Description
Book SynopsisThis collection carries the functionalist Columbia School of linguistics forward with contributions on linguistic theory, semiotics, phonology, grammar, lexicon, and anthropology. Columbia School linguistics views language as a symbolic tool whose structure is shaped both by its communicative function and by the characteristics of its users, and considers contextual, pragmatic, physical, and psychological factors in its analyses. This volume builds upon three previous Columbia School anthologies and further explores issues raised in them, including fundamental theoretical and analytical questions. And it raises new issues that take Columbia School “beyond its origins.” The contributions illustrate both consistency since the school’s inception over thirty years ago and innovation spurred by groundbreaking analysis. The volume will be of interest to all functional linguists and historians of linguistics. Languages analyzed include Byelorussian, English, Japanese, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Swahili.
Table of Contents1. List of Contributors; 2. Introduction: Consistency and Change in Columbia School Linguistics (by Davis, Joseph); 3. Linguistic Theory; 4. Columbia School and Saussure's langue (by Reid, Wallis); 5. Diver's Theory (by Huffman, Alan); 6. Phonology; 7. Phonology as human behavior: Inflectional systems in English (by Tobin, Yishai); 8. Phonological processes of Japanese based on the theory of phonology as human behavior (by Tobin, Yishai); 9. Phonology as human behavior: A combinatory phonology of Byelorussian (by Dreer, Igor); 10. Phonology as human behavior: The case of Peninsular Spanish (by Dekker, Adriaan); 11. Functional motivations for the sound patterns of English non-lexical Interjections (by Joue, Gina); 12. Phonology without the phoneme (by Davis, Joseph); 13. Grammar and lexicon; 14. Tell me about yourself: A unified account of English-self pronouns (by Stern, Nancy); 15. Se without deixis (by Gorup, Radmila J.); 16. The difference between zero and nothing: Swahili noun class prefixes 5 and 9/10 (by Contini-Morava, Ellen); 17. A semantic analysis of Swahili suffix li (by Leonard, Robert A.); 18. The structure of the Japanese inferential system: A functional analysis of daroo, rashii, soo-da, and yooda (by Riggs, Hidemi Sugi); 19. Structuring cues of conjunctive yet, but, and still: A monosemic approach (by Crupi, Charlene); 20. Beyond Language; 21. The case for articulatory gestures - not sounds - as the physical embodiment of speech signs (by Eccardt, Thomas); 22. Meaning in nonlinguistic systems: Observations, remarks, and hypotheses on food, architecture, and honor in Kenya (by Leonard, Robert A.); 23. Index of names; 24. Subject index
