Bücher der Reihe Linguistic Insights

The papers in this volume are devoted to new in-depth treatments of distinctive aspects of Chinese and Japanese syntax, semantics and pragmatics, informed by influential theoretical concepts of the day, including cognitive grammar, construction grammar, information structure, grammaticalization and linguistic typology.

This empirical study examines the learning problem of the argument structure of psych predicates such as «The dog frightens John» and the related V-ing adjectives such as «The dog is frightening to John». The problem is theoretically interesting because of the marked nature of the thematic role mapping of these sentences in relation to the principle of the Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (UTAH). The problem is highly relevant to our understanding of second language acquisition, as this is known to be a prevalent difficulty among language learners. The author has framed the learning problem within a coherent parametric framework drawing on a sophisticated critical review of the syntax/semantics literature and theories of L2 development. The author has specifically developed a theory, the «Semantic Salience Hierarchy Model» (SSHM), to explain the learning process. The significance of the model is not confined only to this particular study, as the issues related to the L2 acquisition of other causative verbs can also be examined within this model. The findings of this study also bear implications to TESOL.

This volume explores intercultural communication in specialist fields and its realisations in language for specific purposes. Special attention is given to legal, commercial, political and institutional discourse used in particular workplaces, analysed from an intercultural perspective. The contributions explore to what extent intercultural pressure leads to particular discourse patternings and lexico-grammatical / phonological realisations, and also the extent to which textual re-encoding and recontextualisation alter the pragmatic value of the texts taken into consideration.

This volume includes fifteen papers focussing on three important aspects of the history of English in Britain and overseas since the eighteenth century: the grammatical tradition of prescriptivism, syntactic developments and sociolinguistic factors affecting language variation. Within these areas, methodological approaches include those relating to corpus linguistics, social network theory, the investigation of specialized discourse in a diachronic perspective, and lexicography. The individual sections are highly cohesive with each other, as the ideological considerations on which the prescriptive tradition was founded are underpinned by sociological factors. Theoretical contributions appear alongside ¿case studies¿ in which instances of specific usage are investigated.

This volume contains a selection of the papers presented at the Conference on Historical News Discourse (CHINED) that was held in Florence (Italy) on 2-3 September 2004. The aim of the Conference was to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of recent research in the field of news discourse in early modern Britain. The first section of the volume focuses on news discourse in serial publications while the second part examines aspects of news language in non-serial works. Contributions include synchronic and diachronic analyses of reportage, polemic, propaganda, review journalism and advertisements in a wide range of texts including newsletters, pamphlets and newspapers. Each section is structured chronologically so that the reader can appreciate aspects of the general historical development of news discourse. The variety of topics and methodologies reflects some of the most interesting research being carried out in the field.

This volume includes a selection of fifteen papers delivered at the Second International Conference on Late Modern English. The chapters focus on significant linguistic aspects of the Late Modern English period, not only on grammatical issues such as the development of pragmatic markers, for-to infinitive constructions, verbal subcategorisation, progressive aspect, sentential complements, double comparative forms or auxiliary/negator cliticisation but also on pronunciation, dialectal variation and other practical aspects such as corpus compilation, which are approached from different perspectives (descriptive, cognitive, syntactic, corpus-driven).

This book explores the property of co-reference within various texts as a possible means of distinguishing genre types. Based on observed rather than invented material, it supplies empirical data on co-reference as a cohesive mechanism within authentic English texts. Co-referential form and frequency are identified in nine texts representing three genres: academic journals, news magazine articles and fictional narrative texts. This study offers not only quantitative but also qualitative information regarding co-reference in three individual text types, thereby laying the foundation for a comparative study of the three different genres. Focusing on the property of co-reference in this way singles out differences in language use and allows for some pertinent statements to be made regarding modes of co-reference as an indicator of text variety.

The volume focuses on the languages of Anglophone films and television series and their dubbing into Italian. The chapters cover a rich range of topics including syntactic, lexical and sociolinguistic features of audiovisual dialogue, cross-linguistic contrasts, and the translation of culture specific references and multilingualism on screen.

This book explores the interplay between norm and usage in lexis. The contributions examine the norm-setting role of dictionaries, the importance of authentic data in lexicography, the impact of the Web on language usage and on the processes of norm creation, and the impact of mass-mediated communication on lexis.

The book brings together current research on the description of English using a range of corpora. It consists of a foreword, a review of the diachronic studies and another of the synchronic studies, twelve research papers, and a subject index. Five of the papers are about diachronic description and seven are about synchronic description.

This book comprises a range of general discussions on tradition and innovation in the methodology used in discourse studies (Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Argumentation Theory, Rhetoric, Philosophy) and a number of empirical applications of such methodologies in the analysis of actual instances of language use in the public sphere.

A collection of papers using samples of real language data (corpora) to explore variation in the use of English. It celebrates the achievements of Toshio Saito, a pioneer in corpus linguistics within Japan and founder of the Japan Association for English Corpus Studies (JAECS).

Presents the research of an international group of scholars, engaged in the analysis of academic discourse from a genre-oriented perspective. This title provides examples of the complexity and flexibility of genres, which have shown to be subject to a continuous tension between stability and change as well as between convention and innovation.

Explains how and why grammatical gender disappeared from English through a detailed analysis of unhistorical gender assignment within the noun phrase in "Layamon's Brut".

The volume explores Creativity and Innovation in Language Education linked with issues such as cultures and language use, language teaching, business settings, technology. It reflects on strategies for achieving language competences, while underlining the belief that creativity is a skill to identify and stimulate for the benefit of the entire society.

Discourse and Identity in the Professions

Given the consolidated position of English as the international language for communication in business and management, this book depicts a scenario in which to analyse and compare interactions between eastern/western European users of English, as well as Asian/European/North American speakers.

This volume explores discourse genres in Web-mediated communication, and in particular it deals with genre change and evolution under the pressure of technological renewal and the availability of new affordances, focusing on a variety of discursive practices including those that emerge from Web 2.0 platforms.

In many parts of the world the language education scenario is increasingly dynamic, as demographic, economic and social changes powerfully influence socio-political agendas in the sphere of language education. This volume provides a useful overview of (second) language education in the world today.

Becoming Multilingual

Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise Genres and Trends

Discourse, Identities and Genres in Corporate Communication

Discourse, Identities and Roles in Specialized Communication

A collection of articles that covers a range of topics in English philology and history of linguistics. It offers an approach in literary and linguistic research into Anglo-Saxon England. It deals with English phonology from both historical and contemporary standpoints, and another with a theoretical discussion of etymological inquiry.

Deals with bilingual education in general, but it pays special attention to bilingual education in monolingual areas. This title aims to study effects of bilingual programmes during final stages of Primary and Secondary Education in contexts.

Presents some of findings from a project on various aspects of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In this title, the chapters draws on discourse-based data to investigate extent to which 'integrity' of ADR principles is maintained in practice, and to what extent there is an increasing level of influence from litigative processes and procedures.