Units of Talk – Units of Action

Units of Talk – Units of Action
Author: Beatrice Szczepek Reed
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2013-10-22
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027271313

In this volume leading academics in Interactional Linguistics and Conversation Analysis consider the notion of units for the study of language and interaction. Amongst the issues being explored are the role and relevance of traditionally accepted linguistic units for the analysis of naturally occurring talk, and the identification of new units of conduct in interaction. While some chapters make suggestions on how existing linguistic units can be adapted to suit the study of conversation, others present radically new perspectives on how language in interaction should be described, conceptualised and researched. The chapters present empirical investigations into different languages (Danish, English, Japanese, Mandarin, Swedish) in a variety of settings (private and institutional), considering both linguistic and embodied resources for talk. In addressing the fundamental question of units, the volume pushes at the boundaries of current debates and contributes original new insight into the nature of language in interaction.

Usage-based and Typological Approaches to Linguistic Units

Usage-based and Typological Approaches to Linguistic Units
Author: Tsuyoshi Ono
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2021-04-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027259836

The chapters in this volume focus on how we might understand the concept of ‘unit’ in human languages. It is an analytical notion that has been widely adopted by linguists of various theoretical and applied orientations but has recently been critically examined by both typologically oriented and interactional linguistics. This volume contributes to and extends this discussion by examining the nature of units in actual usage in a range of genetically and typologically unrelated languages, English, Finnish, Indonesian, Japanese, and Mandarin, engaging with fundamental theoretical issues. The chapters show that categories originally created for the description of Indo-European languages have limited usefulness if our goal is to understand the nature of human language in general. The authors thus question the status of traditionally accepted linguistic units, especially their static understanding as a priori entities, and suggest instead that an emergent and interactional view of both structure and function offers a better fit with the data from the languages examined. Originally published as special issue 43:2 (2019) of Studies in Language.

Talk Units

Talk Units
Author: Brigitte K. Halford
Publisher: Gunter Narr Verlag
Total Pages: 308
Release: 1996
Genre: Canadianisms
ISBN: 9783823345770

Intonation Units Revisited

Intonation Units Revisited
Author: Dagmar Barth-Weingarten
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Total Pages: 318
Release: 2016-09-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027266905

Intonation units have been notoriously difficult to identify in natural talk. Problems include fuzzy boundaries, lack of exhaustivity, and the potential circularity involved when studying their interface with other language-organizational dimensions. This volume advocates a way to resolve such problems: the ‘cesura’ approach. Cesuras, or breaks in the flow of talk, are created by discontinuities in the prosodic-phonetic parameters of speech that cluster to various extents at certain points in time. Using conversation-analytic and interactional-linguistic methodology, the volume identifies the parameters creating cesuras in talk-in-interaction and proposes ways to notate them depending on the researcher’s goal. It also offers a way to study the role of cesuras at the prosody-syntax interface non-circularly, which leads to new insights concerning language variation and change. The volume will thus be of major import to anyone working with natural spoken language, its chunks, its various dimensions, and its variation and change.

Grammar in Everyday Talk

Grammar in Everyday Talk
Author: Sandra A. Thompson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2015-06-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1316298531

Drawing on everyday telephone and video interactions, this book surveys how English speakers use grammar to formulate responses in ordinary conversation. The authors show that speakers build their responses in a variety of ways: the responses can be longer or shorter, repetitive or not, and can be uttered with different intonational 'melodies'. Focusing on four sequence types: responses to questions ('What time are we leaving?' - 'Seven'), responses to informings ('The May Company are sure having a big sale' - 'Are they?'), responses to assessments ('Track walking is so boring. Even with headphones' - 'It is'), and responses to requests ('Please don't tell Adeline' - 'Oh no I won't say anything'), they argue that an interactional approach holds the key to explaining why some types of utterances in English conversation seem to have something 'missing' and others seem overly wordy.

Theory and Methods for Sociocultural Research in Science and Engineering Education

Theory and Methods for Sociocultural Research in Science and Engineering Education
Author: Gregory J. Kelly
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2018-12-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1351139916

Introducing original methods for integrating sociocultural and discourse studies into science and engineering education, this book provides a much-needed framework for how to conduct qualitative research in this field. The three dimensions of learning identified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) create a need for research methods that examine the sociocultural components of science education. With cutting-edge studies and examples consistent with the NGSS, this book offers comprehensive research methods for integrating discourse and sociocultural practices in science and engineering education and provides key tools for applying this framework for students, pre-service teachers, scholars, and researchers.

Pragmemes and Theories of Language Use

Pragmemes and Theories of Language Use
Author: Keith Allan
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 914
Release: 2017-01-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3319434918

This volume offers recent developments in pragmatics and adjacent territories of investigation, including important new concepts such as the pragmatic act and the pragmeme, and combines developments in neighboring disciplines in an integrative holistic pragmatic approach. The young science of pragmatics has, from its inception, differentiated itself from neighboring fields in the humanities, especially the disciplines dealing with language and those focusing on the social and anthropological aspects of human behavior, by focusing on the language user in his or her societal environment.This collection of papers continues that emphasis on language use, and pragmatic acts in their context. The editors and contributors share a perspective that essentially considers language as a system for communication and wants to look at language from a societal perspective, and accept the view that acts of interpretation are essentially embedded in culture. In an interdisciplinary approach, some authors explore connections with social theory, in particular sociology or socio-linguistics, some offer a political stance (critical discourse analysis), others explore connections with philosophy and philosophy of language, and several papers address problems in theoretical pragmatics.

The Handbook of Applied Linguistics

The Handbook of Applied Linguistics
Author: Alan Davies
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 888
Release: 2008-04-15
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0470756756

The Handbook of Applied Linguistics is a collection of newly commissioned articles that provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the field of Applied Linguistics. Provides a comprehensive and current picture of the field of Applied Linguistics. Contains 32 newly commissioned articles that examine both the applications of linguistics to language data and the use of real world language to ameliorate social problems. Valuable resource for students and researchers in applied linguistics, language teaching, and second language acquisition. Presents applied linguistics as an independent discipline that unifies practical experience and theoretical understanding of language development and language in use.

Action, Talk, and Text

Action, Talk, and Text
Author: Gordon Wells
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 510
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780807740149

This book draws from six years’ work by the Developing Inquiring Communities in Education Project (DICEP) to provide a range of practical, replicable methods for building collaborative communities, in which democratic principles of education may be realized. Recognizing that each classroom is unique in its makeup, its context, and its history, these seasoned teacher-researchers rely heavily on discourse, both spoken and written, to engage students in the active learning process. Their findings are striking and clear, and testify to the exciting potential that dialogic interaction and collaborative knowledge building have for the field of education. Key features of this book are: identification of appropriate research questions; real-life teaching strategies based on extensive hands-on experience in the field; and workable suggestions for facilitating inquiry-based learning and teaching.

An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory

An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory
Author: Dominique Sportiche
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2013-09-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1118470478

An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory offers beginning students a comprehensive overview of and introduction to our current understanding of the rules and principles that govern the syntax of natural languages. Includes numerous pedagogical features such as 'practice' boxes and sidebars, designed to facilitate understanding of both the 'hows' and the 'whys' of sentence structure Guides readers through syntactic and morphological structures in a progressive manner Takes the mystery out of one of the most crucial aspects of the workings of language – the principles and processes behind the structure of sentences Ideal for students with minimal knowledge of current syntactic research, it progresses in theoretical difficulty from basic ideas and theories to more complex and advanced, up to date concepts in syntactic theory