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.
Jan 05
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook review
AUTHOR: Ursula Wingate
TITLE: Academic Literacy and Student Diversity
SUBTITLE: The Case for Inclusive Practice
SERIES TITLE: New Perspectives on Language and Education
PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters
YEAR: 2015
REVIEWER: Laura Dubcovsky, University of California, Davis
Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry
SUMMARY
The book “Academic literacy and student diversity. The case for inclusive
practice” poses the question of academic literacy in four Anglo speaking
countries: United States, United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. Ursula
Wingate takes into account a diverse student population, with special emphasis
on international students, whose admission is currently a popular trend in
modern universities around the world. The author offers a linear and clear
structure, moving from a general state of the art of academic literacy at the
university level (Chapter 1), to specific models and instructional approaches
(Chapters 2-3). She describes principles and features inherent to
discipline-based approaches (Chapters 4-5) and classifies major themes among
students’ academic experience (Chapter 6). Finally Wingate proposes an
inclusive model of academic literacy for all, considering content, methodology
and evaluation (Chapter 7). She concludes with challenges and institutional
changes embedded in current force market (Chapter 8).
In the first chapter, “Academic Literacy and Student Diversity: What is the
problem?” Ursula Wingate attempts to define academic literacy. She starts by
departing from superficial features of grammar and style that have dominated
the scene through discourses of deficiency and remediation. She also proposes
to reach all students, claiming that although universities show higher numbers
of underrepresented students, there are still persistent inequalities and
serious disadvantages that need to be overcome. Then the author outlines her
epistemological and sociocultural understanding of academic literacy, drawing
on communicative competence parameters (Hymes 1972), community of practice
models (Lave & Wenger 1991), and language socialization theories (Duff 2010).
Finally the author addresses the instructional aspect of academic literacy,
arguing that university professors and lecturers rarely give explicit
explanations to improve their advanced literacy skills in the specific content
area to students. They either overlook language use as they feel responsible
for teaching subject content only, or they send “struggling” students to
remedial classes, which mainly focus on language skills and generic academic
English. In her view, students from all backgrounds need to be taught how to
communicate competently in academic language to be successful in their study
programs.
In the second chapter Wingate focuses on the writing aspect of “Approaches to
academic literacy instruction.” First she provides a general overview that
includes skills, processes, genres, social practices, and socio-political
approaches. She also presents clear “Classifications of approaches to
teaching academic literacy” (Table 2.1 p. 16) and exemplifies with distinctive
models (Lea & Street 1998, Ivanič 2004, Hyland 2002). Then the scholar
analyzes three genre traditions in-depth, comparing and contrasting types of
orientation, teaching aims, and theoretical and contextual underpinnings (Hyon
1996). While Rhetorical Genre Studies (RGS) has a sociological orientation,
it is interdisciplinary in nature and questions the explicit teaching of
genres in the classroom, Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) share linguistic orientation, believe in social
functions of genres and promote a visible pedagogy. After her detailed
examination of genre-based approaches, the author advocates for a joint effort
among different genre traditions and an added socio-political layer to textual
analyses in order to improve current teaching of academic literacy.
In the first part of Chapter 3, titled “Current practice in academic literacy
instruction,” Wingate addresses four main limitations observed in university
classrooms: generic teaching, trivialization and marginalization, exclusive
targeting of specific learner groups, and inadequate distribution of
responsibilities between writing experts and subject teachers. The author
provides evidence of reductive practices from thirty-three curricula of
British universities. These programs mostly limit the teaching of academic
literacy to a set of grammatical structures, spelling errors and syntax, focus
on skills and accuracy, and employ fixed templates disengaged from the content
areas. Additionally teachers provide neither explicit instruction nor
systematic and formative feedback. In the second part Wingate revises goals,
methodologies and scope of transformative practices, typically concerned with
nontraditional, non-native and international students. The author concludes
that challenging pedagogies, such as Academic Literacies, Critical English for
Academic Purposes, English as Academic Lingua Franca, and Multilingualism,
call for deeper transformation to embrace more seriously linguistic and
cultural diversity. Among other suggestions, she proposes to abandon dominant
monolingual and one-directional policies, accommodate the needs of all
students, enable minorities to express their views, and incorporate new genres
and social media.
Chapter 4 “Discipline-specific approaches to academic literacy instruction”
discusses the need for collaboration and integration in order to enhance the
quality of academic teaching for all students. As Wingate explains, the
stronger and more consistent the relationship between the writing expert and
the subject matter instructor is, the more successful the academic literacy
instruction will become. To illustrate this joint effort, the scholar traces
a continuum from lower to higher involvement, showing stages of ‘cooperation,’
‘collaboration,’ and ‘team-teaching.’ She also draws examples from Australian
and South African curricula and presents a table with “Increasing levels of
integration” through ‘extracurricular, additional, curriculum-linked, and
curriculum- integrated’ programs (Table 4.1 p. 60). Later in the chapter
Wingate resumes the genre-based literature review, limiting it to empirical
studies based on instructional settings only (Tardy 2006). Although the author
seeks for evidence, she acknowledges that data-driven studies may lack a
strong theoretical framework, show only indirect applications, and employ
authority, rather than experience, as the basis for pedagogical interventions.
Finally Wingate focuses on two effective teaching practices. She finds that
popular textual modeling and explicit teaching may not always be effective.
For example, students often receive inauthentic, limited or less suitable
models, while teachers sometimes implement a “visible pedagogy” that turns out
to be too prescriptive and normative, or driven by monolithic forms and linear
transmission. To overcome theoretical and practical limitations the author
advocates a genre-based approach that combines an informational corpus with
qualitative text analyses in addition to socio-political layers (Adel & Reppen
2008, Biber 2006, and also Chapter 2).
In Chapter 5 “Reading and writing” Wingate complements the construct of
academic literacy by focusing on reading activity. Equally important as
writing (already described in Chapter 2), the reading aspect is nevertheless
often taken for granted (Swales 2002). To compensate for this common
disregard, the author enumerates the beneficial components of skilled reading:
automatic recognition skills, vocabulary and structural knowledge, formal
discourse structure knowledge, content/world background knowledge, synthesis
and evaluation skills/strategies, and metacognitive knowledge and skills
monitoring (Grabe 1991). Then she summarizes three models that include
relevant reading epistemologies: transmission, translation and transaction
(Schraw & Brunig 1996). After claiming that reading and writing are strongly
related, Wingate selects source-based activities that involve both literacy
components to succeed in academic literacy, such as identifying sources,
selecting relevant information from these sources, and evaluating and
integrating sources in arguments (McCulloch 2013). Finally the author shows
examples of academic reading courses from different universities, emphasizing
academic skills of referencing, paraphrasing and summarizing. Above all she
praises the teaching of academic reading and writing within the context of the
subject area, and the opportunities such teaching affords for practicing
academic skills, socializing in the academic language, and appropriating
literacy behaviors.
In Chapter 6 “Academic literacy development and the student experience”
Wingate describes students’ difficulties as they become novice writers of
academic discourses, especially focusing on international students, because
they constitute an appealing population for universities. The scholar follows
three major themes from the student’s perspective. First, interviewees agree
in the frequent mismatch between academic requirements and student life
experience. Usually instructions are not very explicit, or critical policy
measures, such as plagiarism and attributions, are not clearly spelled out to
foreign students (Lillis & Turner 2001). The second theme refers to critical
thinking and argumentation, closely related to students’ prior knowledge and
background experiences, as well as to their further language and rhetorical
socialization, as expected at the university level (Turner 2011). For most
foreign students identity is the third theme, as it affects how they position
themselves in the classroom, express themselves in their own voices and gain
agency (Morita 2004). Interestingly, these themes are also reflected even in
support-oriented programs that fail to recognize differences in time
management and uses of sources, or in well-intentioned lecturers who offer
superficial feedback and do not facilitate reasoned stances, among other
failures. The scholar claims that these themes demonstrate the need for
explicit teaching, supporting the notion that academic literacy is in fact a
very complex phenomenon that involves technical, conceptual and
epistemological underpinnings.
In Chapter 7 “Towards an inclusive model of academic literacy instruction”
Wingate first shows various literacy models rooted in exemplary practices, and
then introduces her own study, conducted in a UK university across four
disciplines: Applied Linguistics, History, Management and Pharmacy. She
describes her intervention and includes achievements and limitations of “An
inclusive model of academic literacy instruction” (Figure 7.1 p. 128). Through
the visual representation and further explanations, the author clearly
connects the inclusive model to the four principles of (1) focus on genres and
their social context, (2) broad range for all students, (3)
discipline-specific and integrated curriculum, and (4) collaboration between
writing and subject experts. Additionally Wingate describes the content of her
approach, which follows particular SFL features of rhetorical moves (Chang &
Schleppegrell 2011), discourse-semantics (Martin 1992, Ravelli 2004) and
lexico-grammar (Schleppegrell 2004). She also points at the methodology of
her approach that facilitates the teaching/learning cycle of deconstruction,
joint construction, and independent construction. Overall the model embraces
constructivist theories (Vygotsky 1978) and creates scaffolding conditions to
favor genre awareness and critical awareness, especially through group
discussions and tutors’ guided conversations.
The last chapter moves “Towards the implementation of an inclusive model of
academic literacy instruction.” Wingate links the theoretical principles and
arguments developed throughout the chapters to the practical intervention
conducted in her study. She confirms some limitations of the model that
conflict with the cited principles. For example the low number of participants
inhibits the availability for all students, the “add-on” workshops recommended
interfere with an integrated curriculum, and the lecturers’ extra volunteer
work do not reflect institutional support and cooperation. In light of these
findings, Wingate urges for changes at the institutional level, so that
students and instructors receive structural, financial and organizational
support, while universities benefit from a broader and more varied spectrum of
students, as expected in current highly competitive markets. On the one hand
faculty and staff need better preparation for teaching academic literacy in
the content area, high qualitative feedback, as well as better defined defined
working roles and load (Sadler 2010). On the other hand the “inclusive model”
should reach not only typically “needy” students, but a broader diversity of
home and international, native and non-native English speakers, traditional
and non-traditional, first college generation and high-fee paying students.
Finally the “literacy for all” model should tap all aspects of academic
literacy, including communicative competence, the literacy process and text
production (Wingate et al. 2011).
EVALUATION
“Academic literacy and student diversity. The case for inclusive practice” is
a straightforward account of current academic literacy at the university
level. Ursula Wingate reviews relevant literature and summarizes main topics
that affect the epistemology and practice of advanced literacy for a diverse
population. The clear and straightforward tone will capture the interest of
university professionals, especially writing experts and subject lecturers who
work with international and non-English speaking students.
The author presents a neat organization, where goals, contents, methods and
intervention are clearly developed. The accompanying tables and figures
throughout the chapters contribute to the overall tight structure. Moreover
Wingate strengthens her proposed model by including data-driven studies and
anecdotal examples from different experiences in Anglophone countries. The
book has, however, some limitations, as the scholar recognizes, mainly given
by the low-scale of her intervention. It also presents information which is
not entirely new for scholars and practitioners in the field of academic
literacy. However novice instructors and researchers will find the
hierarchical organization and the literature review helpful for deepening and
up-dating understanding. Furthermore they could extract ideas for a practical
manual, useful for collaborative teaching between subject lecturers and
writing experts.
REFERENCES
Adel, A. and R. Reppen (eds.) 2008. Corpora and discourse: The challenges of
different settings. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Biber, D. 2006. University language: A corpus-based study of spoken and
written registers. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Chang, P. & M. Schleppegrell. 2011. Taking and effective authorial stance in
academic writing: Making the linguistic resources explicit for L2 writers in
the social sciences. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 10(3). 140-151.
Duff, P. 2010. Language socialization into academic discourse communities.
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 30.169-192.
Grabe, W. 1991. Current developments in second language reading research.
TESOL quarterly 25(3). 375-406.
Hyland, F. 2002. Teaching and researching writing. Harlow: Pearson Education.
Hymes, D. 1972. On communicative competence. In J. Pride & J. Holmes (eds).
Sociolinguistics (269-293) London: Penguin.
Hyon, S. 1996. Genre in three traditions: Implications for ESL. TESOL
quarterly 30(4). 693-722.
Ivanič, R. 2004. Discourses of writing and learning to write. Language and
Education 18(3). 220-245.
Lave, J. and Wenger, E. 1991. Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral
participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lea, M. & B. Street. 1998. Student writing in higher education: An academic
literacies approach. Studies in Higher Education 23(2).157-172.
Lillis, T. & J. Turner. 2001. Student writing in higher education.
Contemporary confusion, traditional concerns. Teaching in Higher Education
6(1). 57-68.
McCulloch, S. 2013. Investigating the reading-to-write processes and source
use of L2 postgraduate students in real- life academic tasks: An exploratory
study. Journal of English for Academic Purposes 12(2).136-147.
Martin, J. 1992. English text: System and structure. Amsterdam: John
Benjamins.
Morita, N. 2004. Negotiating participation and identity in second language
academic communities. TESOL quarterly 38(4). 573-603.
Ravelli, L. 2004. Signalling the organization of written texts: Hyper-Themes
in management and history essays. In L.J. Ravelli & R. Ellis (eds) Analysing
Academic Writing: Contextualized Frameworks. (104-129) London: Continuum.
Sadler, D. 2010. Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex
appraisal. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 35(5). 535-550.
Schleppegrell, M. 2004. Technical writing in a second language: The role of
grammatical metaphor. In L.J. Ravelli & R. Ellis (eds.) Analysing academic
writing: Contextualized frameworks. (172-189) London: Continuum.
Schraw, G. & R. Brunig.1996. Readers’ implicit models of reading. Reading
Research Quarterly 31(3). 290-305.
Swales, J. 2002. Integrated and fragmented worlds: EAP materials and corpus
linguistics. In J. Flowerdew (ed.) Academic Discourse. (150-164) Harlow:
Pearson Education.
Tardy, C. 2006. Researching first and second language genre learning: A
comparative review and a look ahead. Journal of second language writing 15(2).
79-101.
Turner, J. 2011. Language in the academy: Cultural reflexivity and
intercultural dynamics. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Vygotsky, L. 1978. Mind in society: The development of higher psychological
functions. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Wingate, U., Andon N. & Cogo, A. 2011. Embedding academic writing instruction
into subject teaching: A case study. Active Learning in Higher Education
12(1). 1-13.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Laura Dubcovsky is a lecturer and supervisor in the Teacher Education Program from The School of Education at the University of California, Davis. She has a Master’s in Education and a PhD in Spanish linguistics with special emphasis on second language acquisition. Her areas of interest combine the fields of language and bilingual education. She is dedicated to the preparation of prospective bilingual Spanish/English teachers, especially on the use of Spanish for educational purposes. She collaborates as a reviewer with the Linguistic list serve and bilingual associations, as well as with teachers, principals, and specialists at the school district. She has taught a course that addresses Communicative and Academic Spanish needed in a bilingual classroom for more than ten years. She also published the article, Functions of the verb decir (”to say”) in the incipient academic Spanish writing of bilingual children. Functions of Language, 15(2), 257-280 (2008). Laura continues working on uses of Spanish by bilingual teachers , bilingual home/school connections , and academic language across school disciplines.
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.
Dec 08
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhannouncements
Chapter proposals are invited for an edited book titled ”Cognition and Communication in Extraterrestrial Intelligence.” To date, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has emphasized technological aspects, as astronomers use radio and optical telescopes to search for signals from advanced civilizations at interstellar distances. At the same time, biologists have researched the prospects for microbial life on other planets. This book will bridge the gap between the biologists studying microbial life and the astronomers searching for artificial signals from extraterrestrial intelligence by focusing on the likely nature of communication systems and intelligence on other planets. Contributions are invited from an internationally diverse group of scholars from a range of disciplines including but not limited to linguistics. Chapters should focus on the possible nature of cognition and/or communication of intelligence – either biological or artificial – that may exist elsewhere in the galaxy. Contributions that specifically address the prospects for language-like features in extraterrestrial communication systems are especially welcome.
Interested authors should send a 400-word abstract, 200-word biography, and sample of a previously published chapter or article to Douglas Vakoch at dvakoch@setiinternational.org by January 15, 2016. Proposers will be notified about whether their submissions are accepted for the book by February 1, 2016. For accepted proposals first drafts of full chapters (8,000 – 9,000 words) are due by June 1, 2016, and final versions are due August 1, 2016. Only previously unpublished papers will be considered. Preference will be given to authors who have already earned a doctorate.
Confirmed contributors and their chapter topics include:
”The Evolutionary Psychology of Extraterrestrials”
Jerome H. Barkow, Dalhousie University, Canada
”Situated and Embodied Cognition and Its Relevance to Extraterrestrial Intelligence”
Pauli Laine, University of Jyväskylä, Finland and David Dunér, Lund University, Sweden
”Anticipating the Conceptual Worlds of Extraterrestrial Intelligence: An Embodied Cognition Approach”
Heath Matheson, University of Pennsylvania, USA
”Cephalopod Behavior and Neurobiology: An Alternative Model for Intelligence”
Dominic Sivitilli and David H. Gire, University of Washington, USA
”Intra- and Interspecies Dolphin Communication: Insights from an Aquatic Alien World”
Denise Herzing, The Wild Dolphin Project and Florida Atlantic University, USA
”The Challenges of Understanding Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Lessons from the Study of Non-human Terrestrial Intelligences”
Con Slobodchikoff, Northern Arizona University, USA
”From Universal Constraints to Linguistic Universals, or Why Extraterrestrial Intelligences Can Tell Lies and Jokes”
Meir-Simchah Panzer, Bar-Ilan University, Israel and Shlomo Dror, Friedlander Center for Leadership Development, USA
Given that we have no examples of extraterrestrial life to study, and no empirical proof that such life even exists, there are significant methodological constraints on attempting to anticipate the nature of cognition and communication in extraterrestrial intelligence. Chapters that highlight these constraints are especially welcome.
The editor of ”Cognition and Communication in Extraterrestrial Intelligence,” Douglas Vakoch, is President of SETI International, which has as one of its priorities to ”research and communicate to the public the many factors that influence the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe, with a special emphasis on … (1) the fraction of life-bearing worlds on which intelligence evolves, (2) the fraction of intelligence-bearing worlds with civilizations having the capacity and motivation for interstellar communication, and (3) the longevity of such civilizations” (http://setiinternational.org/). His work in SETI was featured in the October 2015 issues of the American Psychological Association’s ”Monitor on Psychology” (http://bit.ly/1VRoXb4) and the British Psychological Society’s ”The Psychologist” (http://bit.ly/1N8BpiB). Vakoch has edited a dozen books, including ”Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence” (SUNY Press, 2011), ”Astrobiology, History, and Society: Life Beyond Earth and the Impact of Discovery” (Springer, 2013), ”Archaeology, Anthropology, and Interstellar Communication” (NASA, 2014), ”Extraterrestrial Altruism: Evolution and Ethics in the Cosmos” (Springer, 2014), and ”The Drake Equation: Estimating the Prevalence of Extraterrestrial Life Through the Ages” (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
Dec 05
ChRIS CLÉiRIGhbook publication
Title: A Systemic-functional Approach to a Variety of Discourse
Subtitle: An Illustration of Genre and Register in British National Newswriting
Series Title: LINCOM Studies in Communication 12
Publication Year: 2015
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
http://www.lincom-shop.eu
Book URL: http://bit.ly/21Cy6dk
Author: María José González Rodríguez
Paperback: ISBN: 9783862886784 Pages: 39 Price: Europe EURO 38.80
Abstract:
The language of newspapers is usually explored by linguists because it is undoubtedly the most widely genre read in Western countries. Systemic linguistics provides useful tools for analyzing newswriting, identifying grammatical and lexical elements that are functional for achieving particular purposes in media discourse. The aim of this study is to explore to what extent situational and cultural context determines the linguistic features used in British national newswriting. More specifically, through a systemic functional approach to language, we illustrate how the most distinctive feature of news discourse, the lead, is itself structured for a particular use and how register variables impact into that language use.
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