Literature and Understanding investigates the cognitive gain from literature by focussing on a reader’s close analysis of a literary text. It examines the meaning of ‘literature’, outlines the most prominent positions in the literary cognitivism debate, explores the practice of close reading from a philosophical perspective, provides a fresh account of what we mean by ‘understanding’ and in so doing opens up a new area of research in the philosophy of literature.  

Introduces the six major novels of Jane Austen, a perenially popular author, as well as her other writings Combines critical introductions to each of Austen's six major novels with the exploration of key themes of her work Emphasizes the social and historical context of Austen's fiction, and her satirical response to her contemporary world Explores the literary and publishing context of Austen's fiction, and discusses her technical innovations

This textbook serves a dual purpose. It is, first, a comprehensive introduction to historical linguistics, intended for both undergraduate and graduate students who have taken, at the least, an introductory course in linguistics. Secondly, unlike many such textbooks, this one is based in the theoretical framework of Cognitive Linguistics, a semantics-based theory which emphasizes the relationship between cognition and language. Descriptions and explanations touch on cognitive, social, and physiological aspects of language as it changes across time. 

This book explores how resurgent nationalism across the globe demands re-examination of many of the theories and practices in applied linguistics and language teaching as political forces seek to limit the movement of people, goods, and services across national borders and, in some cases, enact violence upon those with linguistic and/or ethnic backgrounds that differ from that of the dominant culture. 

This book examines the pronunciation goals of teachers, course leaders, and learners on a ten-week UK pre-sessional access course, particularly with regard to suprasegmental instruction and target of instruction on how these goals are reflected in pronunciation assessment, and how teacher goals are informed by their attitudes and beliefs. A mixed methods approach, including direct observation and semi-structured interviews, is employed to address the area of enquiry. Results show a lack of clarity of course goals. Although there is a firm emphasis on suprasegmental instruction, in semi-structured interviews, teachers report a lack of clear course goals and guidance.