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Word Meaning (Language Workbooks)
by Richard HudsonIn Word Meaning, Richard Hudson introduces readers to the techniques of lexical semantic analysis.Word Meaning:* is based on a problem-solving approach to language* introduces readers to the technical terminology and basic principles associated with the analysis of word meaning* shows students how to apply these terms and principles to English* includes suggestions for further work
Word Meaning and Legal Interpretation: An Introductory Guide
by Christopher Mark HuttonThis book introduces ideas about word meaning in the context of law. It analyzes cases from common law jurisdictions that concern the meaning, definition and legal status of individual words, labels and categories. The focus is on the question of how law assigns authority over word meaning in different circumstances and in different domains of law.
Word Meaning and Montague Grammar: The Semantics of Verbs and Times in Generative Semantics and in Montague's PTQ (Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy #7)
by D. R. DowtyThe most general goal of this book is to propose and illustrate a program of research in word semantics that combines some of the methodology and results in linguistic semantics, primarily that of the generative semantics school, with the rigorously formalized syntactic and semantic framework for the analysis of natural languages developed by Richard Montague and his associates, a framework in which truth and denotation with respect to a model are taken as the fundamental semantic notions. I hope to show, both from the linguist's and the philosopher's point of view, not only why this synthesis can be undertaken but also why it will be useful to pursue it. On the one hand, the linguists' decompositions of word meanings into more primitive parts are by themselves inherently incomplete, in that they deal only in distinctions in meaning without providing an account of what mean ings really are. Not only can these analyses be made complete by a model theoretic semantics, but also such an account of these analyses renders them more exact and more readily testable than they could ever be otherwise.
Word Meaning and Syntax: Approaches to the Interface (Oxford Surveys in Syntax & Morphology #9)
by Stephen WechslerThis book examines the nature of the interface between word meaning and syntax, one of the most controversial and elusive issues in contemporary linguistics. It approaches the interface from both sides of the relation, and surveys a range of views on the mapping between them, with an emphasis on lexical approaches to argument structure. Stephen Wechsler begins by analysing the fundamental problem of word meaning, with discussions of vagueness and polysemy, complemented with a look at the roles of world knowledge and normative aspects of word meaning. He then surveys the argument-taking properties of verbs and other predicators, and presents key theories of lexical semantic structure. Later chapters provide a description of formal theories and frameworks for capturing the mapping from word meaning to syntactic structure, as well as arguments in favour of a lexicalist approach to argument structure. The book will interest scholars of theoretical linguistics, particularly in the fields of syntax and lexical semantics, as well as those interested in psycholinguistics and philosophy of language.
Word of Mouth: Gossip and American Poetry (Hopkins Studies in Modernism)
by Chad BennettCan the art of gossip help us to better understand modern and contemporary poetry? Gossip;€™s ostensible frivolity may seem at odds with common conceptions of poetry as serious, solitary expression. But in Word of Mouth, Chad Bennett explores the dynamic relationship between gossip and American poetry, uncovering the unexpected ways that the history of the modern lyric intertwines with histories of sexuality in the twentieth century. Through nuanced readings of Gertrude Stein, Langston Hughes, Frank O;€™Hara, and James Merrill;¢;‚¬;€?poets who famously absorbed and adapted the loose talk that swirled about them and their work;¢;‚¬;€?Bennett demonstrates how gossip became a vehicle for alternative modes of poetic practice. By attending to gossip;€™s key role in modern and contemporary poetry, he recognizes the unpredictable ways that conventional understandings of the modern lyric poem have been shaped by, and afforded a uniquely suitable space for, the expression of queer sensibilities.Evincing an ear for good gossip, Bennett presents new and illuminating queer contexts for the influential poetry of these four culturally diverse poets. Word of Mouth establishes poetry as a neglected archive for our thinking about gossip and contributes a crucial queer perspective to current lyric studies and its renewed scholarly debate over the status and uses of the lyric genre.
Word of Mouth: Gossip and American Poetry (Hopkins Studies in Modernism)
by Chad BennettCan the art of gossip help us to better understand modern and contemporary poetry? Gossip;€™s ostensible frivolity may seem at odds with common conceptions of poetry as serious, solitary expression. But in Word of Mouth, Chad Bennett explores the dynamic relationship between gossip and American poetry, uncovering the unexpected ways that the history of the modern lyric intertwines with histories of sexuality in the twentieth century. Through nuanced readings of Gertrude Stein, Langston Hughes, Frank O;€™Hara, and James Merrill;¢;‚¬;€?poets who famously absorbed and adapted the loose talk that swirled about them and their work;¢;‚¬;€?Bennett demonstrates how gossip became a vehicle for alternative modes of poetic practice. By attending to gossip;€™s key role in modern and contemporary poetry, he recognizes the unpredictable ways that conventional understandings of the modern lyric poem have been shaped by, and afforded a uniquely suitable space for, the expression of queer sensibilities.Evincing an ear for good gossip, Bennett presents new and illuminating queer contexts for the influential poetry of these four culturally diverse poets. Word of Mouth establishes poetry as a neglected archive for our thinking about gossip and contributes a crucial queer perspective to current lyric studies and its renewed scholarly debate over the status and uses of the lyric genre.
Word of Mouth: A New Introduction to Language and Communication
by Geoffrey FinchThe study of language has evolved dramatically over the last thirty years. We know more about language use and development than ever before. But many of these new ideas can challenge our notions of identity and our sense of uniqueness. Word of Mouth introduces these ideas and explores the power of words to shape and influence our lives. The book starts with a discussion of the evolution of language and then goes on to examine major areas in the field of language study: communication, media, social function, grammatical structure and psychology. Each chapter begins by considering our everyday encounter with language and then develops a view of the subject which fits with our experience as inhabitants of the 21st century. This fully revised and updated edition contains new material throughout, including more discussion of the possible origins of language, the impact of digital media and the study of politeness. With a fresh, engaging and jargon-free approach to the subject, the book is an enjoyable and intellectually exciting exploration of language. This new edition of Word of Mouth is the ideal introductory guide to language for both general readers and students.
Word of Mouth: Fama and Its Personifications in Art and Literature from Ancient Rome to the Middle Ages
by Gianni GuastellaThe concept expressed by the Roman term fama, although strictly linked to the activity of speaking, recalls a more complex form of collective communication that puts diverse information and opinions into circulation by 'word of mouth', covering the spreading of rumours, expression of common anxieties, and sharing of opinions about peers, contemporaries, or long-dead personages within both small and large communities of people. This 'hearsay' method of information propagation, of chain-like transmission across a complex network of transfers of uncertain order and origin, often rapid and elusive, has been described by some ancient writers as like the flight of a winged word, provoking interesting contrasts with more recent theories that anthropologists and sociologists have produced about the same phenomenon. This volume proceeds from a brief discussion of the ancient concept to a detailed examination of the way in which fama has been personified in ancient and medieval literature and in European figurative art between the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries. Commenting on examples ranging from Virgil's Fama in Book 4 of the Aeneid to Chaucer's House of Fame, it addresses areas of anthropological, sociological, literary, and historical-artistic interest, charting the evolving depiction of fama from a truly interdisciplinary perspective. Following this theme, it is revealed that although the most important personifications were originally created to represent the invisible but pervasive diffusion of talk which circulates information about others, these then began to give way to embodiments of the abstract idea of the glory of illustrious men. By the end of the medieval period, these two different representations, of rumour and glory, were variously combined to create the modern icon of Fame with which we are more familiar today.
Word of Mouth: Fama and Its Personifications in Art and Literature from Ancient Rome to the Middle Ages
by Gianni GuastellaThe concept expressed by the Roman term fama, although strictly linked to the activity of speaking, recalls a more complex form of collective communication that puts diverse information and opinions into circulation by 'word of mouth', covering the spreading of rumours, expression of common anxieties, and sharing of opinions about peers, contemporaries, or long-dead personages within both small and large communities of people. This 'hearsay' method of information propagation, of chain-like transmission across a complex network of transfers of uncertain order and origin, often rapid and elusive, has been described by some ancient writers as like the flight of a winged word, provoking interesting contrasts with more recent theories that anthropologists and sociologists have produced about the same phenomenon. This volume proceeds from a brief discussion of the ancient concept to a detailed examination of the way in which fama has been personified in ancient and medieval literature and in European figurative art between the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries. Commenting on examples ranging from Virgil's Fama in Book 4 of the Aeneid to Chaucer's House of Fame, it addresses areas of anthropological, sociological, literary, and historical-artistic interest, charting the evolving depiction of fama from a truly interdisciplinary perspective. Following this theme, it is revealed that although the most important personifications were originally created to represent the invisible but pervasive diffusion of talk which circulates information about others, these then began to give way to embodiments of the abstract idea of the glory of illustrious men. By the end of the medieval period, these two different representations, of rumour and glory, were variously combined to create the modern icon of Fame with which we are more familiar today.
Word On The Street: Debunking The Myth Of A Pure Standard English
by John McwhorterThough there is a contingent of linguists who fight the fact, our language is always changing--not only through slang, but sound, syntax, and words' meanings as well. Debunking the myth of "pure" standard English, tackling controversial positions, and eschewing politically correct arguments, linguist John McWhorter considers speech patterns and regional accents to demonstrate just how the changes do occur. Wielding reason and humor, McWhorter ultimately explains why we must embrace these changes, ultimately revealing our American English in all its variety, expressiveness, and power.
Word Order and Parameter Change in Romanian: A Comparative Romance Perspective (Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics #36)
by Alexandru NicolaeThe book provides a comprehensive description and in-depth analysis of the major word order changes that took place in the clausal and the nominal domains in the transition from old to modern Romanian. The data are set in a comparative Romance perspective, with attention also paid to the impact of the Balkan Sprachbund and the influence of Old Church Slavonic. Alexandru Nicolae's analysis is based on a qualitative and quantitative examination of a large number of phenomena in a representative corpus of old Romanian texts. Some of these phenomena, such as scrambling, interpolation, discontinuous constituents, and variation in the position and linearization of DP-internal adjectival modifiers, are found across Romance, while others, such as the low position for pronominal cliticization, are relatively rare. Still others are specific to old and modern Romanian, such as the proclitic and enclitic realization of the same pronominal clitic, the low definite article, and the adjectival article construction. From an empirical perspective, the volume fills a gap in the Romance linguistics literature, as several of the phenomena it explores have been largely neglected to date. More broadly it offers a valuable contribution to research into word order typology and change, the nature and content of syntactic parameters, and the theory of grammaticalization and syntactic change.
Word Order and Scrambling (Explaining Linguistics #4)
by Simin KarimiWord Order and Scrambling introduces readers to recent research into the linguistic phenomenon called scrambling and is a valuable contribution to the fields of theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and applied linguistics. Introduces readers to recent research into the linguistic phenomenon called scrambling, or free word order. Explores major issues including factors responsible for word order variations, how scrambled constructions are processed, and whether variations are available in early child language development and in second language acquisition. Discusses a number of typologically diverse languages including Hindi, Japanese, and Navajo. Provides enlightening information on different aspects of word order variation and the consequences for our understanding of the nature of human language.
Word Order Change (Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics #29)
This volume explores word order change within the framework of diachronic generative syntax. Word order is at the core of natural language grammatical systems, linking syntax with prosody and with semantics and pragmatics. The chapters in this volume use the tools provided by the generative theory of grammar to examine the constrained ways in which historical word order variants have given way to new ones over time. Following an introduction by the editors, the book is divided into four parts that investigate changes regarding the targets for movement within the clausal functional hierarchy; changes (or stability) in the nature of the triggers for movement; verb movement into the left peripheries; and types of movement, with specific focus on word order change in Latin. Data are drawn from a wide variety of languages from different families and from both classical and modern periods, including Sanskrit, Tocharian, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Hungarian, and Coptic Egyptian. The book's broad coverage and combination of language-internal and comparative studies offers new perspectives on the relation between word order change and syntactic movement. The volume also provides a range of wider insights into the properties of natural language and the way in which those properties constrain language variation and change.
Word Order In Old Italian (Oxford Studies in Diachronic and Historical Linguistics #7)
by Cecilia PolettoThis book explores sets of movement cases in medieval Italian from 1200 to 1315. It offers an integrated description of all the relevant aspects of word order in Old Italian based on uniform principles (analysing the left periphery of the sentence, of the verbal phrase, and of the determiner phrase, and the interaction of these structures with quantification and negation). From the theoretical point of view, it considers the possibilities of a syntactic model in which the (left) edges of the constituents play an essential role in determining the possible structures. The author suggests that Old Italian has a rule preposing topic and focus elements to dedicated positions not only in the left periphery of the complementizer phase but also in the left periphery of other phases. She also provides an account of the apparent optional negative concord pattern exhibited by Old Italian in terms of dedicated positions. The book concludes with a summary of the various types of preposing presented in the book, arguing that all cases of optionality can be resolved within a single grammar and without need to resort to the double base hypothesis, which requires competence of the speakers on two different grammatical systems. The book makes important contributions to the medieval history of Italian, to Romance historical linguistics, and to the study of diachronic syntactic change more generally.
Word Order in Turkish (Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory #97)
by A. Sumru ÖzsoyThis volume is a collection of studies on various aspects of word order variation in Turkish. As a head-final, left-branching ‘free’ word order language, Turkish raises a number of significant theory-internal as well as language-particular questions regarding linearization in language. Each of the contributions in the present volume offers a fresh insight into a number of these questions, thus, while expanding our knowledge of the language-particular properties of the word order phenomena, also contribute individually to the theory of linearization in general. Turkish is a configurational language. It licenses constructions in which constituents can occur in non-canonical presubject as well as postverbal positions. Presented within the assumptions of the generative tradition, the discussion and analyses of the various aspects of the linearization facts of the language offer a novel treatment of the issues therein. The authors approach the word order phenomena from a variety of perspectives, ranging from purely syntactic treatments, to accounts as syntax-PF interface or syntax-discourse interface phenomena or as output of base generation.
Word Origins: The Hidden Histories Of English Words From A To Z
by John AytoThe average contemporary English speaker knows 50,000 words. Yet stripped down to its origins, this apparently huge vocabulary is in reality much smaller, derived from Latin, French and the Germanic languages. It is estimated that every year, 800 neologisms are added to the English language: acronyms (nimby), blended words (motel), and those taken from foreign languages (savoir-faire). Laid out in an A-Z format with detailed cross references, and written in a style that is both authoritative and accessible, Word Origins is a valuable historical guide to the English language.
Word Perfect: Etymological Entertainment For Every Day of the Year
by Susie Dent'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' Pam Ayres'Susie Dent is a national treasure' Richard OsmanWelcome to a year of wonder through the English language with Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner.From Turning a Blind Eye (Nelson putting the telescope to his missing eye to ignore the order to stop fighting) to why May Day became a distress call; from stealing someone's thunder to the real Jack the Lad, from tartle (forgetting someone's name) to snaccident (unintentionally eating a whole packet of biscuits), WORD PERFECT is her brilliant linguistic almanac full of unforgettable true stories tied to every day of the year. You'll never be lost for words again.
Word Play: A cornucopia of puns, anagrams and other contortions and curiosities of the English language
by Gyles Brandreth'No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.' Only words can do that. Words are magic. Words are fun.Join Gyles Brandreth - wit and word-meister, Just A Minute regular, One Show reporter, denizen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, founder of the National Scrabble Championships, patron of The Queen's English Society, QI, Room 101, Have I Got News For You and Pointless survivor - on an uproarious and unexpected magic carpet ride around the awesome world of words and wordplay.Puns, palindromes, pangrams, Malaprops, euphemisms, mnemonics, acronyms, anagrams, alphabeticals, Tweets, verbiage, verbarrhea - if you can name it, you should find it here, along with the longest, shortest, wittiest, wildest, oldest, latest, oddest, most interesting and most memorable words in the English language - the richest, most remarkable language ever known.
Word Play: Language Activities for Young Children (nasen spotlight)
by Sheila Wolfendale Trevor BryansStrong basic language skills are the foundation on which successful future learning is built. Written by veteran SEN authors Sheila Wolfendale and Trevor Bryans, Word Play provides practitioners and parents with a range of fun activities, word games, story and drama exercises that can be used to introduce early language skills in an enjoyable way. Word Play is: straightforward and practical written by well respected experts in education for staff in early years settings for teachers to work with parents for children aged from approximately four to seven years for parents wishing to help their children to learn for all workers in Early Years environments as well as parents of young children.
Word Play: Language Activities for Young Children (nasen spotlight)
by Sheila Wolfendale Trevor BryansStrong basic language skills are the foundation on which successful future learning is built. Written by veteran SEN authors Sheila Wolfendale and Trevor Bryans, Word Play provides practitioners and parents with a range of fun activities, word games, story and drama exercises that can be used to introduce early language skills in an enjoyable way. Word Play is: straightforward and practical written by well respected experts in education for staff in early years settings for teachers to work with parents for children aged from approximately four to seven years for parents wishing to help their children to learn for all workers in Early Years environments as well as parents of young children.
Word Power: Activities for Years 5 and 6
by Terry SaundersFirst Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Word Power: Activities for Years 5 and 6
by Terry SaundersFirst Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Word Prominence in Languages with Complex Morphologies
This volume focuses on the theoretical and analytical challenges that languages with complex morphologies pose for the theory and typology of word-level prosodic phenomena. The morphological complexity and phonological length that are characteristic of words in these languages make them a particularly fruitful ground for investigating the effects of both phonological and morphological factors in the assignment of prominence. The first three chapters in the volume explore general theoretical issues pertaining to word prominence in synthetic languages, including the issue of 'wordhood' and the empirical, theoretical, and methodological issues with delineating word-level prominence and the higher-level prosodic phenomena in these languages. These are followed by a series of case studies on stress, accent, and tone in a geographically and genetically diverse set of languages with highly synthetic morphologies including languages of the Americas, Europe and Asia, and Australia. The volume adopts an interdisciplinary perspective, combining phonetic, phonological, and morphosyntactic insights. It will be of interest not only to phonologists and morphologists, but to all those interested in the typological and theoretical issues relating to polysynthetic languages.
Word Recognition in Beginning Literacy
by Linnea C. Ehri Jamie L. MetsalaThis edited volume grew out of a conference that brought together beginning reading experts from the fields of education and the psychology of reading and reading disabilities so that they could present and discuss their research findings and theories about how children learn to read words, instructional contexts that facilitate this learning, background experiences prior to formal schooling that contribute, and sources of difficulty in disabled readers. The chapters bring a variety of perspectives to bear on a single cluster of problems involving the acquisition of word reading ability. It is the editors' keen hope that the insights and findings of the research reported here will influence and become incorporated into the development of practicable, classroom-based instructional programs that succeed in improving children's ability to become skilled readers. Furthermore, they hope that these insights and findings will become incorporated into the working knowledge that teachers apply when they teach their students to read, and into further research on reading acquisition.