Single Context Words A Study Of A Quirk Of The English Language

Did you know that aspersions are always cast, umbrage is always taken and the only thing that’s madding is a crowd? All this and more can be explored in Single-context Words: A Study of a Quirk of the English Language, which uncovers the stories behind numerous words which are only ever used in one context. Ian Yearsley has spent 15 years collecting and researching single-context words and has written up over 300 examples in this volume. He explains how they came about and gives examples of their usage, with special reference throughout to the different parts of speech and how some suit single-context words better than others. The book explores a hitherto unexplored aspect of language and would be ideal as a gently humorous reference book, an educational work or an amusing, quirky gift book. This unique and compelling collection complements the existing body of language publications and is for anyone and everyone who has a love of and a fascination for language.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that provide new insights by approaching language from an interdisciplinary perspective. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert.

Collocation is an important tool in describing lexical behaviour in language and has received increasing attention in recent years. Based on two corpora: LOCNESS (the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays) and MLC (the Non-English major Mainland Chinese Learner Corpus), this book explores the features of Chinese learner English with analysis of grammatical and lexical collocations. The findings show that Chinese university students use collocations with considerably less variety and Chinese language and culture exert a substantial influence on their English writing. It also discusses ways to tackle the problems Chinese English learners face and the pedagogical implications for teaching English and learning English collocations. As one of the first systematic studies to investigate collocations in Chinese learner English based on learner corpora, this book not only analyzes how Chinese learners use collocations in their English writing, but also provides significant implications for foreign language teaching and learning.

The publication in the past ten years of linguistic atlases of England and Scotland has not only advanced our knowledge of the lexical and morphological variety inherent in the English language, but has made it possible to establish a number of methodological principles for the study of language both in its contemporary distribution and in its historical evolution. The essays in this volume, by contributors to the linguistic atlases and other dialectologists, describe some of the problems that bedevil the study of dialect and the methodological solutions employed to minimise them. They also survey the contributions that linguistic cartography can make to the study of English and of language in general. The considerations it embodies are of major importance for the student of language and, in addition, the book is an invaluable companion to the Atlases.

This accessible and lively introduction to semantics and the multi-faceted nature of language guides the student and non-specialist through the major ways in which the English language makes meaning. The author discusses the meaning of linguistic units at all levels of language, from sound to discourse, while studying also the role of theories and models themselves in helping us to understand human linguistic behaviour. Through examples and exercises, readers are encouraged to think through and evaluate complex ideas and theories for themselves.

This book examines the role of modal expressions in various medical genres, as well as pointing out other markers of speaker attitude. Based on new computer-readable data, and combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the book argues that the use of modal expressions reflects the institutional context of medical discourse. Modal expressions are analysed with reference to hedging, reliability, and argumentation, and it is shown that their use in different genres reflects a model of medicine leading from bio-medical hypotheses through assessment to clinical applications. The book also analyses new genres of medical writing that have developed as a response to the increasing amount of medical information. Advertisements are analysed as an example of medicalization, showing how evaluation in the texts is based on medical values.

This volume explores various hitherto under-researched relationships between languages and their discourse-cultural settings. The first two sections analyze the complex interplay between lexico-grammatical organization and communicative contexts. Part I focuses on structural options in syntax, deepening the analysis of information-packaging strategies. Part II turns to lexical studies, covering such matters as human perception and emotion, the psychological understanding of 'home' and 'abroad', the development of children's emotional life and the relation between lexical choice and sexual orientation. The final chapters consider how new techniques of contrastive linguistics and pragmatics are contributing to the primary field of application for contrastive analysis, language teaching and learning. The book will be of special interest to scholars and students of linguistics, discourse analysis and cultural studies and to those entrusted with teaching European languages and cultures. The major languages covered are Akan, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.

This book explores relationships between Processability Theory approaches and other approaches to SLA. It is distinctive in two ways. It offers PT-insiders a way to see connections between their familiar traditions and theories with other ways of working. Parallel to this it offers readers who work in other traditions ways of connecting with a research tradition that makes specific testable claims about second language acquisition processes. These dual perspectives mean that both beginning and established SLA researchers as well as those seeking to connect their work with views of language learning will find something of interest. Studies of multiple languages and multiple aspects of language are included. Chapters cover areas as diverse as literacy, language comprehension, language attrition and language testing.