The Dynamics of Language, Volume 35: An Introduction For the whole of the last half-century, most theoretical syntacticians have assumed that knowledge of language is different from the tasks of speaking and understanding. There have been some dissenters, but, by and large, this view still holds sway.
This book takes a different view: it continues the task set in hand by Kempson et al (2001) of arguing that the common-sense intuition is correct that knowledge of language consists in being able to use it in speaking and understanding. The Dynamics of Language argues that interpretation is built up across as sequence of words relative to some context and that this is all that is needed to explain the structural properties of language. The dynamics of how interpretation is built up is the syntax of a language system. The authors' first task is to convey to a general linguistic audience with a minimum of formal apparatus, the substance of that formal system. Secondly, as linguists, they set themselves the task of applying the formal system to as broad an array of linguistic puzzles as possible, the languages analysed ranging from English to Japanese and Swahili.
*Argues that knowledge in language consists of being able to use it in speaking and understanding
*Analyses a variety of languages, from English to Japanese and Swahili
*Appeals to a wide audience in the disciplines of language, linguistics, anthropology, education, psychology, cognitive science, law, media studies, and medicine
What Is Anthropology? Leading anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen shows how anthropology is a revolutionary way of thinking about the human world. Perfect for students, but also for those who have never encountered anthropology before, this book explores the key issues in an exciting and innovative way. Eriksen explains how to see the world from below and from within - emphasising the importance of adopting an insider's perspective. He reveals how seemingly enormous cultural differences actually conceal the deep unity of humanity.
Language and Learning: Philosophy of Language in the Hellenistic Age The sophistication and diversity of Hellenistic traditions addressing problems of language will make the study of those linguistic theories an intriguing subject to all students of the history of language theory in general. A novice in Hellenistic philosophy will also find that the study of the different schools’ concern with language and linguistic phenomena provides an excellent introduction to the doctrines of the various schools, since it sheds light on their epistemology as well as on their logical, ethical and physical presuppositions.
There are three main centres of interest that received special attention from all schools in the Hellenistic age and its aftermath.
(1) There is the question of the origin of language or languages. Though the notion of a ‘wise inventor’ of language was generally treated with disfavour, the problem of the etymology of linguistic expressions and their reference to reality posed a challenge to all philosophical schools.
(2) Special attention was also given to the question of the interdependence between language and thought in general, particularly in view of the importance attributed to rhetoric and other forms of self-expression.
(3) Last, but not least, is the concern with the question in what sense ‘language’ can be treated as a technical subject with rules of its own, so that grammar is not merely a matter of empirical research and linguistic observation.
Global Metaphors: Modernity and the Quest for One World
The advent of the twentieth century saw an incredible advance in scientific technology. By the inter-war period of the 1920s and early 1930s cars, planes and radios were a part of everyday life, and science became a popular cult for a new age. Faith in science surged amidst an atmosphere of intellectual and social crisis.
Jo-Anne Pemberton looks in detail at the rhetoric used by the political classes of the time that propagated a vision of a new global unity, and reveals the way in which those same metaphors and imagery are used today in the rhetoric of globalization. Then, as now, the idea of "one world" was challenged by notions of manyness and multiplicity.
Drawing parallels between then and now, "Global Metaphors" reveals how much of the appeal of globalization rhetoric relies on shimmering technological fantasies about the future. Today this also incorporates images of the environment which are used to reinforce the idea of an interconnected world. While this seductive imagery is impelled at one level by the romance of scientific invention, Pemberton reveals the way in which it is also used to cement particular political, economic and cultural interests as universal goods. Arguing that our current debate about globalization is in effect a rerun of the same debate from the inter-war period, she explores why globalist thinking gains currency at particular moments in history, and looks beyond this to the interests, values and cultural biases it belies.
The book explores many similarities between early twentieth century discussions of modernity and late twentieth century debates about post modernity
Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 1: North America
This 10-volume set lists and describes more than 1,500 global cultures. Based on research of social scientists, it is the source for historical, social, political, economic, linguistic, religious, and other information on virtually every existing culture. Its cross-cultural perspective meets high school curricular requirements for world studies and social sciences.