Book picks similar to
The Written Language Bias in Linguistics: Its Nature, Origins and Transformations by Per Linell
linguistics
language
lenguaje
put-aside-for-now
EarthBound (Legends of Localization #2)
Clyde Mandelin - 2016
Get ready for hundreds of pages filled with surprising revelations, inside information, obscure trivia, and universal cosmic destruction. This legend of localization doesn’t stink!
Language in Thought and Action
S.I. Hayakawa - 1939
Senator S. I. Hayakawa discusses the role of language in human life, the many functions of language, and how language—sometimes without our knowing—shapes our thinking in this engaging and highly respected book. Provocative and erudite, it examines the relationship between language and racial and religious prejudice; the nature and dangers of advertising from a linguistic point of view; and, in an additional chapter called “The Empty Eye,” the content, form, and hidden message of television, from situation comedies to news coverage to political advertising.
The Study of Language
George Yule - 1985
It introduces the analysis of the key elements of language--sounds, words, structures and meanings, and provides a solid foundation in all of the essential topics. The third edition has been extensively revised to include new sections on important contemporary issues in language study, including language and culture, African American English, sign language, and slang. A comprehensive glossary provides useful explanations of technical terms, and each chapter contains a range of new study questions and research tasks, with suggested answers.
Adam's Tongue: How Humans Made Language, How Language Made Humans
Derek Bickerton - 2009
Taking cues from topics as diverse as the foraging strategies of ants, the distribution of large prehistoric herbivores, and the construction of ecological niches, Bickerton produces a dazzling new alternative to the conventional wisdom. Language is unique to humans, but it isn’t the only thing that sets us apart from other species—our cognitive powers are qualitatively different. So could there be two separate discontinuities between humans and the rest of nature? No, says Bickerton; he shows how the mere possession of symbolic units—words—automatically opened a new and different cognitive universe, one that yielded novel innovations ranging from barbed arrowheads to the Apollo spacecraft. Written in Bickerton’s lucid and irreverent style, this book is the first that thoroughly integrates the story of how language evolved with the story of how humans evolved. Sure to be controversial, it will make indispensable reading both for experts in the field and for every reader who has ever wondered how a species as remarkable as ours could have come into existence.
The Art of Civilized Conversation: A Guide to Expressing Yourself with Style and Grace
Margaret Shepherd - 2005
And yet making conversation is a highly practical skill: those who do it well shine at networking parties, interviews, and business lunches. Good conversation also opens doors to a happier love life, warmer friendships, and more rewarding time with family.In The Art of Civilized Conversation, author Margaret Shepherd offers opening lines, graceful apologies, thoughtful questions, and, ultimately, the confidence to take conversations beyond hello. From the basics--first impressions, appropriate subject matter, and graceful exits--to finding the right words for difficult situations and an insightful discussion of body language, Shepherd uses her skilled eye and humorous anecdotes to teach readers how to turn a plain conversation into an engaging encounter.Filled with common sense and fresh insight, The Art of Civilized Conversation is the perfect inspiration not only for what to say but for how to say it with style.
Learning Chinese Characters
Alison Matthews - 2007
This otherwise daunting task is made easier by the use of techniques based on the psychology of leaning and memory. key principles include the use of visual imagery, the visualization of short "stories," and the systematic building up of more complicated characters from basic building blocks.Although Learning Chinese Characters is primarily a book for serious learners of Mandarin Chinese, it can be used by anyone with an interest in Chinese characters, without any prior knowledge of Chinese. It can be used alongside (or after, or even before) a course in the Chinese language. All characters are simplified (as in mainland China) but traditional characters are also given, when available.Key features:-Specially designed pictures and stories are used in a structured way to make the learning process more enjoyable and effective, reducing the need for rote learning to the absolute minimum.-The emphasis throughout is on learning and remembering the meanings and pronunciations of the characters. Tips are also included on learning techniques and how to avoid common problems.-Characters are introduced in a logical sequence, which also gives priority to learning the most common characters first.-Modern simplified characters are used, with pronunciations given in pinyin. Key information is given for each character, including radical, stroke—count, traditional form, compounds, and guidance on writing the character.This is a practical guide with a clear, concise and appealing layout, and it is well—indexed with easy look—up methods. The 800 Chinese characters and 1,033 compounds specified for the original HSK Level A proficiency test are covered.
Naming and Necessity
Saul A. Kripke - 1980
It redirected philosophical attention to neglected questions of natural and metaphysical necessity and to the connections between these and theories of reference, in particular of naming, and of identity. From a critique of the dominant tendency to assimilate names to descriptions and more generally to treat their reference as a function of their Fregean sense, surprisingly deep and widespread consequences may be drawn. The largely discredited distinction between accidental and essential properties, both of individual things (including people) and of kinds of things, is revived. So is a consequent view of science as what seeks out the essences of natural kinds. Traditional objections to such views are dealt with by sharpening distinctions between epistemic and metaphysical necessity; in particular by the startling admission of necessary a posteriori truths. From these, in particular from identity statements using rigid designators whether of things or of kinds, further remarkable consequences are drawn for the natures of things, of people, and of kinds; strong objections follow, for example to identity versions of materialism as a theory of the mind.This seminal work, to which today's thriving essentialist metaphysics largely owes its impetus, is here published with a substantial new Preface by the author.
How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One
Stanley Fish - 2011
Drawing on a wide range of great writers, from Philip Roth to Antonin Scalia to Jane Austen, How to Write a Sentence is much more than a writing manual—it is a spirited love letter to the written word, and a key to understanding how great writing works.
Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric
Ward Farnsworth - 2010
There are very few recent books that tackle the subject, and in this new effort, written with the scholar and orator in mind, Farnsworth collects and discusses the great masters of English prose Lincoln and Churchill, Dickens and Melville, Burke and Paine and, using their own words, proceeds to organize, illustrate, and analyze the most frequently used rhetorical devices with clarity and detail.The way we use our language to convince and cajole is based on timeless principles on repetition and variety, suspense and relief, expectation and satisfaction that have been employed by writers and speakers since the Golden Age of Greece. They can be applied with effect to the construction of simple sentences and paragraphs, or entire compositions. Here, distilled from the best examples in our language, we see those principles in actual use: for the general reader it is an indispensable guide, a highly useful reference, and a rewarding (and even entertaining) source of instruction.
Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability: Ideas and inspiration for even greater success and joy raising bilingual kids
Adam Beck - 2016
We finished reading it feeling really inspired and full of new ideas.” —Alex in the U.K.“Looks at bilingual upbringing from a different angle. Full of passion, enthusiasm, positivity, and interesting insights.” —Jana in the U.K.“The most useful, practical, and motivating book on the market.” —Arancha in Spain“If you are a parent looking to raise your child with two or more languages, look no further. This is the book you need.” —Alisa in France“A treasure trove of wonderful practical ideas and creative tips.” —Julia in the U.S.“The perfect guidebook for our family’s ongoing multilingual journey.” —Jonathan in Japan“An ideal read when you’re expecting, and a good present for future parents to a bilingual baby!” —Julie in the U.K.“A very inspirational book. A must-read for bilingual families.” —Gabi in ArgentinaPraised by experts in the field...“A pure gem! Adam Beck has created a truly wonderful and easily readable book that parents everywhere will enjoy and that bilingual families and children will benefit from.” —Dr. Annick De Houwer, leading researcher of child bilingualism and author of Bilingual First Language Acquisition“Who but Adam Beck can tie together the complexities of raising a bilingual child with such wisdom, warmth, and wit? He shows how fun speaking another language at home can be." —Christine Jernigan, PhD in foreign language education and author of Family Language Learning“I have recommended it often to parents raising bilingual children. Without fail, their reaction is ‘Thank you. This is exactly what I need.’” —Jennifer Brunk, longtime educator and founder of the popular site Spanish Playground“If books are food for thought and if continuing to learn about bilingualism is an essential part of a bilingual parent’s mental diet, Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability is nutritional superfood…the ideal guidebook for parents who are sure of their commitment to bilingual parenting but in need of ideas and ongoing inspiration.” —Michele Cherie, writer and founder of the blog Intentional MamaMaximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability is available at Amazon, the global Amazon sites, and other booksellers including The Book Depository.
The Architecture of Language
Noam Chomsky - 2000
This book consists of an edited transcript of a lecture, delivered at the University of Delhi in January 1996, where Chomsky reflects on the history of the 'generative enterprise' to relate it to some strikingly novel advances in recent grammatical theory.
4000 Essential English Words 1
I.S.P. Nation
The series presents a variety of words that cover a large percentage of the words that can be found in many spoken or written texts. Thus, after mastering these target words, learners will be able to fully understand vocabulary items when they encounter them in written and spoken form. Each unit presents 20 words which are defined and used in sample sentences. The activities in the books are designed to present the words in different uses so that learners can fully see how they can be utilized. Also at the end of each unit there is a story whch contains the unit's target words to give learners further examples of the words in use. Each level properly prepares the learner for the next which progressively challenges the learner with more sophisticated vocabulary and stories. Key features include: (1) Clear, easy to understand definitions and examples; (2) Various activities to reinforce target vocabulary; (3) Progressive development of vocabulary across levels; (4) Original stories which utilize target words; (5) Useful color images that illustrate each target word; and (6) Free downloadable supplemental audio recordings of target word lists and stories to aid in listening and pronunciation.
Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Confrontational Times
Geoffrey Nunberg - 2004
The words that echo through Geoffrey Nunberg's brilliant new journey across the landscape of American language evoke exactly the tenor of our times. Nunberg has a wonderful ear for the new, the comic and the absurd. He pronounces that: 'Blog' is a syllable whose time has come, and that You don't get to be a verb unless you're doing something right, with which he launches into the effect of Google on our collective consciousness. Nunberg hears the shifting use of Gallic as we suddenly find ourselves in bitter opposition to the French; perhaps only Nunberg could compare America the Beautiful with a Syrian national anthem that contains the line A land resplendent with brilliant sunsalmost like a sky centipede.At the heart of the entertainment and linguistic slapstick that Nunberg delights in are the core concerns that have occupied American minds. President's expense. Nunberg's analysis is as succinct a summary of the questions that hover over the administration's strategy as any political insider's. It exemplifies the message of the book: that in the smallest ticks and cues of language the most important issue and thoughts of our times can be heard and understood. If you know how to listen for them. Nunberg has dazzling receptors, perfect acoustics and a deftly elegant style to relay his wit and wisdom.
Language
Leonard Bloomfield - 1933
It focuses mainly on the study and use of language and Languages of the world, the phonetic structure and change, syntax, Morphology, written records, Dialect Geography, Fluctuation in the Frequency of Forms, Dialect, Applications and Outlook, etc.