? Is it a language, ie English, Swahili? Or, language in a more general sense? The primary goal of a redefinition of linguistics should be to demonstrate that language is not an objective matter. Linguistics is, and should be, the study of whatever is linguistically pertinent. A linguistics redefined would look at how we interpret and construct our day-to-day communication acts, what views of language are shared by and opposed by societies, and the source and roles that these views play in our living and learning experience. These papers argue the case for such a redefinition more explicitly than has ever been done before in modern linguistic theory. Such a redefined perspective, precisely because it is a perspective, subject to ‘outside’ influence, and in constant dialogue with the perspective of the other human sciences, must be endlessly redefined.
Noam Chomsky has been described as ‘arguably the most important intellectual alive’. His revolutionary work in linguistics has aroused intense scholarly interest, while his trenchant critique of United States foreign policy and his incisive analysis of the role of intellectuals in modern society have made him a prominent public figure. Raphael Salkie’s timely book introduces the two parts of Chomsky’s work and explores the connections between them. He provides an accessible and up-to-date introduction to Chomsky’s linguistics, laying out his basic assumptions and aims – in particular, his consistent drive to make linguistics a science – and looking at a sample of Chomsky’s recent work. He examines the implications for other fields such as philosophy and psychology, as well as the main challenges to Chomsky’s position. Raphael Salkie also sets out the key themes in Chomsky’s political writings and his libertarian socialist views. He contrasts the ‘official line’ on US foreign policy – the view that the US is a ‘well-meaning, blundering giant’ – with Chomsky’s carefully argued alternative view. By focusing on Chomsky’s conception of human nature and human freedom the author draws out the links between the two sides of Chomsky’s work, in the belief that both sides raise issues which can profitably be explored. The author also provides a carefully annotated guide to further reading. As an experienced teacher of linguistics with a commitment to political activism, Raphael Salkie is uniquely qualified to present this introduction to one of the seminal thinkers of our time. First published in 1990.
A separate bibliographic treatment of the Judeo-Romance languages should facilitate a deeper appreciation of the contributions that they may make to Romance linguistics in general. Up until now, Judeo-Romance topics have scarcely been canvassed in Romance linguistic bibliographies. It is hoped that this new book serves to popularize the field of Judeo-Romance languages both among students of general Romance and comparative Jewish linguistics.
RLE: Linguistics Mini-set A focuses on the field of General Linguistics, and collects classic titles from imprints such as Garland, Allen & Unwin, and Croom Helm. A variety of important international linguists are featured. The titles are: The Chomsky Update. The Conceptual Basis of Language. Foundations of General Linguistics. Ideologies of Language. Learning about Linguisics. Lexical Phonology and Morphology. The Linguistic Description of Opaque Contexts. Linguistic Meaning. Redefining Linguistics. A Theory of Stylistic Rules in English. Universal Grammar
For decades, bilingualism has resisted definition. If bilingualism is defined as habitual, fluent, correct and accent-free use of two languages, few individuals would qualify as bilinguals. A more viable approach may be to concede that ‘bilingual’ can be seen instead as a range of points on a continuum that allows for differences. The psychological study of bilingualism encompasses a wide range of phenomena including the organization and representation of the grammar, the perception and production of language mixing, cerebral lateralization of language functions, and patterns of recovery of aphasic patients. This book collects together an international array of researchers in experimental psychology, linguistics and neuropsychology, who bring their expertise to bear on the critical issues that are raised by the bilingual phenomena.
Over the past decade, Cognitive Linguistics has grown to be one of the most broadly appealing and dynamic frameworks for the study of natural language. Essentially, this new school of linguistics focuses on the meaning side of language: linguistic form is analysed as an expression of meaning. And meaning itself is not something that exists in isolation, but it is integrated with the full spectrum of human experience: the fact that we are embodied beings just as much as the fact that we are cultural beings. Cognitive Linguistics: Basic Readings brings together twelve foundational articles, each of which introduces one of the basic concepts of Cognitive Linguistics, like conceptual metaphor, image schemas, mental spaces, construction grammar, prototypicality and radial sets. The collection features the founding fathers of Cognitive Linguistics: George Lakoff, Ron Langacker, Len Talmy, Gilles Fauconnier, and Charles Fillmore, together with some of the most influential younger scholars. By its choice of seminal papers and leading authors, Basic Readings is specifically suited for an introductory course in Cognitive Linguistics. This is further supported by a general introduction to the theory and, specifically, the practice of Cognitive Linguistics and by trajectories for further reading that start out from the individual chapters.
