Unity and Diversity in Language Use

Unity and Diversity in Language Use PDF Author: Kristyan Miller
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0826478743
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The papers in this collection, drawn from the 34th Annual Conference of the British Association for Applied Linguistics, reflect a number of different perspectives within the field of applied linguistics at the start of the twenty-first century. While addressing the theme of unity and diversity, each paper prompts critical reflection on tensions within the discipline between stability and change, consensus and controversy, similarity and variation. The interpretation of language use is broad and varied, taking both macro- and micro-perspectives. Topics addressed range from issues of global communication in a world of shifting demographies and technological advances to analyses of specific contexts of interaction, both professional and personal. Contexts of language use frequently coincide with settings of language acquisition, both within and beyond the language classroom, and this opens up discussion of the focus, scope and appropriateness of research stances in applied linguistics and practices in language pedagogy. Futhermore, variation is considered from a number of social-cultural, gender-related, linguistic and discourse perspectives, calling into question terminology, definitions and the nature of evidence at the heart of applied linguistic theory and practice.

Unity and Diversity of Languages

Unity and Diversity of Languages PDF Author: P. G. J. van Sterkenburg
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027232482
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
The Permanent International Committee of Linguists (Comité International Permanent des Linguistes, CIPL) has organized the 18th Congress of Linguists in Seoul (July 21-26, 2008), in close collaboration with the Linguistic Society of Korea. In this book one finds the invited talks which address hot topics in various subdisciplines presented by outstanding and internationally well known experts. In addition, the state-of-the-art papers provide an overview of the most important research areas of contemporary linguistics.

Linguistic Diversity and National Unity

Linguistic Diversity and National Unity PDF Author: William A. Smalley
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226762883
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 460

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Book Description
Unlike other multi-ethnic nations, such as Myanmar and India, where official language policy has sparked bloody clashes, Thailand has maintained relative stability despite its eighty languages. In this study of the relations among politics, geography, and language, William A. Smalley shows how Thailand has maintained national unity through an elaborate social and linguistic hierarchy. Smalley contends that because the people of Thailand perceive their social hierarchy as the normal order, Standard Thai, spoken by members of the higher levels of society, prevails as the uncontested national language. By examining the hierarchy of Thailand's diverse languages and dialects in light of Thai history, education, culture, and religion, Smalley shows how Thailand has been able to keep its many ethnic groups at peace. Linguistic Diversity and National Unity explores the intricate relationship between language and power and the ways in which social and linguistic rank can be used to perpetuate order.

Introduction to Typology

Introduction to Typology PDF Author: Lindsay J. Whaley
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9780803959637
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Ideal in introductory courses dealing with grammatical structure and linguistic analysis, Introduction to Typology overviews the major grammatical categories and constructions in the world's languages. Framed in a typological perspective, the constant concern of this primary text is to underscore the similarities and differences which underlie the vast array of human languages.

Unity and diversity in grammaticalization scenarios

Unity and diversity in grammaticalization scenarios PDF Author: Walter Bisang
Publisher: Language Science Press
ISBN: 3946234992
Category : Grammar, Comparative and general
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
The volume contains a selection of papers originally presented at the symposium on “Areal patterns of grammaticalization and cross-linguistic variation in grammaticalization scenarios” held on 12-14 March 2015 at Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. The papers, written by leading scholars combining expertise in historical linguistics and grammaticalization research, study variation in grammaticalization scenarios in a variety of language families (Slavic, Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, Bantu, Mande, "Khoisan", Siouan, and Mayan). The volume stands out in the vast literature on grammaticalization by focusing on variation in grammaticalization scenarios and areal patterns in grammaticalization. Apart from documenting new grammaticalization paths, the volume makes a methodological contribution as it addresses an important question of how to reconcile universal outcomes of grammaticalization processes with the fact that the input to these processes is language-specific and construction-specific.

Telephone Calls

Telephone Calls PDF Author: Kang Kwong Luke
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9781588112194
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
The aim of this book is to bring together research on telephone conversations in different languages, to compare and contrast people's methods of handling telephone conversational tasks indifferent communities, and to explore the relationship between telephone conversational practice and cultural settings.

A Political History of Spanish

A Political History of Spanish PDF Author: José Del Valle
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107005736
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
A comprehensive work which offers a new and provocative approach to Spanish from political and historical perspectives.

Intercultural Language Use and Language Learning

Intercultural Language Use and Language Learning PDF Author: Eva Alcon Soler
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402056397
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 287

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Book Description
Eva Alcón Soler Maria Pilar Safont Jordà Universitat Jaume I, Spain The main purpose of the present book is to broaden the scope of research on the development of intercultural communicative competence. Bearing this purpose in mind, English learners are considered as intercultural speakers who share their interest for engaging in real life communication. According to Byram and Fleming (1998), the intercultural speaker is someone with knowledge of one or more cultures and social identities, and who enjoys discovering and maintaining relationships with people from other cultural backgrounds, although s/he has not been formally trained for that purpose. Besides, possessing knowledge of at least two cultures is the case of many learners in bilingual or multilingual communities. In these contexts, the objective of language learning should then focus on developing intercultural competence, which in turn may involve promoting language diversity while encouraging English as both a means and an end of instruction (see Alcón, this volume). This is the idea underlying the volume, which further sustains Kramsch’s argument (1998) against the native/ non-native dichotomy. Following that author, we also believe that in a multilingual world where learners may belong to more than one speech community, their main goal is not to become a native speaker of English, but to use this language as a tool for interaction among many other languages and cultures.

Mapping Unity and Diversity World-wide

Mapping Unity and Diversity World-wide PDF Author: Marianne Hundt
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027249032
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
A collection of cross-varietal studies on a spectrum of grammatical features in English varieties spoken all over the world. It explores the structural unity and diversity of New Englishes and thus investigates central aspects of dialect evolution and language change.

Language Policy and National Unity

Language Policy and National Unity PDF Author: William R. Beer
Publisher: Government Institutes
ISBN: 9780865980587
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The central focus of each chapter is language policy and how it accomplishes-or fails to accomplish-the task of maintaining national unity in the face of linguistic diversity. Included among the nations considered are examples of postcolonial cultures, as well as nations that have sheltered linguistic minorities within their borders throughout their history, countries fragmented into tribal groups, and those divided by a plethora of local dialects.