Language And Communication

Presents eight specially written chapters which provide a coherent survey of major issues in the study of language and communication, and which show how these are related to questions of practical concern in the learning and teaching of second and foreign languages. The issues discussed have been selected primarily for their relevance to applied linguistics, and there is a unifying interest in how language reflects the communicative functions it performs as well as in the process involved in using language for communication. Each chapter presents a self-contained survey of a central issue, is prefaced by an introduction linking the different perspectives, and is followed by discussion questions to aid effective use of the text in applied linguistics courses.

This book will serve to provide the reader with the communicative and language skills necessary to function in modern society, discussing the language and communication enterprise within the current usages of the modern English language. It identifies the descriptive functioning of language, as well as the communicative processes involved in its usage. The book takes a new look at traditional language skills from a modern perspective, focusing on their importance as communication tools for the twenty-first century learner of the English language. The reality of technology as part of the modern life is also brought to bear on the discussions in the book, showing that its application to reading can serve to fast-track the mastery of reading efficiency. As the book will serve to make the user of the English language in the twenty-first century effective in all their endeavours that require its usage, it will be particularly useful for learners of English as a second language.

From Language to Communication focuses on the structure of texts and on the social and psychological aspects of language. Utilizing current thinking and research, this volume provides an overview of issues in linguistics, sociolinguistics, cognition, pragmatics, discourse, and semantics as they coalesce to create the communicative experience. As a unique examination of the relationship between language and communication, key features of the second edition include: * material on the biological bases of language, * models of the mind and information processing, * discussions of semantics and the creation of new words, * conversation analysis with practical applications, and * a chapter on sociolinguistics, including language and groups, dialects, and personal styles. Designed as an introduction to language and communication study, this text is appropriate for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in discourse and related courses in language, meaning, and messages. It also makes an excellent companion volume for courses in theory or interpersonal communication. ADDITIONAL COPY FOR MAILER More readable and practical than its predecessor, this second edition contains major additions: * A more general introduction to language and communication, including new material on the biological bases of language as well as a table of species comparisons and brain comparisons. * New models of the mind and how you process information, including more on the role of short and long term memory. It also includes a section on the features of messages that aid in comprehension--in other words, how people use the messages of another to build meaning and comprehension. * A new section on semantics, new words and how they come about, and a more interesting treatment of meaning and how it works. The section on new words details the many ways that new words come into being. The examples are interesting and engaging for the student. * A new focus on pragmatics with a major new section on conversation analysis which includes very practical ways to apply the principles with numerous examples. * A new chapter on sociolinguistics includes material on language and groups (including gender, African-American English, and social class) dialects, personal styles, and related issues.

Examines communication in the classroom within the larger context of the development of standard English and its social implications.

Beginning with the phonetic approach to communication, this introduction to the study of language examines in detail the physiology of speech and hearing, the applicability of statistics, the structuring of languages and social aspects of communication.

The result of a conference on language and related cognitive processes in animals, this book brings together scientists working on language and communication, reviews research done on language in apes and dolphins, and places this work in a larger perspective of animal communication and cognition. The conference convened an international group of distinguished scientists interested in exploring the neurological, cognitive, social, and behavioral aspects of communication in animals. A broad spectrum of perspectives was represented, including naturalistic investigations of animals in their natural habitat as well as strictly controlled laboratory investigations. Similarly, a broad range of species was described including rats, parrots, monkeys, apes, dolphins, and humans. New methodologies and perspectives are continuously emerging that allow consideration of issues that previously could not be resolved. Emerging technology such as video equipment and advanced database systems allow one to exhaustively record in an accessible format the evidence on which scientific conclusions must be based. Investigation of animal language and communication is a small, but vigorously exciting area of scientific investigation as the chapters in this volume clearly attest.

Online Communication in a Second Language examines the use of social computer mediated communication (CMC) with speakers of Japanese via longitudinal case studies of up to four years. Through the analysis of over 2000 blogs, emails, videos, messages, games, and websites, in addition to interviews with learners and their online contacts, the book explores language use and acquisition via contextual resources, repair, and peer feedback. The book provides insight into relationships online, and the influence of perceived 'ownership' of online spaces by specific cultural or linguistic groups. It not only increases our understanding of online interaction in a second language, but CMC in general. Based on empirical evidence, the study challenges traditional categorisations of CMC mediums, and provides important insights relating to turn-taking, code-switching, and language management online.

This volume brings together a number of wide-ranging, transdisciplinary research articles on the interface between discourse studies and economics. It explores in what way economics can contribute to the analysis of discursive practices in various institutional settings as well as investigating what role discourse studies can play in economic research. The contributors are linguists, communication scholars, economists and other social scientists drawing on various traditions including Critical Discourse Analysis, Cognitive Linguistics, ethnography and the literature on the rhetoric of economics and on economic storytelling. All articles are essentially empirical, focusing on the details of actual language use. The type of data analysed ranges from the minutes of university policy meetings and large-scale corpora of newspaper language, over books of economic theory from both well-respected economists and monetary cranks, to cartoons from The Economist.