The Foundations of Linguistic Theory (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar)

The Foundations of Linguistic Theory (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar) PDF

Author: Nigel Love

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 238

ISBN-13: 1317933648

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For Roy Harris, the fundamental problem about linguistics is that it has been led astray by the fact that we are capable intellectually of ‘decontextualising’ our own verbal behaviour. A whole interlocking system of doctrines about forms, meanings and communication has arisen designed to support the idea that one particular kind of decontextualising analysis is a prerequisite for, rather than a retrospective reflection on, that behaviour. Against this, in 13 essays collected here for the first time, Harris argues for a fresh start, which recognises that we create language ‘as we go’, both as individuals and as communities, just as we create our social structures, forms of artistic expression, moral values, and everything else we call civilisation. If Harris’s thought can be put in a nutshell, it is that all utterances (whether written or spoken) have to appear in a context, and that context is an integral part of the utterance. There is no such thing as a contextless utterance.

Foundations of General Linguistics (RLE Linguistics A: General Linguistics)

Foundations of General Linguistics (RLE Linguistics A: General Linguistics) PDF

Author: Martin Atkinson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 1134741251

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The first edition of this major introduction to linguistics rapidly established itself as an important student textbook, and a reference tool for those who already have some acquaintance with linguistics. This second edition has been updated and revised and includes new chapters on syntax and on current developments in generative grammar, as well as new material on the nature of language and on morphology. This book first provides a comprehensive critical review of the analytic tools and theories of linguistics and systematically surveys major concepts in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Having established the basic nature and structure of language, the final part of the book engages some of the wider issues concerning the use of language in speaking and understanding (psycholinguistics), language development in children, social aspects of language (sociolinguistics), and historical language choice.

The Foundations of Linguistic Theory (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar)

The Foundations of Linguistic Theory (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar) PDF

Author: Nigel Love

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1317933656

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For Roy Harris, the fundamental problem about linguistics is that it has been led astray by the fact that we are capable intellectually of ‘decontextualising’ our own verbal behaviour. A whole interlocking system of doctrines about forms, meanings and communication has arisen designed to support the idea that one particular kind of decontextualising analysis is a prerequisite for, rather than a retrospective reflection on, that behaviour. Against this, in 13 essays collected here for the first time, Harris argues for a fresh start, which recognises that we create language ‘as we go’, both as individuals and as communities, just as we create our social structures, forms of artistic expression, moral values, and everything else we call civilisation. If Harris’s thought can be put in a nutshell, it is that all utterances (whether written or spoken) have to appear in a context, and that context is an integral part of the utterance. There is no such thing as a contextless utterance.

Production and Comprehension of Utterances (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar)

Production and Comprehension of Utterances (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar) PDF

Author: I.M. Schlesinger

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-01-10

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1317933524

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In this volume, the author reviews the results of research on language performance and proposes a model of production and comprehension. Although recent developments in linguistics are taken into account, consideration of other requirements of a performance model leads to the conclusion that the grammar the speaker has in mind differs from the grammar as currently conceived of by most linguists. The author is also critical of recent computer simulations of language performance on the basis that they fall short of describing what goes on in human production and comprehension. The author therefore proposes that the basic issues must be rethought and new theoretical foundations reformulated, in order to arrive at a viable theory of language functioning. In developing the framework of the model presented in this book, requirements of flexibility in the performance mechanisms, the probabilistic nature of comprehension processes, and the interleaving of linguistic rules with context and knowledge of the world are emphasized.

From Grammar to Science

From Grammar to Science PDF

Author: Victor H. Yngve

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1996-01-01

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 9027221618

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Although efforts have been under way for the past two centuries to treat language scientifically, linguists and others who work with language, speech, or communication have not found an adequate scientific foundation in current linguistic theory. Many of the difficulties are caused by longstanding confusions between the logical domain of science and grammar and the physical domain of sound waves and the people who speak and understand. In this book, therefore, the last impediments of tradition, the ancient semiotic-grammatical foundations of linguistics, are set aside. We move into the physical domain, where theories and hypotheses can be tested against observations of the physical reality. Here new foundations are laid that are fully consonant with modern science as practiced in physics, chemistry, and biology. On these foundations is built a structure of testable specific dynamic causal laws of communicative behavior that provides support for treating previously recalcitrant context-dependent semantic, pragmatic, interactive, rhetorical, and literary phenomena. The central role of context in the foundations of the theory provides the insights of scientific lawfulness while still honoring the particularity of situations celebrated in the humanities.

Linguistic Theory

Linguistic Theory PDF

Author: Robert De Beaugrande

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-24

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 1317900642

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In Linguistic Theory, Robert de Beaugrande analyses linguistic theories not as abstract ideas or theses, but as the process and product of theoretical discourse. He argues that the best documentation of this discourse can be found in the 'fundamental' works of major linguists from Ferdinand de Saussure to Teun van Dijk and Walter Kintsch. He therefore employs the highly unusual strategy of a close reading of these works as discourse performances and strives to uncover their main points and characteristic moves in the linguist's own words. Through this approach, the reader is able to appreciate and understand the variety and controversy among linguistic theories as they have emerged and developed in interaction with each other. Special scrutiny is allocated to the issue of how far the active practice of the linguists followed their own theories and proposals, and why. The author concludes by assessing the prospects for linguistics to be drawn from the retrospect in the previous chapters.

Generative Grammar and Linguistic Competence (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar)

Generative Grammar and Linguistic Competence (RLE Linguistics B: Grammar) PDF

Author: P.H. Matthews

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-02-03

Total Pages: 113

ISBN-13: 1317933621

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According to Chomsky, to learn a language is to develop a grammar for it – a generative grammar which assigns a definite structure and a definite meaning to each of a definite set of sentences. This forms the speaker’s linguistic competence, which represents a distinct faculty of the mind, called the faculty of language. This view has been widely criticised, from many separate angles and by many different authors, including some of Chomsky’s pupils. As one of the earliest and most persistent critics, Professor Matthews is especially well placed to tie these arguments together. He concludes that Chomsky’s notion of competence finds no support within linguistics. It can be defended, if at all, only by assuming a traditional philosophy of mind. The notion of grammar should therefore be restricted to descriptive linguistics, and should not have psychological interpretations foisted on it. Peter Matthews’ book covers a variety of topics, from morphology to speech acts, from word meaning to the study of language variation, and from blending in syntax to the relation of language and culture. This wide range of subject matter is incisively handled in a style which is both elegant and economical.

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