Linguistics A Very Short Introduction

Author : P. H. Matthews
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 144 pages
File Size : 42,8 Mb
Release : 2003-04-24
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191577512

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Linguistics: A Very Short Introduction by P. H. Matthews Pdf

Linguistics falls in the gap between arts and science, on the edges of which the most fascinating discoveries and the most important problems are found. Rather than following the conventional organization of many contemporary introductions to the subject, the author of this stimulating guide begins his discussion with the oldest, 'arts' end of the subject and moves chronologically through to the newest research - the 'science' aspects. A series of short thematic chapters look in turn at such areas as the prehistory of languages and their common origins, language and evolution, language in time and space (the nature of change inherent in language), grammars and dictionaries (how systematic is language?), and phonetics. Explication of the newest discoveries pertaining to language in the brain completes the coverage of all major aspects of linguistics from a refreshing and insightful angle. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Stephen Anderson
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-06-28
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191642319

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Languages: A Very Short Introduction by Stephen Anderson Pdf

How many languages are there? What differentiates one language from another? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? The diversity of languages today is varied, but it is steadily declining. In this Very Short Introduction, Stephen Anderson answers the above questions by looking at the science behind languages. Considering a wide range of different languages and linguistic examples, he demonstrates how languages are not uniformly distributed around the world; just as some places are more diverse than others in terms of plants and animal species, the same goes for the distribution of languages. Exploring the basis for linguistic classification and raising questions about how we identify a language, as well as considering signed languages as well as spoken, Anderson examines the wider social issues of losing languages, and their impact in terms of the endangerment of cultures and peoples. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Stephen R. Anderson
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2012-06-28
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780199590599

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Languages: A Very Short Introduction by Stephen R. Anderson Pdf

How many languages are there? What differentiates one language from another? Are new languages still being discovered? Why are so many languages disappearing? These are some of the questions considered in this Very Short Introduction. By examining the science of languages, we find that the answers are not as simple as we might expect.

Author : John Edwards
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2013-07-25
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780199858613

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Sociolinguistics: A Very Short Introduction by John Edwards Pdf

This Very Short Introduction deals with the social life of language, presenting a succinct account of the most important aspects - both "micro" and "macro" - of sociolinguistics, such as language variation, language attitudes, and the relationship between language and identity.

Author : Simon Horobin
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
ISBN : 9780198709251

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The English Language by Simon Horobin Pdf

"[This book]: provides a concise and accessible history of English; engages with key debates concerning issues of correctness, standards, and dialects; investigates the uses of English worldwide; reflects on the future of the English language..."--Publisher description.

Author : John C. Maher
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 169 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Bilingualism
ISBN : 9780198724995

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Multilingualism by John C. Maher Pdf

John C. Maher explains why societies everywhere have become more multilingual, despite the disappearance of hundreds of the world languages. He considers our notion of language as national or cultural identities, and discusses why nations cluster and survive around particular languages even as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood.

Author : Florian Coulmas
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 152 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2019-02-15
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780192563613

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Identity: A Very Short Introduction by Florian Coulmas Pdf

Identity has become one of the most widely used terms today, appearing in many different contexts. Anything and everything has an identity, and identity crises have become almost equally pervasive. Yet 'identity' is extremely versatile, meaning different things to different people and in different scientific disciplines. To many its meaning seems self-evident, since its various uses share common features, so often the term is used without a definition of what, exactly, is meant by it. This provokes the core question: What exactly is identity? In this Very Short Introduction Florian Coulmas provides a survey of the many faces of the concept of identity, and discusses its significance and varied meanings in the fields of philosophy, sociology, and psychology, as well as politics and law. Tracing our concern with identity to its deep roots in Europe's intellectual history, individualism, and the felt need to draw borderlines, Coulmas identifies the most important features used to mark off individual and collective identities, and demonstrates why they are deemed important. He concludes with a glimpse at the many ways in which literature has engaged with problems of identity throughout history. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Peter Hugoe Matthews
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 132 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2007
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:254088664

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Linguistics by Peter Hugoe Matthews Pdf

Author : Donald Wright
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 161 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2020-07-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9780191071539

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Canada: A Very Short Introduction by Donald Wright Pdf

Canada is not one nation, but three: English Canada, Quebec, and First Nations. Yet as a country Canada is very successful, in part because it maintains national diversity through bilingualism, multiculturalism, and federalism. Alongside this contemporary openness Canada also has its own history to contend with; with a legacy of broken treaties and residential schools for its Indigenous peoples, making reconciliation between Canada and First Nations an ongoing journey, not a destination. Drawing on history, politics, and literature, this Very Short Introduction starts at the end of the last ice age, when the melting of the ice sheets opened the northern half of North America to Indigenous peoples, and covers up to today's anthropogenic climate change, and Canada's climate politics. Donald Wright emphasizes Canada's complexity and diversity as well as its different identities and its commitment to rights, and explores its historical relationship to Great Britain, and its ongoing relationship with the United States. Finally, he examines Canada's northern realities and its northern identities. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Jennifer Nagel
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2014-09-25
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780191637315

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Knowledge: A Very Short Introduction by Jennifer Nagel Pdf

What is knowledge? How does it differ from mere belief? Do you need to be able to justify a claim in order to count as knowing it? How can we know that the outer world is real and not a dream? Questions like these are ancient ones, and the branch of philosophy dedicated to answering them - epistemology - has been active for thousands of years. In this thought-provoking Very Short Introduction, Jennifer Nagel considers these classic questions alongside new puzzles arising from recent discoveries about humanity, language, and the mind. Nagel explains the formation of major historical theories of knowledge, and shows how contemporary philosophers have developed new ways of understanding knowledge, using ideas from logic, linguistics, and psychology. Covering topics ranging from relativism and the problem of scepticism to the trustworthiness of internet sources, Nagel examines how progress has been made in understanding knowledge, using everyday examples to explain the key issues and debates ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Manfred B. Steger
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 185 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2020-05-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780192589323

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Globalization: A Very Short Introduction by Manfred B. Steger Pdf

We live today in an interconnected world in which ordinary people can became instant online celebrities to fans thousands of miles away, in which religious leaders can influence millions globally, in which humans are altering the climate and environment, and in which complex social forces intersect across continents. This is globalization. In the fifth edition of his bestselling Very Short Introduction Manfred B. Steger considers the major dimensions of globalization: economic, political, cultural, ideological, and ecological. He looks at its causes and effects, and engages with the hotly contested question of whether globalization is, ultimately, a good or a bad thing. From climate change to the Ebola virus, Donald Trump to Twitter, trade wars to China's growing global profile, Steger explores today's unprecedented levels of planetary integration as well as the recent challenges posed by resurgent national populism. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author : Michael Wood
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 153 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2012-01-26
Category : Art
ISBN : 9780192803535

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Film: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Wood Pdf

Offers a wealth of insight into the paradoxical nature of film, considering its role and impact on society in the 20th century as well as its future in the digital age. Original.

Author : Jonathon Green
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 53,9 Mb
Release : 2016
Category : LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES
ISBN : 9780198729532

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Slang by Jonathon Green Pdf

"In this Very Short Introduction Jonathon Green asks what words qualify as slang, and whether slang should be acknowledged as a language in its own right. Looking forward, he considers what the digital revolution means for the future of slang."--Cover flap.

Author : Ellen Thompson
Publisher : Equinox Publishing (UK)
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 46,7 Mb
Release : 2018
Category : Language acquisition
ISBN : 1781797730

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A Short Introduction to the Study of Language by Ellen Thompson Pdf

provides an accessible and up-to-date invitation to key concepts of modern language study.

Author : Andrew Robinson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 177 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2009-08-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199567782

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Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction by Andrew Robinson Pdf

"Starting with the origins of writing five thousand years ago, with cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphs, Andrew Robinson explains how these early forms of writing developed into hundreds of scripts including the Roman alphabet and the Chinese characters. He reveals how the modern writing system we take for granted - including airport signage and electronic text messaging - resemble ancient scripts much more closely than we think." --Book Jacket.