This book is the second of the two-volume collection of papers on formulaic language. The collection is among the first in the field. The authors of the papers in this volume represent a diverse group of international scholars in linguistics and psychology. The language data analyzed come from a variety of languages, including Arabic, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish, and include analyses of styles and genres within these languages.
Formulaic Language, Vol. 1 - Distribution and Historical Change
This book is the first of the two-volume collection of papers on formulaic language. The collection is among the first ones in the field. The book draws attention to the ritualized, repetitive side of language, which to some estimates make up over 50% of spoken and written text. While in the linguistic literature, the creative and innovative aspects of language have been amply highlighted, conventionalized, pre-fabricated, off-the-shelf expressions have been paid less attention an imbalance that this book attempts to remedy.
The Pandion knight Sparhawk and his companions continue their quest for the Bhelliom, the legendary jewel whose power alone can save a dying queen. Eddings's strength lies in his ability to create thoroughly likable heroes with personalities that transcend the formulaic fantasy genre. Graceful prose and judicious humor add style to this excellent addition to fantasy collections.
A considerable proportion of our everyday language is "formulaic". It is predictable in form and idiomatic--apparently stored in fixed or semi-fixed chunks. This book explores the nature and purposes of formulaic language, and looks for patterns across the research findings from the fields of discourse analysis, first language acquisition, language pathology and applied linguistics. It gradually builds up a unified description and explanation of formulaic language as a linguistic solution to a larger, non-linguistic, problem, the promotion of self.
