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Bastard Tongues
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Book Synopsis Bastard Tongues by : Derek Bickerton
Download or read book Bastard Tongues written by Derek Bickerton and published by Hill and Wang. This book was released on 2008-03-04 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why Do Isolated Creole Languages Tend to Have Similar Grammatical Structures? Bastard Tongues is an exciting, firsthand story of scientific discovery in an area of research close to the heart of what it means to be human—what language is, how it works, and how it passes from generation to generation, even where historical accidents have made normal transmission almost impossible. The story focuses on languages so low in the pecking order that many people don't regard them as languages at all—Creole languages spoken by descendants of slaves and indentured laborers in plantation colonies all over the world. The story is told by Derek Bickerton, who has spent more than thirty years researching these languages on four continents and developing a controversial theory that explains why they are so similar to one another. A published novelist, Bickerton (once described as "part scholar, part swashbuckling man of action") does not present his findings in the usual dry academic manner. Instead, you become a companion on his journey of discovery. You learn things as he learned them, share his disappointments and triumphs, explore the exotic locales where he worked, and meet the colorful characters he encountered along the way. The result is a unique blend of memoir, travelogue, history, and linguistics primer, appealing to anyone who has ever wondered how languages grow or what it's like to search the world for new knowledge.
Book Synopsis Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by : John McWhorter
Download or read book Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue written by John McWhorter and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-10-27 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).
Download or read book Adam's Tongue written by Derek Bickerton and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the world's leading researchers into the evolution of language argues that the acquisition of words changed the structure of early human's brains, which set into motion the limitless creativity that allowed people to make the world that exists today.
Book Synopsis What Language Is by : John McWhorter
Download or read book What Language Is written by John McWhorter and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-02-12 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times bestselling author and renowned linguist, John McWhorter, explores the complicated and fascinating world of languages. From Standard English to Black English; obscure tongues only spoken by a few thousand people in the world to the big ones like Mandarin - What Language Is celebrates the history and curiosities of languages around the world and smashes our assumptions about "correct" grammar. An eye-opening tour for all language lovers, What Language Is offers a fascinating new perspective on the way humans communicate. From vanishing languages spoken by a few hundred people to major tongues like Chinese, with copious revelations about the hodgepodge nature of English, John McWhorter shows readers how to see and hear languages as a linguist does. Packed with Big Ideas about language alongside wonderful trivia, What Language Is explains how languages across the globe (the Queen's English and Surinam creoles alike) originate, evolve, multiply, and divide. Raising provocative questions about what qualifies as a language (so-called slang does have structured grammar), McWhorter also takes readers on a marvelous journey through time and place-from Persian to the languages of Sri Lanka- to deliver a feast of facts about the wonders of human linguistic expression.
Book Synopsis Linguistic Ecology and Language Contact by : Ralph Ludwig
Download or read book Linguistic Ecology and Language Contact written by Ralph Ludwig and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book revisits and updates the concept of linguistic ecology, outlining applications to a variety of contact situations worldwide.
Book Synopsis Putting History to the Question by : Michael Neill
Download or read book Putting History to the Question written by Michael Neill and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering dramatic works by Shakespeare, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, and others--and reflecting upon subjects ranging from social attitudes towards racial difference and adultery to the politics of mercantilism and the hierarchy of master/servant relationships--the book reenergizes the discussion of Renaissance drama and history.
Book Synopsis Language Evolution by : Rudolf Botha
Download or read book Language Evolution written by Rudolf Botha and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-03-03 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Addresses the question: how can we unravel the evolution of language, given that there is no direct evidence about it?
Download or read book Adam's Tongue written by Derek Bickerton and published by Hill and Wang. This book was released on 2009-03-17 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How language evolved has been called "the hardest problem in science." In Adam's Tongue, Derek Bickerton—long a leading authority in this field—shows how and why previous attempts to solve that problem have fallen short. Taking cues from topics as diverse as the foraging strategies of ants, the distribution of large prehistoric herbivores, and the construction of ecological niches, Bickerton produces a dazzling new alternative to the conventional wisdom. Language is unique to humans, but it isn't the only thing that sets us apart from other species—our cognitive powers are qualitatively different. So could there be two separate discontinuities between humans and the rest of nature? No, says Bickerton; he shows how the mere possession of symbolic units—words—automatically opened a new and different cognitive universe, one that yielded novel innovations ranging from barbed arrowheads to the Apollo spacecraft. Written in Bickerton's lucid and irreverent style, this book is the first that thoroughly integrates the story of how language evolved with the story of how humans evolved. Sure to be controversial, it will make indispensable reading both for experts in the field and for every reader who has ever wondered how a species as remarkable as ours could have come into existence.
Book Synopsis A Mind for Language by : Harry van der Hulst
Download or read book A Mind for Language written by Harry van der Hulst and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-09-21 with total page 595 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Illustrated with real-life examples throughout, this book provides a complete introduction to one of the most fundamental question about what it means to be human: how does human language arise in the mind? Theory is explained in an easy-to-understand way, making it accessible for students without a background in linguistics.
Book Synopsis Kisisi (Our Language) by : Perry Gilmore
Download or read book Kisisi (Our Language) written by Perry Gilmore and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-08-13 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognized as a finalist for the CAE 2018 Outstanding Book Award! Part historic ethnography, part linguistic case study and part a mother’s memoir, Kisisi tells the story of two boys (Colin and Sadiki) who, together invented their own language, and of the friendship they shared in postcolonial Kenya. Documents and examines the invention of a ‘new’ language between two boys in postcolonial Kenya Offers a unique insight into child language development and use Presents a mixed genre narrative and multidisciplinary discussion that describes the children’s border-crossing friendship and their unique and innovative private language Beautifully written by one of the foremost scholars in child development, language acquisition and education, the book provides a seamless blending of the personal and the ethnographic The story of Colin and Sadiki raises profound questions and has direct implications for many fields of study including child language acquisition and socialization, education, anthropology, and the anthropology of childhood
Book Synopsis Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition by : Bill VanPatten
Download or read book Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition written by Bill VanPatten and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-26 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new edition of Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition defines the key terminology within second language acquisition, and also provides accessible summaries of the key issues within this complex area of study. The final section presents a list of key readings in second language acquisition that signposts the reader towards classic articles and also provides a springboard to further study. The whole book has been updated and expanded to take into account a wider range of theories and developments since the first edition. It remains at the top of its game. The text is accessibly written, with complicated terms and concepts explained in an easy to understand way. Key Terms in Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for students.
Book Synopsis The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact by : Salikoko Mufwene
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact written by Salikoko Mufwene and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 947 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language contact - the linguistic and social outcomes of two or more languages coming into contact with each other - has been pervasive in human history. However, where histories of language contact are comparable, experiences of migrant populations have been only similar, not identical. Given this, how does language contact work? With contributions from an international team of scholars, this Handbook - the first in a two-volume set - delves into this question from multiple perspectives and provides state-of-the-art research on population movement and language contact and change. It begins with an overview of how language contact as a research area has evolved since the late 19th century. The chapters then cover various processes and theoretical issues associated with population movement and language contact worldwide. It is essential reading for anybody interested in the dynamics of social interactions in diverse contact settings and how the changing ecologies influence the linguistic outcomes.
Book Synopsis The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact by : Salikoko Mufwene
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact written by Salikoko Mufwene and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 850 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language contact - the linguistic and social outcomes of two or more languages coming into contact with each other - starts with the emergence of multilingual populations. Multilingualism involving plurilingualism can have various consequences beyond borrowing, interference, and code-mixing and -switching, including the emergence of lingua francas and new language varieties, as well as language endangerment and loss. Bringing together contributions from an international team of scholars, this Handbook - the second in a two-volume set - engages the reader with the manifold aspects of multilingualism and provides state-of-the-art research on the impact of population structure on language contact. It begins with an introduction that presents the history of the scholarship on the subject matter. The chapters then cover various processes and theoretical issues associated with multilingualism embedded in specific population structures worldwide as well as their outcomes. It is essential reading for anybody interested in how people behave linguistically in multilingual or multilectal settings.
Book Synopsis Language Contact, Continuity and Change in the Genesis of Modern Hebrew by : Edit Doron
Download or read book Language Contact, Continuity and Change in the Genesis of Modern Hebrew written by Edit Doron and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2019-09-18 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The emergence of Modern Hebrew as a spoken language constitutes a unique event in modern history: a language which for generations only existed in the written mode underwent a process popularly called “revival”, acquiring native speakers and becoming a language spoken for everyday use. Despite the attention it has drawn, this particular case of language-shift, which differs from the better-documented cases of creoles and mixed languages, has not been discussed within the framework of the literature on contact-induced change. The linguistic properties of the process have not been systematically studied, and the status of the emergent language as a (dis)continuous stage of its historical sources has not been evaluated in the context of other known cases of language shift. The present collection presents detailed case studies of the syntactic evolution of Modern Hebrew, alongside general theoretical discussion, with the aim of bringing the case of Hebrew to the attention of language-contact scholars, while bringing the insights of the literature on language contact to help shed light on the case of Hebrew.
Book Synopsis Complex Processes in New Languages by : Enoch Oladé Aboh
Download or read book Complex Processes in New Languages written by Enoch Oladé Aboh and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, there has been a new interest in evaluating complex structures in languages. The implications of such studies are varied, e.g., the distinction between supposedly more complex and less complex languages, how complexity relates to human knowledge of language, and the role of the reduction or increase of complexity in language change and creolization. This book focuses on the latter issue, but the conclusions presented here hold of typological complexity in general. The chapters in this book show that the notion of complexity as conceived of in linguistics mainly centres on the outer manifestations of language (e.g., numbers of affixes). This exercise is useful in establishing the patterning of languages in terms of their degrees of analyticity or synthesis, but it fails to address the properties of the inner rules of these grammars, and how these relate to the computational system that governs the human language capacity. Put simply, issues of complexity should not be equated with the complexity observed in surface patterns of grammars alone."
Book Synopsis Origins of Language by : James R. Hurford
Download or read book Origins of Language written by James R. Hurford and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-03-06 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Origins of Language: A Slim Guide offers a concise and accessible overview of what is known about the evolution of the human capacity for language. Non-human animals communicate in simple ways: they may be able to form simple concepts, to feel some limited empathy for others, to cooperate to some extent, and to engage in mind-reading. Human language, however, is characterized by its ability to efficiently express a wide range of subtle and complex meanings. After the first simple beginnings, human language underwent an explosion of complexity, leading to the very complicated systems of grammar and pronunciation found in modern languages. Jim Hurford looks at the very varied aspects of this evolution, covering human prehistory; the relation between instinct and learning; biology and culture; trust, altruism, and cooperation; animal thought; human and non-human vocal anatomy; the meanings and forms of the first words; and the growth of complex systems of grammar and pronunciation. Written by an internationally recognized expert in the field, it draws on a number of disciplines besides linguistics, including philosophy, neuroscience, genetics, and animal behaviour, and will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in language origins and evolution.
Book Synopsis The Morphosyntax of Reiteration in Creole and Non-Creole Languages by : Enoch Oladé Aboh
Download or read book The Morphosyntax of Reiteration in Creole and Non-Creole Languages written by Enoch Oladé Aboh and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a new contribution to a theory of reiteration in natural languages, with a special focus on creoles. Reiteration is meant to denote any situation where the same form occurs (at least) twice within the boundaries of some linguistic domain. By including two case studies bearing on Hebrew and Breton alongside five chapters on creole languages (Surinam creole, Haitian, Mauritian, São Tomé and Pitchi), this volume brings counter-evidence to the claim that reiteration phenomena are particularly typical of creoles. And by exploring the syntax of reiteration alongside its morphology, the authors are led to challenge the 'iconic' theory of 'reduplication' proposed in several other studies of similar phenomena. This volume will be relevant for creole studies, but also for readers more generally interested in language universals and the architecture of grammars.
