Is Ebonics really a dialect or simply bad English? Do women and men speak differently? Will computers ever really learn human language? Does offensive language harm children? These are only a few of the issues surrounding language that crop up every day. This thoroughly revised second edition updates the book with a new co-author, and includes new chapters on language and power, language extinction, and what it is linguists actually do. Language Matters is sure to engage both general readers and students of language and linguistics at any level.
Language, more than anything else, is what makes us human. It appears that no communication system of equivalent power exists elsewhere in the animal kingdom. Any normal human child will learn a language based on rather sparse data in the surrounding world, while even the brightest chimpanzee, exposed to the same environment, will not.
Language Teacher Supervision illuminates an under-explored area of the language teaching profession. Using case studies of actual teaching situations, the book explores such issues as teacher evaluation, autonomy, authority and awareness and attitude. It contains a wealth of practical detail on gathering data and providing feedback in post-observation conferences with teachers. A variety of cases, together with a comprehensive review of the literature, offers valuable insights into the dynamic, interactive process of language teacher supervision.
What are the unique characteristics of sign languages that make them so fascinating? What have recent researchers discovered about them, and what do these findings tell us about human language more generally?
This best-selling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Assuming no prior knowledge in the subject, Yule presents information in short, bite-sized sections
