Definition in Theory and Practice: Language, Lexicography and the Law - Hardcover

Roy Harris; Christopher Hutton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0826497055 ISBN 13: 9780826497055

Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd., 2007

Synopsis

The problem of definition has a long history and has engaged the minds of some of the most eminent thinkers in the Western tradition, from Plato and Aristotle onwards. But it is also an everyday problem constantly confronting all who have to draft or interpret the countless texts on which modern society depends. Definition in Theory and Practice focuses on two areas where difficulties arise in a particularly acute form: lexicography and the law. Examining a wide range of approaches and definitional techniques, backed up by detailed analyses of dictionary entries and court cases, the authors provide a comprehensive survey of their subject. They argue that what underlies the problem of definition are conflicting assumptions about the way language functions. This in-depth study of definition will be of interest to academics researching lexicography, semantics and the intersection of linguistics and jurisprudence.

About this title

Review:

Briefly reviewed in the Year's work in English Studies journal, vol 89, No. 1

Title mention in an article by Roy Harris in the Times Higher Education Supplement in January 2008

Review in Library Review, 2009

"I would recommend this book"
Journal of sociolinguistics, 13/3, 2009 --Sanford Lakoff

About the Author:

Roy Harris is Emeritus Professor of General Linguistics in the University of Oxford, UK. Christopher Hutton is Head of the English Department at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

About this edition

• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0826497055
• ISBN 13: 9780826497055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256