Language: history and general works Books

Book SynopsisAnyone writing texts in English is constantly faced with the unavoidable question whether to use open spelling (drinking fountain), hyphenation (far-off) or solid spelling (airport) for individual compounds. While some compounds commonly occur with alternative spellings, others show a very clear bias for one form. This book tests over 60 hypotheses and explores the patterns underlying the spelling of English compounds from a variety of perspectives. Based on a sample of 600 biconstituent compounds with identical spelling in all reference works in which they occur (200 each with open, hyphenated and solid spelling), this empirical study analyses large amounts of data from corpora and dictionaries and concludes that the spelling of English compounds is not chaotic but actually correlates with a large number of statistically significant variables. An easily applicable decision tree is derived from the data and an innovative multi-dimensional prototype model is suggested to account for the results.Trade Review'The investigation successfully explains why and how English compounds are orthographically represented … The book will therefore prove convenient mainly for researchers with an interest in morphology and the lexicon who appreciate an empirical corpus-based approach to language. These readers will readily recognise the vast majority of concepts and models discussed, and at the same time they will easily become familiarized with the new ones thanks to the clear distribution of contents, evolving from simpler to more complex. All in all, this publication is a valuable resource for anyone who wishes to understand the variables affecting compound spelling and has previous experience in corpus analysis and research.' Jesús Fernández-Domínguez, LINGUIST ListTable of Contents1. Introduction; Part I. Theoretical Background: 2. Delimitating the compound concept; 3. The normative background; Part II. Empirical Study of English Compound Spelling: 4. Material and method; 5. Potential determinants of English compound spelling; Part III. Modelling English Compound Spelling: 6. Compound spelling heuristics; 7. Modelling English compound spelling; 8. Summary and conclusion.

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Book Synopsis- PART I: THE DEATH OF ESPERANTO IN THE SOVIET UNION.- Chapter 1: The events of 1937-38.- Chapter 2: Esperantists in the Great Purge.- Chapter 3: The emergence of Soviet patriotism.- Chapter 4: International correspondence.- Chapter 5: Silence descends.- PART II: ESPERANTO REBORN.- Chapter 6: After the Second World War: The Great Silence in Eastern Europe.- Chapter 7: Stalin against Marr.- Chapter 8: The needs of the present.- Chapter 9: Revival of the movement.- Chapter 10: Eastern Europe: progress and problems.- Chapter 11: The Soviet Union: between hope and doubt.- PART III: CONCLUSION.- Chapter 12: Conclusion: Dangerous Language or Language of Hope?.Table of Contents- PART I: THE DEATH OF ESPERANTO IN THE SOVIET UNION.- Chapter 1: The events of 1937-38.- Chapter 2: Esperantists in the Great Purge.- Chapter 3: The emergence of Soviet patriotism.- Chapter 4: International correspondence.- Chapter 5: Silence descends.- PART II: ESPERANTO REBORN.- Chapter 6: After the Second World War: The Great Silence in Eastern Europe.- Chapter 7: Stalin against Marr.- Chapter 8: The needs of the present.- Chapter 9: Revival of the movement.- Chapter 10: Eastern Europe: progress and problems.- Chapter 11: The Soviet Union: between hope and doubt.- PART III: CONCLUSION.- Chapter 12: Conclusion: Dangerous Language or Language of Hope?.

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Book SynopsisConstanze Weth is at the Institute for Research on Multilingualism, University of Luxembourg, LuxembourgKasper Juffermans is at the Institute for Research on Multilingualism, University of Luxembourg, LuxembourgTrade ReviewA fascinating collection of studies of conflict between writing and speech. * Linguistic Landscape *Taking its readers from medieval Russia to nineteenth century Western Europe and further to present settings in Africa, Asia and Europe ... This edited volume is an interesting and valuable publication for researchers and scholars dealing with (standard) language ideologies especially in bi- or multilingual settings as well as researchers interested in language standardization processes and the power of writing and writing systems within this context. * LINGUIST List *Table of ContentsPreface 1. The tyranny of writing in language and society, Constanze Weth (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg) and Kasper Juffermans (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg) 2. Revisiting the 'tyranny of writing', Florian Coulmas (University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany) 3. How to write a birch-bark letter: Vernacular orthography in medieval Novgorod, Daniel Buncic (University of Cologne, Germany) 4. The end of the standard language: The rise and fall of a European language culture, Joop van der Horst (University of Leuven, Belgium) 5. The tyranny of Orthography: Multilingualism and Frenchification at primary schools in late 19th-century France, Manuela Böhm (University of Kassel, Germany) 6. Ideologies of language and literacy in the German educational reform movement at the end of the long 19th century, Ulrich Mehlem (Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany) 7. When God is a linguist: Missionary orthographies as a site of social differentiation and the technology of location, Ashraf Abdelhay (Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar), Busi Makoni (Pennsylvania State University, USA) and Sinfree Makoni (Pennsylvania State University, USA and University of South Africa, South Africa) 8. Standard English, cricket, nationalism and tyrannies of writing in Sri Lanka, Harshana Rambukwella (Open University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka) 9. Escaping the tyranny of writing: West African regimes of writing as a model for multilingual literacy, Friederike Lupke (SOAS, University of London, UK) 10. Writing Chinese: A challenge for Cantonese-L1 and South Asian Hongkongers, David C. S. Li (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) 11. Fangyan and the linguistic landscapes of authenticity: Normativity and innovativity of writing in Globalizing China, Xuan Wang (Tilburg University, Netherlands) 12. Dialect authenticity upside down: Brabantish writing practices of a black comedian on Twitter, Jos Swanenberg (Tilburg University, Netherlands) 13. Salty politics and linguistics in the Balearic Islands: Tracing a nonstandard iconization in metalinguistic Facebook communities, Lucas Duane (University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg and Open University of Catalonia, Spain) Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisDENNIS FREEBORN was Head of Language Studies at the College of Ripon and York St. John, UK, until 1984, and was Chief Examiner in English Language Studies for the London University Schools Examinations Board. He is the author of A Course Book in English Grammar and Varieties of English, both also published by Palgrave Macmillan.

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Book SynopsisWhat can the classification of languages tell us about human origins and human prehistory? This book presents a popular account of the origin of language. It is intended for an audience with no prior knowledge of comparative linguistics, genetics or archaeology. The present volume is a reprint of the 2009 second edition of the book, and includes the text of the first edition (1994) with minor modifications, as well as the scientific evidence for monogenesis, and a Postscript recounting developments in the field since the original publication of the book.

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Book SynopsisDuring the tenth century England began to emerge as a distinct country with an identity that was both part of yet separate from 'Christendom'. The reigns of Athelstan, Edgar and Ethelred witnessed the emergence of many key institutions: the formation of towns on modern street plans; an efficient administration; and a serviceable system of tax. Mark Atherton here shows how the stories, legends, biographies and chronicles of Anglo-Saxon England reflected both this exciting time of innovation as well as the myriad lives, loves and hates of the people who wrote them. He demonstrates, too, that this was a nation coming of age, ahead of its time in its use not of the Book-Latin used elsewhere in Europe, but of a narrative Old English prose devised for law and practical governance of the nation-state, for prayer and preaching, and above all for exploring a rich and daring new literature. This prose was unique, but until now it has been neglected for the poetry. Bringing a volatile age to vivid and muscular life, Atherton argues that it was the vernacular of Alfred the Great, as much as Viking war, that truly forged the nation.Trade ReviewHe tells [the] story in a fresh and appealing way, by focusing on close readings of key texts, for their literary qualities as much as historical detail, and including some unexpected selections. In keeping the style light and the pace lively, the book is well suited to a general audience or to students coming to the period for the first time, from whatever disciplinary perspective they approach, and is sure to entice many of its readers to further study of medieval history and literature. * The Medieval Review *A useful contribution ... its most attractive feature is the wide range of both Latin and vernacular literature Atherton discusses, finding significance and interest in texts that might have been thought too esoteric to set before non-specialists ... the chronological lists at the beginning of each chapter, giving dates of the events mentioned, are an excellent idea. * Parergon *[This book] is a truly interdisciplinary cultural history, covering literature, language, history and landscape studies, and is one that will be accessible to all stages of undergraduate students and members of the general public looking for an engaging introduction to the Anglo-Saxon period ... Through its engaging style and creative approach, Atherton’s book really comes alive and tempts the reader to imagine life in the Anglo-Saxon world. * English Studies *

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Book SynopsisThis book, by an eminent scientist and philosopher, provides strong evidence for the claim that language is a general principle of Nature, rooted exclusively in physical and chemical laws. The author’s radical idea inevitably leads us to view the essence, origin and evolution of life in a completely new light. It shifts the coordinates of our scientific world-view in favor of an overarching concept of language that is able to bridge the gap between matter and mind. At the same time, it removes a blind spot in the Darwinian concept of evolution. To justify this far-reaching idea, the book takes a long and deep look at our scientific and philosophical thinking, at language as such, at science’s claim to truth, and at its methods, unity, limits and perspectives. These are the cornerstones structuring the book into six thematically self-contained chapters, rounded off by an epilogue that introduces the new topic of Nature’s semantics. The range of issues covered is a testimony to how progress in the life sciences is transforming the whole edifice of science, from physics to biology and beyond. The book is aimed at a broad academic and general readership; it requires no mathematical expertise.Table of Contents1. Language: Gateway to the World2. Truth: The Regulative Principle of Cognition3. Methods: Ways of Gaining Knowledge4. Unity: The Deep Structure of Science5. Limits: Insights into the Reach of Science6. Perspectives: Designing Living Matter7. Epilogue: Nature’s SemanticsAuthor IndexSubject Index

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Book SynopsisDespite their opposite emotional effects, humor and horror are highly similar phenomena. They both can be traced back to (the detection, resolution, and emotional elaboration of) incongruities, understood as semantic violations through unexpected combinations of oppositional information. However, theoretical and experimental comparisons between humor and resolvable incongruities that elicit other emotions than exhilaration have been lacking so far. To gain more insights into the linguistic differences between humor and horror and the cognitive real-time processing of both, a main concern of this book is to discuss the transferability of linguistic humor theories to a systematic horror investigation and directly compare self-paced reading times (SPR), facial actions (FACS), and event-related brain potentials (ERP) of normed minimal quadruplets with frightening and humorous incongruities as well as (in)coherent stimuli. The results suggest that humor and horror share cognitive resources to detect and resolve incongruities. To better distinguish humor from neighboring phenomena, this book refines current humor theories by incorporating humor and horror in a cognitive incongruity processing model.

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