Kategoria BISAC: Language Arts & Disciplines >> Linguistics - Semantics

Imperative clauses are recognized as one of the major clause types alongside those known as declarative and interrogative. Nevertheless, they are still an enigma in the study of meaning, which relies largely on either the concept of truth conditions or the concept of information growth neither of which are easily applied to imperatives. This book puts forward a fresh perspective. It analyzes imperatives in terms of modalized propositions, and identifies an additional, presuppositional, meaning component that makes an assertive interpretation inappropriate. The author shows how these two...

Die Reihe HANDBUCHER ZUR SPRACH- UND KOMMUNIKATIONSWISSENSCHAFT erschliet einen Wissensbereich, der sowohl die allgemeine Linguistik und die speziellen, philologisch orientierten Sprachwissenschaften als auch diejenigen Wissenschaftsgebiete umfasst, die sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten aus der immer umfangreicher werdenden Forschung uber die vielfaltigen Erscheinungen des kommunikativen Handelns entwickelt haben.

In der klassischen Disziplin der Sprachwissenschaft erscheint eine Zusammenfassung des Wissensstandes notwendig, um der im Wechsel der Theorien rasch voranschreitenden...

On the basis of synchronic and diachronic data analysis, the volume takes a close look at the synchronic layers of binominal size noun and type noun uses (a bunch/a load of X; a sort of X; a Y type of X) and reconsiders the framework of grammaticalization in view of issues raised by the phrases under discussion. As a result, a construction grammar-approach to grammaticalization is developed which does justice to the syntagmatic lexical, or collocational, reclustering observed in the data within an eclectic cognitive-functional...

Lesley Jeffries introduces a phenomenon which has not been given the attention it deserves - the contextual construction of oppositional meaning. These are opposites not recognisable as such out of context but that are clearly set up this way in the text concerned.

The significance of oppositional meaning is well-known, and has been discussed by scholars for millennia, from Philosophy to Politics. But the main emphasis has always been on the conventional opposite: the opposite recognised by lexical semantics.

Starting from socio-cultural...

This is an engaging study of the mental lexicon: the way in which the form and meaning of words is stored by speakers of specific languages. Fortescue attempts to narrow the gap between the results of experimental neurology and the concerns of theoretical linguistics in the area of lexical semantics. The prime goal as regards linguistic theory is to show how matters of lexical organization can be analysed and discussed within a neurologically informed framework that is both adaptable and constrained.
It combines the perspectives of distributed network modelling and linguistic...

This volume presents an overview of new developments and applications of social semiotic theory. Pioneered by M.A.K. Halliday, social semiotic theory sees meaning as created through the interaction of texts (including writing, images, sound and space) within a given context. Divided into five sections, the contributors use social semiotic theory to analyse a range of contexts, including the classroom, the museum and cinema. The case studies show the range and scope of this method of analysis, and include: the school curriculum; literacy; print media; online resources; film; and...

Semiotic Landscapes is an exciting addition to the study of linguistic landscapes.

It looks at how landscape generates meaning and combines three major areas of scholarly interest each concerned with central dimensions of contemporary life: language and visual discourse, spatial practices, and also the changes bought about by global capitalism and ever increasing mediatization.

The editors look at: the textual/discursive construction of place; the use of space as a semiotic resource; the extent to which these processes are shaped by wider economic and political...

Formulaic sequences are more or less fixed word combinations such as idioms, collocations, lexical bundles, phrasal verbs and so on. Study in this area has grown over the past fifteen years, despite the fact that there are no academic journals or conferences devoted to this topic.
This edited collection is an attempt to draw together the diverse international work on formulaic language. It features an introduction by Dr. Regina Weinert, a pioneer and expert in the study of formulaic language in acquisition. The authors have an international scope, from China and Italy to...

Gila Schauer's study of interlanguage pragmatic development in English is situated in the context of studying abroad. It is the first book-length study of a common occurrence worldwide, but one that has not received the focus it deserves. Schauer examines the interlanguage pragmatic development of German learners of English at a British University over the course of a year. The focus is not only on the learners' productive pragmatic development, but also on their pragmatic awareness, which is compared with their grammatical awareness.
The analysis undertaken is both qualitative and...

New Discourse on Language addresses the need for innovative analyses of multi-modal discourse, identity and affiliation within functional linguistics. The chapters in this volume are connected by their common underlying theoretical approach, Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL), and by their focus on semantic variation (across modalities of communication and between speakers) as well as the negotiation of identity and affiliation.

The analyses focus on a diverse range of texts from very different contexts, using analytic techniques that are based on the latest research in...

Examining the syntax and semantics of discourse markers, this book employs a syntactic approach to describe discourse markers inHead-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), relevant in a theory of discoursebecause it provides a framework in which all levels of grammar can beintegrated. Since discourse markers operate at discourse level, a welldeveloped discourse theory is required - in this case, Segmented DiscourseRepresentation Theory (SDRT) is adopted. During the course of the book, Minimal Recourse Semantics is explained as it provides an integration of HPSGand SDRT.The approach...