Brian Browser's book-filled trousers

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 11:10 pm

New from CUP: An Introduction to Language and Linguistics (Ralph Fasold & Jeffrey Connor-Linton, eds)
http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/c ... 0521612357

I think I prefer the Blackwell Handbook of Linguistics, though.

At the beginning of the chapter on Computational linguistics, the romanized version of a Japanese sentence seemed completely incorrect (evidence of bad proofreading at the very least).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:58 pm

A very recent, comprehensive introduction to Cognitive Linguistics:
http://www.eupjournals.com/book/9780748618323
(Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction, by Vyvyan Evans and Melanie Green)

The authors admit that phonology is not an interest of theirs or of CL in general, so the book complements rather than totally supersedes e.g. Taylor's one on "Cognitive Grammar" (Taylor covers about as wide a range of topics as Evans & Green do).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:29 pm

At last, Carter & McCarthy's grammar has arrived!
http://www.cambridge.org/elt/elt_projec ... id=2500122
(The Cambridge Grammar of English, by Ronald Carter & Michael McCarthy)

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Mon Apr 17, 2006 11:43 am

A nice, interesting book marred only by the fact that the papers (or excerpts from papers) in Section B (which expand upon Section A's introductory material by way of presenting various authors' viewpoints, some debates/controversies etc) lack references 'in order to save space' (even when there would only be a couple of references for some papers): 'Readers are advised to refer to the original publications for these.'
http://bowland-files.lancs.ac.uk/corplang/cbls/

(Corpus-based Language Studies: An Advanced Resource Book. McEnery et al, Routledge 2006).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:02 am

Geoofrey Leech has written A Glossary of English Grammar for Edinburgh University Press (it's just been published: EUP, 2006).

The cross-references could sometimes be a little more extensive, and it isn't comprehensive enough to serve as a long-term reference, but for anyone (e.g. trainees, newbies) wanting short, digestible entries that cover the essentials without overloading the reader, in a book that's slim enough to be read completely through in a day or two, this could be ideal. It would serve as a good introduction to the terminology of the larger grammars derived from the works of Quirk et al.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 6:11 am

May be old hat to some of you (I'm in Japan and have only recently bought it): Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler.

Looked very interesting and useful: British or American English?: A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns (Studies in English Language) (Paperback) by John Algeo (CUP)

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:11 pm

Noticed this in Kinokuniya today:

Natural Grammar: The Keywords of English and how they work, by Scott Thornbury (OUP 2004 - but if so, it's taken a while to hit the shelves in Japan!). Could be useful when there's no time to check in Murphy, let alone Swan or a good dictionary.

I might buy it once I've checked it out a little more thoroughly. Today however I instead bought:

The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies, by Michael Pearce (2007). Seems to pack a lot in for its size (over 600 entries), looks like a compact Oxford Companion to the English Language.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 12:25 pm

fluffyhamster wrote:
The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies, by Michael Pearce (2007). Seems to pack a lot in for its size (over 600 entries), looks like a compact Oxford Companion to the English Language.

What does it have to say on modal stacking in English?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 1:55 pm

It doesn't mention that, but here's something that'll keep your sadness from overwhelming you (and everyone else): I could tell you a thing or two about stacking baked beans.

That being said, I doubt if modal "stacking" is of much interest or relevance to anyone other than those rabidly studying deep-fried good ol' southern US non-standard dialects or whatever.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 2:54 pm

fluffyhamster wrote:It doesn't mention that,

Money down the drain then?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Mon Mar 05, 2007 5:10 am

Scott Thornbury and Diana Slade's Conversation: From Description to Pedagogy (CUP 2006) looks like it could be just the thing for teachers new to (or indeed those just interested in consolidating or reviewing what they might already know about) 'the informal, interactive talk between two or more people which happens in real time, is spontaneous, and has a largely interpersonal function and nature in which participants share symmetrical rights (to initiate and direct talk)' (reads a bit badly 'cos I'm paraphrasing somewhat). Beyond the introductory chapter that characterizes and defines conversation (as opposed to toher forms of talk, or writing etc), the books goes on to deal with related matters of vocabulary (incl. lexis, lexicogrammar etc), grammar, discourse, genre analysis, L1 and L2 acquisition, and the (history of the) teaching of conversation. It's therefore a very wide-ranging book (I've still to finish it and decide if he quite "pulls it off").

One of the latest books in the University of Edinburgh's Textbooks on the English Language series is Patrick Griffiths' An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics. Looks very interesting!

The Western Classical Tradition in Linguistics, by Keith Allan (Equinox Textbooks and Surveys in Linguistics). Not had a chance to delve into this, but felt I should buy it!

http://www.equinoxpub.com/books/showbook.asp?bkid=64

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:43 am

New from Continuum: Elizabeth Grace Winkler's Understanding Language: A Basic Course in Linguistics looks very readable (on page 5 of the pdf). Lots of new titles in the 2007 catalogue.
http://www.continuumbooks.com/download/Linguistics.pdf

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Wed Aug 29, 2007 10:13 am

Looks extremely interesting: Raymond W.Gibbs,Jr. & Herbert L.Colston (eds), Irony in Language and Thought: A Cognitive Science Reader (LEA, NY 2007).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 9:47 pm

English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity (NEW from OUP)
Jennifer Jenkins

£21.00 296 pages

Description
From the perspective of the speakers themselves, this is the first book to explore attitudes towards ELF in general and ELF accents in particular, their effects on ELF speakers' identities, and ways in which the problems can be addressed in teacher education, English language testing, and ELT materials.

Key features
Based on extensive research conducted among teachers in Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
Examines the role of standard language ideology in the formation of ELF attitudes.
Critiques current ELT practices and SLA research perspectives.
Demonstrates links between ELF accent attitudes and ELF identities.
Includes suggestions for making ELT pedagogy, materials, testing, and teacher education more relevant.

This is a follow-up to her The Phonology of English as an International Language (OUP 2000).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:51 pm

Whilst shopping around for Geoffrey Sampson's Empirical Linguistics, I spotted the following from Continuum:

English as a Lingua Franca: A Corpus-based Analysis
Luke Prodromou
Pub Date: 6 Jan 2008
ISBN: 0826497756
ISBN13: 9780826497758
hardcover
312 Pages

£75.00

Series
Subject Corpus Linguistics and Linguistics
Imprint Continuum

Using a corpus of data drawn from naturally-occurring second language conversations, this book explores the role of idiomaticity in English as a native language, and its comparative role in English as a lingua franca. Through examining how idiomaticity enables first language learners to achieve a greater degree of fluency, the book explores why idiomatic language poses such a challenge for users of English as a lingua franca. The book puts forward a new definition of competence and fluency within the context of English as a lingua franca, concluding with an analysis of practical implications for the lingua franca classroom.

This in-depth study of English language learning using corpus data will be of interest to researchers in applied linguistics and corpus linguistics and to teachers of English as an international lingua franca.

Table Of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Idiomatic fluency
3. Mainstream and ELF-oriented approaches to spoken language
4. Analysis of conversational data
5. Corpus methodology
6. Concordance analysis in L1 and L2 spoken corpora
7. Small words in the case of L1 users
8. Small words in the case of L2 users
9. Minimal idiomatic units in an L1 corpus
10. Literal, metaphorical and pragmatic use in the SUE corpus
11. Creative idiomaticity
12. Conclusion - implications

Dr Luke Prodromou is a Visiting Fellow at Leeds Metropolitan University.

Reviews
'Luke Prodromou’s book is deeply felt and beautifully written account of what it can mean to speak a language. It is a fascinating read: probing, incisively argued and consistently raising questions and data that compel fundamental re-thinking. After reading the book terms common in the field of English language and applied linguistics such as ‘native’ ‘idiom’, ‘first’ and ‘second’ language, ‘international English’, ‘lingua franca’, ‘fluency’ are seen in an entirely new light. A major contribution.'
Professor Ronald Carter, University of Nottingham, UK

I'll wait for it to appear in paperback, though!