Feb 06
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Language and Complex Systems
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
http://cambridge.org
Book URL: http://bit.ly/1KuLtGN
Author: William A Kretzschmar
Hardback: ISBN: 9781107100459 Pages: 242 Price: U.K. £ 64.99
Abstract:
An understanding of language as a complex system helps us to think differently
about linguistics, and helps us to address the impact of linguistic
interaction. This book demonstrates how the science of complex systems changes
every area of linguistics: how to make a grammar, how to think about the
history of language, how language works in the brain, and how it works in
social settings. Kretzschmar argues that to construct the best grammars of
languages it is necessary to understand the complex system of speech. Each
chapter makes specific recommendations for how linguists should manage
empirical data in order to form better generalizations about a language and
its varieties. The book will be welcomed by students and scholars working in
linguistics and English language, especially the study of language variation
and the historical development of English.
– Applies complex systems to many aspects of linguistics so that readers can
see how they are connected
– Makes specific recommendations on improving the management of empirical data
in order to make better generalizations about a language and its varieties
– Confirms complexity science as the basis for speech, showing how linguistics
is connected to many other academic disciplines
Feb 03
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Modality and Propositional Attitudes
Publication Year: 2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
http://cambridge.org
Book URL: http://bit.ly/1SrfhY8
Author: Michael Hegarty
Hardback: ISBN: 9781107085763 Pages: Price: U.S. $ 110.00
Hardback: ISBN: 9781107085763 Pages: Price: U.K. £ 69.99
Abstract:
This book shows that the semantic analysis of modal notions of possibility and
necessity can be used to enhance our understanding of the interpretation of
reports of belief or emotional state. It introduces intuitive notation and
terminology to express ideas in modern theories of modal interpretation that
are normally represented in complex logical formulas, effectively updates the
1960s-era link between possible worlds and the semantics of propositional
attitude ascriptions, and reconciles two disparate views of the role of events
in semantic interpretation, that of Donald Davidson and that of David Lewis.
It reduces a host of variable behaviors of propositional attitude ascription
to an intuitive and precise distinction between ascriptions that merely
express a commitment to propositional content versus ones that attribute a
mental state to the holder of the propositional attitude. This leads to an
explanation of the nature and effects of the language disorder of fluent
aphasia.
Part I. Modality and Propositional Attitudes: 1. Epistemic modality; 2. Root
modality; 3. Bare attitude ascriptions; 4. Presupposition filtering and
bouletic ascriptions; Part II. Events and Propositional Attitudes: 5. Events
and states; 6. Full attitude ascriptions: individuating mental states through
propositional content; 7. Lower interpretation of negation; 8. Events in
epistemic and root modal interpretation; 9. Attitude ascription in child
development and Wernicke’s aphasia.
Jan 29
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: The Visual Narrative Reader
Publication Year: 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly The Continuum International Publishing Group)
http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/
Book URL: http://www.bloomsbury.com/the-visual-narrative-reader-9781472585592/
Editor: Neil Cohn
Electronic: ISBN: 9781472577924 Pages: 376 Price: U.K. £ 24.99 Comment: ePUB
Electronic: ISBN: 9781472577917 Pages: 376 Price: U.K. £ 24.99 Comment: ePDF
Hardback: ISBN: 9781472577900 Pages: 376 Price: U.K. £ 75.00
Paperback: ISBN: 9781472585592 Pages: 376 Price: U.K. £ 24.99
Abstract:
Sequential images are as natural at conveying narratives as verbal language,
and have appeared throughout human history, from cave paintings and tapestries
right through to modern comics. Contemporary research on this visual language
of sequential images has been scattered across several fields: linguistics,
psychology, anthropology, art education, comics studies, and others. Only
recently has this disparate research begun to be incorporated into a coherent
understanding.
In The Visual Narrative Reader, Neil Cohn collects chapters that cross these
disciplinary divides from many of the foremost international researchers who
explore fundamental questions about visual narratives.
How does the style of images impact their understanding?
How are metaphors and complex meanings conveyed by images?
How is meaning understood across sequential images?
How do children produce and comprehend sequential images?
Are visual narratives beneficial for education and literacy?
Do visual narrative systems differ across cultures and historical time
periods?
This book provides a foundation of research for readers to engage in these
fundamental questions and explore the most vital thinking about visual
narrative. It collects important papers and introduces review chapters
summarizing the literature on specific approaches to understanding visual
narratives. The result is a comprehensive “reader” that can be used as a
coursebook, a researcher resource and a broad overview of fascinating topics
suitable for anyone interested in the growing field of the visual language of
comics and visual narratives.
Jan 15
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: The Discourse of Tourism and National Heritage
Subtitle: A Contrastive Study from a Cultural Perspective
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/the-discourse-of-tourism-and-national-heritage
Author: Claudia Elena Stoian
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443882194 Pages: 435 Price: U.K. £ 57.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443882194 Pages: 435 Price: U.S. $ 98.95
Abstract:
The Discourse of Tourism and National Heritage: A Contrastive Study from a
Cultural Perspective presents an in-depth research study in the field of
online tourism promotion. It focuses on the national online promotion of
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, on two different types of websites –
institutional and commercial – from three countries, Romania, Spain and Great
Britain.
The book analyses the way in which each country combines various modes to
create a virtual brochure with a promotional message from both institutional
and commercial positions. In doing this, it studies the organization of the
websites and their webpages, as well as the lexico-grammatical and visual
features of their promotional messages. The theoretical framework used is
Systemic Functional Linguistics (Halliday 1985, 1994; Kress and van Leeuwen
1996, 2006; Halliday and Matthiessen 2004).
The results are compared in relation to the types of websites and to the
countries in which they were produced. These are further interpreted from a
cultural perspective, showing that the findings can be accounted for by
cultural variability, in particular the dimension of context (Hall 1976, 1990,
2000).
Jan 14
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Towards the Ecology of Human Communication
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/towards-the-ecology-of-human-communication
Editor: Marta Bogusławska-Tafelska
Editor: Anna Drogosz
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443880886 Pages: 301 Price: U.K. £ 47.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443880886 Pages: 301 Price: U.S. $ 81.95
Abstract:
There is undoubtedly considerable intellectual and methodological progress
evident in approaches to linguistics, from systemic and formal methods, to
post-Newtonian transpersonal, non-local models of meaning co-creation built
within contemporary language studies. Indeed, such changes are constant – the
20th century product orientation of linguistic research is currently being
complemented by ecolinguistic processes, with the linearity of scientific
perception and treatment being replaced by the dynamic and multispectral
approach of “ecological” theory. This book provides a richly detailed analysis
of this profound shift within contemporary language and communication
research.
A particularly interesting facet of this volume is the proposal that the
architecture of the human organism is, transpersonally, in constant relation
with its immediate surroundings, as well as with non-local multilevel
surroundings. This connection is based not only on the cognitive connection of
minds or neurocognitive contacts with the nervous and sensual systems of
communicators, but on the multidimensional relationship between the manifold
communicative modalities living systems possess. Human communication is
embedded within a given local communicative situation, as well within the
global, non-local environment via the basic ontology of entanglement.
The human communicative process is always evolving as a result of the constant
fluctuations of life processes. Indeed, the conclusions presented in this
volume open up a new approach to present-day linguistics, that human language
is an essential life process.
Jan 12
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: The Stylistics of Professional Discourse
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
http://www.euppublishing.com
Book URL: http://www.euppublishing.com/book/9780748691692
Author: Martin Solly
Electronic: ISBN: 9780748691708 Pages: 168 Price: U.K. £ 70
Electronic: ISBN: 9780748691715 Pages: 168 Price: U.K. £ 70
Hardback: ISBN: 9780748691692 Pages: 168 Price: U.K. £ 70
Abstract:
‘Martin Solly elegantly demonstrates that stylistics can reveal how
professional groups mark their distinctive identity, with doctors, lawyers and
educators providing the model. He deftly draws out the stylistic techniques
that can create a sense of shared community, and in the process provides a
primer of approaches to analysing discourse.’
Michael Kelly, University of Southampton
Why are doctors’ prescriptions illegible and why is the language of the law
considered impenetrable to outsiders? Is it more difficult for non-native
speakers of English than native speakers to access the discourse of
professions such as the law and medicine? These are just some of the questions
covered by this innovative study, which uses the lens of stylistics to shed
light on how the discourse of professional communities is used not just to
convey meanings, but also to construct identity and a sense of membership.
Aimed at students and scholars of applied linguistics, language education and
communication studies, Martin Solly examines a range of professional
discourses, from the language of education to that of the law and medicine,
showing how knowledge of stylistics can provide the key for appropriate and
acceptable language use, enabling successful communication and potential
membership of professional communities.
Dec 24
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: A Theory of General Semiotics: The Science of Signs, Sign-Systems, and Semiotic Reality
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/a-theory-of-general-semiotics
Author: Abraham Solomonick
Editor: Libby Schwartz
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443877183 Pages: 415 Price: U.K. £ 57.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443877183 Pages: 415 Price: U.S. $ 98.95
Abstract:
This book is devoted to the topic of general semiotics. It formulates some of the central laws and parameters of the paradigm of general semiotics, and illustrates them with various examples from branch semiotics – from the systems of semiotics of that are already in use in particular fields of endeavour. These laws and illustrations will prove useful for every distinct instance of branch semiotics, both those that are already well-established and those that will appear in the future.
Dec 22
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Metalinguistic Discourses
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/metalinguistic-discourses
Editor: Viviane Arigne
Editor: Christiane Rocq-Migette
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443872584 Pages: 345 Price: U.K. £ 52.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443872584 Pages: 345 Price: U.S. $ 90.95
Abstract:
This book was born from the desire to conduct an inquiry into the heterogeneity and variety of linguistic theories in order to assess their descriptive and explanatory power. The first part of the volume brings together contributions addressing formal and theoretical issues. It focuses on the specific questions of metalinguistic discourses, representations and formal symbols, and considers the case of representations pertaining to different metalinguistic levels and their possible translation from one level to another. The essays compiled in this section also examine how generative semantics paved the way for current trends in cognitive linguistics, and provide an analysis of the historical and epistemological context of the notion of metafunction found in Systemic Functional Grammar. The contributions gathered in the second part of the book evaluate the results of a certain number of linguistic studies, putting various theories to the test. They specifically discuss the notion of intersective gradience, analyse modality and the question of irony within two different theoretical frameworks, and deal with parenthetical verbs in the light of an utterer-centred approach.
This book will appeal to all linguists with an interest in linguistic theories, to advanced students in linguistics, as well as to scholars in cognate fields such as epistemology, philosophy of language, psychology and neurosciences.
Dec 17
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Language in Uniform: Language Analysis and Training for Defence and Policing Purposes
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/language-in-uniform
Editor: Helen de Silva Joyce
Editor: Elizabeth A. Thomson
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443870559 Pages: 290 Price: U.K. £ 47.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443870559 Pages: 290 Price: U.S. $ 81.95
Abstract:
Language education and training are an important part of life for some men and women in uniform. Around the globe, police and military personnel are faced with language challenges in their domestic security duties, including interaction with overseas tourists and community members who speak any number of languages. They are also often called upon to manage international roles that require an understanding of languages other than their own, including participating in international policing initiatives and military deployments.
Language in Uniform: Language Analysis and Training for Defence and Policing Purposes brings together a collection of papers that reflect the diverse work being done in the often overlooked Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) fields of defence, security and policing. As language learning is increasingly becoming an integral part of life in uniform, this volume extends the theoretical and practical understanding of LSP and acknowledges the ground-breaking work that has been and continues to be done with this approach in language teaching and assessment for defence, security and law enforcement purposes.
Dec 17
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: Languaging Diversity: Identities, Genres, Discourses
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
http://www.cambridgescholars.com/
Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/languaging-diversity
Editor: Giuseppe Balirano
Editor: Maria Cristina Nisco
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443871228 Pages: 395 Price: U.K. £ 52.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443871228 Pages: 395 Price: U.S. $ 90.95
Abstract:
Languaging Diversity: Identities, Genres, Discourses is a suggestive title for ‘another’ book in the field of linguistics, but what does it actually mean? By choosing to speak of Languaging Diversity and not just of difference, otherness, varieties, multiplicity, hybridity or alterity, the editors cover the whole range of meanings in the entire field of diversity. They do not wish to limit themselves by using such specific words with increasingly specialised connotations as Alterity or Other, but rather to allow an eclectic range of perspectives and issues to come to the fore. This volume brings together some of the manifold discourses emerging as bearers of the values of alterity, by exploring the thorny relationship between Language and Diversity. Drawing on the crucial assumption that speakers’ identities are dynamically negotiated as discourse unfolds, Languaging Diversity explores the wide theme of identity in discourse, an area of investigation which has become increasingly popular in recent years.
A key theme in assembling this volume was that the relationship between diversity and identity cannot be alienated from the factual distribution of material resources in society. All contributions in the volume – carefully selected and peer reviewed – at least partially react to such critical scenery in order to explore the topics surrounding the modes in which diversity is linguistically articulated by and in discourse. The various studies deal with how individuals draw on linguistic resources to achieve, maintain or challenge representations pertaining to their cultural, social, ethnic, sexual, gender, professional, or institutional identities.
The volume comprises six sections: In the News; In Politics; Constructing Identities; Across Generations and Genders; Ethnicities; and Popularising Ideas. Each section reflects the choice of the various topics through the employment of a variety of methodologies and a variety of theoretical frameworks. As such, this volume is an innovative attempt to challenge the present-day underpinnings of diversity studies.
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