Words and Minds : How We Use Language to Think Together

ISBN-13: 9780415224758 / Angielski / Twarda / 2000 / 224 str.

Neil Mercer

Opis

Words and Minds takes a look at the evolution of language and how we use language in joint activities. Examining everyday language and drawing on a range of research, Neil Mercer provides a unified account of the relationship between thought and language. Mercer analyzes real-life examples of language being used effectively or otherwise in many different settings, including workplaces and schools, the home, the Internet, and the courtroom, and offers practical insights into how we might improve our communication skills. The book should appeal to anyone interested in language and how we use it.

Recenzje

'The potentially wide-reaching results of this study... publication is timely' - Sheila MacDonald, Independent

'This is a fascinating and accessible book. It would be of interest to anyone with a human interest in finding out more about how we use language in developing our understanding.' - Marian Sainsbury, National Foundation for Educational Research

'This work is a successful combination of review and originality, accessible to those not already indoctrinated into the discourse of the close analysis of text, but also containing much of interest to those who are.' - Andy Wilcox, The Linguist

Spis treści

1. Language as a tool for thinking 2. Laying the Foundations 3. The given and the new 4. Persuasion, control and argument 5. Communities 6. Development through dialogue 7. Investigating interthinking Conclusion

O autorze

Neil Mercer is Professor of Language and Communications at the Open University.