This book details patterns of language use found in the writing of adult learners of Norwegian as a second language (L2). Each study draws its data from the same corpus of L2 Norwegian texts and exami
In this interdisciplinary collection of lectures, Chris Sinha presents a uniquely cultural, developmental and evolutionary approach to cognitive linguistics. Topics range from language in children’s p
This module on the nature of language aims to provide the novice and even experienced teacher with a broad and accessible picture of language as a formal system. As such, it covers topics such as the
This book draws inspiration from Maurice Merleau-Ponty's concept of intercorporeality to offer a new, multidisciplinary perspective on the body. By drawing attention to the body's ability to simultane
Learning About Language is an exciting and ambitious series of introductions to fundamental topics in language, linguistics and related areas. The books are designed for students of linguistics and th
The book offers a basic introduction to the theory of Cognitive Grammar, which claims that meaning resides in conceptualization, and that grammar is inherently meaningful, residing in the structuring
This book reviews the basic claims and descriptive constructs of Cognitive Grammar, outlines major themes in its ongoing development, and applies these notions to central problems in grammatical analy
Linguistic typology identifies both how languages vary and what they all have in common. This Handbook provides a state-of-the art survey of the aims and methods of linguistic typology, and the conclusions we can draw from them. Part I covers phonological typology, morphological typology, sociolinguistic typology and the relationships between typology, historical linguistics and grammaticalization. It also addresses typological features of mixed languages, creole languages, sign languages and secret languages. Part II features contributions on the typology of morphological processes, noun categorization devices, negation, frustrative modality, logophoricity, switch reference and motion events. Finally, Part III focuses on typological profiles of the mainland South Asia area, Australia, Quechuan and Aymaran, Eskimo-Aleut, Iroquoian, the Kampa subgroup of Arawak, Omotic, Semitic, Dravidian, the Oceanic subgroup of Austronesian and the Awuyu-Ndumut family (in West Papua). Uniting the expe
This book proposes a new two-step approach to the evolution of language, whereby syntax first evolved as an auto-organizational process for the human conceptual apparatus (as a Language of Thought), a
This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume.
Combining advanced quantitative methods in classroom research with individual-level qualitative data, this study demonstrates that the capacity of late starters vastly surpasses popular expectations.
Combining advanced quantitative methods in classroom research with individual-level qualitative data, this study demonstrates that the capacity of late starters vastly surpasses popular expectations.
This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume.
This collection of nine papers brings together Naoki Fukui’s pioneering body of work on Merge, the basic operation of human language syntax, from the two distinct but related perspectives of theoretic
The question of complexity, as in what makes one language more 'complex' than another, is a long-established topic of debate amongst linguists. Recently, this issue has been complemented with the view that languages are complex adaptive systems, in which emergence and self-organization play major roles. However, few students of the phenomenon have gone beyond the basic assessment of the number of units and rules in a language (what has been characterized as 'bit complexity') or shown some familiarity with the science of complexity. This book reveals how much can be learned by overcoming these limitations, especially by adopting developmental and evolutionary perspectives. The contributors include specialists of language acquisition, evolution and ecology, grammaticization, phonology, and modeling, all of whom approach languages as dynamical, emergent, and adaptive complex systems.
George Steiner is one of the preeminent intellectuals of our time. The Washington Post has declared that no one else “writing on literature can match him as polymath and polyglot, and few can equal th
