Search results for ""Author James Underhill""

This title explores metaphor theory in the work of contemporary European scholars. This book encourages readers to reflect upon language and the role metaphor plays in patterning ideas and thought. It first offers a critical introduction to metaphor theory as it has emerged over the past thirty years in the States, then widens the scope of metaphor theory by investigating not only the worldview our language offers us, but also the worldviews which we adapt in our own ideological and personal interpretations of the world. James Underhill explores new avenues in metaphor theory in the work of contemporary French, German and Czech scholars. Detailed case studies marry metaphor theory with discourse analysis in order to investigate the ways the Czech language was reshaped by communist discourse, and the way fascism emerged in the German language. The third case study turns metaphor theory on its head: instead of looking for metaphors in language, it describes the way language systems (French & English) are understood in terms of metaphorically-framed concepts evolving over time. Including a multilingual glossary of key terms and concepts, this is an ideal volume for anyone new to the topic, as well as those already interested in metaphor theory and the analysis of worldviews.

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This title is a study of the linguistic philosophy of Wilhelm von Humboldt, Prussian philologist and politician. From linguists such as Sapir, Whorf and Chomsky to philosophers such as Heidegger and sociologists such as Bourdieu, the idea that a language shapes the worldview of its linguistic community has been attributed to Wilhelm von Humboldt, the Prussian philologist and politician (1767-1835). But despite lavish praise, Humboldt's thought- provoking ideas on thought and language remain largely unknown in the English-speaking world. Underhill's concise and rigorously researched book clarifies the main ideas and proposals of Humboldt's linguistic philosophy and demonstrates the way his ideas can be adopted and adapted by thinkers and linguists today. A detailed glossary of terms is provided in order to clarify key concepts and to translate the German terms used by Humboldt.

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This book looks into the fundamental concepts with which we think, and which form the key concepts for discussing democracy in the Western world: 'the individual', 'the people', and 'the citizen'. But it is also about the emerging political context within which we live, Europe.

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