Conceptual & Discourse Factors in Linguistics Structure (Conceptual Structure, Discourse, and Language - Centre for the Study of Language and Information) - Softcover

Cienki, Alan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1575862581 ISBN 13: 9781575862583

Publisher: Center for the Study of Language and Information, 2001

Synopsis

The predominant approaches in American linguistics use theoretical assumptions about the formal nature of grammar to show what we can learn about the human mind. However, these studies are restricted to unapplied models of language, not how language functions in actual speech situations, so their power to reveal the workings of the human mind is limited. This volume examines data on naturally occuring language usage, not theoretical examples. It focuses on the motivations for linguistic patterning in human social and cognitive experience, and on the dynamic properties of language construal, use and development. Topics researched include first language acquisition, metaphor, language processing and discourse, and conceptual structure and grammar.

About this title

About the Author

Michael B. Smith is emeritus professor of French and philosophy at Berry College. Among other works, he has translated books by Michel de Certeau, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Emmanuel Levinas. In addition, he is the author of Toward the Outside: Themes and Concepts in Emmanuel Levinas.

Edition details

• Publisher: Center for the Study of Language and Information
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1575862581
• ISBN 13: 9781575862583
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 300