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21502 results in English language and linguistics: general interest

Page 402 of 1076

  • 4 - Meaning

  • Edited by Ralph W. Fasold, Georgetown University, Washington DC, Jeff Connor-Linton, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book:
    An Introduction to Language and Linguistics
    Published online:
    28 May 2018
    Print publication:
    04 September 2014, pp 149-182

  • Summary

    Chapter preview

    There are two main fields within linguistics that study meaning. Semantics focuses on the literal meanings of words, phrases, and sentences; it is concerned with how grammatical processes build complex meanings out of simpler ones. Pragmatics focuses on the use of language in particular situations; it aims to explain how factors outside language contribute to both literal meaning and nonliteral meanings which speakers communicate using language. Most linguists who study meaning combine the study of semantics and pragmatics. While a semanticist is technically someone who studies semantics, in fact most semanticists investigate both semantics and pragmatics. In this chapter, we will first discuss semantics, and then pragmatics. To conclude the chapter, we will examine some foundational philosophical issues which are relevant to thinking about meaning and will discuss some of the different theoretical perspectives on meaning which are popular within linguistics today.

    GOALS

    The goals of this chapter are to:

  • explain the difference between speaker’s meaning and semantic meaning

  • introduce the complexity of lexical semantics and the basics of one way of thinking about lexical meaning

  • illustrate the role of the major grammatical constituents in semantic meaning: subjects and other arguments, predicates, modifiers, and quantifiers

  • describe the nature of intensional meaning and the basics of three intensional phenomena: modality, tense, and aspect

  • introduce four key pragmatic concepts: indexicality, presupposition, speech acts, and implicature

  • illustrate how speaker’s meaning is dependent on the context of use

  • allow students to apply key concepts to novel data

  • discuss the strengths and weaknesses of psychological and referential theories of meaning

  • 1 - The sounds of language

  • Edited by Ralph W. Fasold, Georgetown University, Washington DC, Jeff Connor-Linton, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book:
    An Introduction to Language and Linguistics
    Published online:
    28 May 2018
    Print publication:
    04 September 2014, pp 15-62

  • Summary

    Chapter preview

    This chapter is about the sounds of speech. Without sound, communication can still take place – with a nod or a wave, a photograph, or a drawing. There can even be language without sound: those who cannot hear use languages based on manual signs instead. Yet for most of us most of the time, getting our message across involves encoding it in sounds. Even when we write, we use symbols that are based on speech (though sometimes not very directly).

    The study of the sounds of speech can be divided into the disciplines of phonetics and phonology. Phonetics studies speech sounds as physical objects. Phoneticians ask questions such as:

  • How are speech sounds made?

  • How do physical characteristics make people sound different?

  • How many different sounds do languages use?

  • How are different languages and dialects distinguished by the sounds they use?

  • How does sound travel through the air?

  • How is it registered by the ears?

  • How can we measure speech?

  • 5 - Discourse

  • Edited by Ralph W. Fasold, Georgetown University, Washington DC, Jeff Connor-Linton, Georgetown University, Washington DC
  • Book:
    An Introduction to Language and Linguistics
    Published online:
    28 May 2018
    Print publication:
    04 September 2014, pp 183-216

  • Summary

    Chapter preview

    Discourse is the use of language above and beyond the sentence: how people use language in texts and contexts. Discourse analysts focus on peoples’ actual utterances and try to figure out what processes make those utterances appear the way they do. Through discourse, people

  • represent the world

  • convey communicative intentions

  • organize thoughts into communicative actions

  • arrange information so it is accessible to others

  • engage in actions and interactions with one another

  • convey their identities and relationships

    • This chapter provides an overview of central concepts and methods through in-depth discussion and analyses of spoken discourse and written discourse. Models of function and coherence in spoken discourse are also presented.

    GOALS

    The goals of this chapter are to:

  • define discourse and demonstrate how to analyze spoken and written discourse

  • explain the relationship between structure and function in discourse

  • demonstrate how repair in discourse works

  • describe the effects of recipient design

  • explicate the relationship between text and context

  • describe the planes of discourse and their relationships

    • Language use above and beyond the sentence

    Almost everything that we do in our everyday lives depends on language. In fact, it is hard to even imagine what our world would be like without language. So much of what keeps people and societies together depends crucially on language. We need language to make and enforce laws; get and distribute valued resources; create and maintain personal and public relationships; teach children our ways of “being,” “thinking,” and “doing”; engage in scholarly inquiry; preserve our past and plan our future. Language allows us to make friends (and enemies), joke and argue with each other, celebrate happy occasions and mourn sad ones.

Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English
  • Containing Words from the English Writers Previous to the Nineteenth Century Which Are No Longer in Use, or Are Not Used in the Same Sense; and Words Which Are Now Used Only in Provincial Dialects
  • Volume 1, A–F
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • Thomas Wright (1810–77), a respected folklorist and medievalist, wrote prolifically on a wide range of subjects. His work is, however, considered broad rather than deep, and his extensive output, while impressive, sometimes came at the expense of quality. Wright was involved in many academic societies, and co-founded the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Much of his work promoted the use of vernacular literature for research into the Middle Ages, and this dictionary, first published in 1857, was compiled to help readers of historical literature navigate unfamiliar vocabulary. It lists obsolete words and phrases, with particular emphasis on those of Old English and Anglo-Norman origin, and obscure or dialectal words. Many of the definitions include illustrative examples or quotes as well as etymologies. Examples include belly-timber, meaning 'food', and dweezle, a Northamptonshire word that means 'to dwindle away'. Volume 1 covers the letters A–F.

Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English
  • Containing Words from the English Writers Previous to the Nineteenth Century Which Are No Longer in Use, or Are Not Used in the Same Sense; and Words Which Are Now Used Only in Provincial Dialects
  • Volume 2, G–Z
  • Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 June 2015
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • Thomas Wright (1810–77), a respected folklorist and medievalist, wrote prolifically on a wide range of subjects. His work is, however, considered broad rather than deep, and his extensive output, while impressive, sometimes came at the expense of quality. Wright was involved in many academic societies, and co-founded the British Archaeological Association in 1843. Much of his work promoted the use of vernacular literature for research into the Middle Ages, and this dictionary, first published in 1857, was compiled to help readers of historical literature navigate unfamiliar vocabulary. It lists obsolete words and phrases, with particular emphasis on those of Old English and Anglo-Norman origin, and obscure or dialectal words. Many of the definitions include illustrative examples or quotes as well as etymologies. Examples include belly-timber, meaning 'food', and dweezle, a Northamptonshire word that means 'to dwindle away'. Volume 2 covers the letters G–Z.

Page 402 of 1076