Quantification has been at the heart of research in the syntax and semantics of natural language since Aristotle. The last few decades have seen an explosion of detailed studies of the syntax and semantics of quantification and its relation to the rest of the theory of grammar, resulting in a highly sophisticated understanding of the mechanisms of quantification. This book considers the ways natural languages vary with respect to their realisation of quantificational notions. Drawing on data from English, German, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Hausa and others, the authors also link the variation in the expression of quantification to the notions of polarity sensitivity, free-choice and indefiniteness.

This volume brings together some of the most recent developments in the field of experimental pragmatics, specifically empirical approaches to theoretical issues in presupposition theory. It includes studies of the online processing of presupposed content; investigations of the interpretive properties of presuppositions in various linguistic contexts; comparative perspectives relative to other aspects of meaning, such as asserted content and implicatures; cross-linguistic comparisons of presupposition triggers; and perspectives from language acquisition. Taken together, these novel contributions provide a snapshot of state-of-the art developments in this area and will serve as a point of reference for numerous emerging avenues of future work. It makes for an ideal set of readings for advanced university courses on experimental studies of meaning and is a must-read for anyone interested in experimental research on meaning in natural language.

This work is an in-depth analysis of the full breadth of Sojourner Truth's public discourse that places it in its proper historical context and explores the use of humor and narratives as primary rhetorical strategies used by this illiterate ex-slave to create a powerful public persona. The book provides a comprehensive survey of the life of Sojourner Truth, and includes a unique and authoritative compilation of primary rhetorical documents, such as speeches, songs, and public letters.

This is the only major work to date that analyzes the breadth of Sojourner Truth's public discourse. The volume includes a complete and authoritative compilation of her extant rhetoric, including several versions of the same speech, reports of her speaking appearances, public letters published by Truth in newspapers, and songs written and performed by her as part of her public lectures. Three chapters address the rhetorical dimensions of Truth's public persona. First, an historical survey contextualizes her life and speaking from slave to reformer, placing into perspective the variety of experiences that comprised her background. Second, an analysis of Truth's use of humor focuses upon how she employed the strategies of superiority and incongruity in her refutation of opponents and the establishment of her own credibility. Third, a critique of Truth's use of narratives in her discourse reveals how both her speeches and songs rely upon three fundamental stories for their persuasive impact: her slave life and religious conversion, her use of the black jeremiad to portray race differences, and her tales of woman's strength and moral conviction. The volume concludes with a consideration of Truth's status as a folk legend and how she wished to be remembered.

What is semiotics? This term is applied in a wide range of disciplines from literary theory and film to law, architecture and communication studies. But what does it actually mean and how can we use it? "Key Terms in Semiotics "provides exactly the information that a student needs when encountering semiotics for the first time or as a more advanced reader wishing to do in-depth readings.

This book offers a metaphysical development of the notion of perspective. By explaining the functional nature of point of view, and by providing a concrete definition of point of view as a window through which to see the world, it offers a scientific realist theory that explains that points of view are real structures that ground properties and objects as well as perspectives. The notion of point of view has been of key importance in the history of philosophy, and different philosophical schools have used this notion to conduct analyses from the external reality to the inner phenomenal status, or even to construct an entire philosophical system. However, there has been a lack of systematic analysis of what a point of view is and what its structure is; this book fills the gap in the literature and makes the transition between semantics and epistemology, and the philosophy of science.

Logical form has always been a prime concern for philosophers belonging to the analytic tradition. For at least one century, the study of logical form has been widely adopted as a method of investigation, relying on its capacity to reveal the structure of thoughts or the constitution of facts. This book focuses on the very idea of logical form, which is directly relevant to any principled reflection on that method. Its central thesis is that there is no such thing as a correct answer to the question of what is logical form: two significantly different notions of logical form are needed to fulfill two major theoretical roles that pertain respectively to logic and to semantics. This thesis has a negative and a positive side. The negative side is that a deeply rooted presumption about logical form turns out to be overly optimistic: there is no unique notion of logical form that can play both roles. The positive side is that the distinction between two notions of logical form, once properly spelled out, sheds light on some fundamental issues concerning the relation between logic and language.

Challenging the tendency to disparage Nashe's writing as the product of an eccentric sensibility and to explain his texts in journalistic terms more appropriate to modern commercial publishing, this work provides an entirely new interpretation of the economic context of sixteenth-century literature. Lorna Hutson reveals hitherto overlooked links between humanist approaches to the literary text and the transformation of the English economy through humanist-inspired policies of ethical and social reform; from this context, Nashe's textual prodigality emerges as an assault upon the contemporary impoverishment of literary activity caused by the political over-valuing of the printed word. Generic precedents turn out to be festive; each of Nashe's apparently unstructured pamphlets derives shaping energy from traditions of popular-festive mockery. The pamphlets bring an older conception of seasonal prosperity into subversive dialogue with the newer discourse of provident individualism. For Nashe, stylistic experiment is shown to mean more than a choice of style; it is, rather, the expression of an intricate, socially engaged imagination.

Temporality surveys the ways in which languages of different types refer to past, present, and future events, through an in-depth examination of four major language types: tense-based English, tense-aspect-based Polish, aspect-based Chinese, and mood-based Kalaallisut. * Cutting-edge research on directly compositional dynamic semantics of languages with and without grammatical tense * New in-depth analysis of temporal, aspectual, modal, as well as nominal discourse reference * Presents a novel logical language for representing linguistic meaning (Update with Centering) * Develops a unified theory of tense, aspect, mood, and person as different types of grammatical centering systems

Multimodal Discourse Analysis is a comprehensive survey of the ways in which enhanced meaning emerges through the interaction of more than one mode of communication. Different modes of communication covered include: Language. Dynamic and static visual images. Architecture and three-dimensional objects in the realm of material lived-in space, as well as electronic media, film and print. This also includes the study of transition and phase, camera and body movement, typography, layout and the use of colour, and how such choices orientate the viewer to particular readings of the text and context. Multimodal Discourse Analysis will be useful to researchers interested in the application of systemic functional linguistics to media studies, discourse analysis and cognitive linguistics.

This book is a guide to discourse, discourse analysis and genre, aimed at upper level undergraduates as well as graduate students. It has a student-friendly, inductive approach, leading readers from examples to principles. Using a clear and progressive framework together with genuine discourse examples, students are given a clearly structured understanding of how each dimension of discourse is linked together.

• Offers a clear, authoritative and systematic approach to analyzing real-world texts
• Includes analysis of a wide range of authentic texts
• Provides practical guidance on how to carry out a discourse analysis project

With an explicit focus on genre and genres, it draws on contexts which are highly appealing to students such as forensic and linguistic discourse, and the discourse of texting, internet chat and television. It also offers clear guidance as to how to carry out a discourse analysis project.

In the past two decades there has been considerable interest in the ways in which subjects are positioned in discursive practice. This interest has entailed a focus on the role of language and discourse in the processes in and through which subjects are constituted in discourse. However, questions of agency and how it relates to consciousness have received less attention. This book explores the ways in which agency and consciousness are created through transactions between self and other. The book argues that it is necessary to regard body-brain interactions in the context of the social and discursive practices which act upon human bodies. These issues of agency and individuation are explored in relation to infant semiosis, as well as in relation to children's symbolic play. Thibault looks at the importance of the self-referential moral conscience in relation to the interpersonal dimension of all acts of meaning-making. This conscience is also connected to the development of a self-referential viewpoint which the book argues is connected to the ecosocial semiotic systems of thinking about consciousness as a complex system operating on many different levels. The author discusses and evaluates the work of linguists, psychologists, biologists, semioticians, and sociologists such as Basil Bernstein, Mikhail Bakhtin, J. J. Gibson, M. A. K. Halliday, Walter Kauffman, Lakoff & Johnson, Jay Lemke, Jean Piaget and Stanley Salthe, to develop a new theory of agency and consciousness.

The selected speeches of Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine made throughout her 32 year career in the U.S. Congress are critically analyzed in this rhetorical study. The inquiry focuses on the factors of her political persona that garnered her the support of her constituents and the respect of her colleagues. The chapters are each titled with a segment of her political identity-an American, a Republican, and a women. Thus this work will be of interest to students and scholars of U.S. politics, communications, and women's studies. In addition, this popular political figure should be of interest to readers who want to learn more about the first female U.S. Senator.

Although much has been written about Abraham Lincoln, there has been little rhetorical analysis of how this public man communicated with his listeners. Yet by studying his rhetoric closely, we can gain real insights into Lincoln as an orator, debater, jester, lawyer, statesman, leader, and president. This critical appraisal of his public speaking is linked to transcripts of some major speeches and to a chronology, bibliography, and an index. This useful one-volume reference is intended for students, scholars, and experts in communications and rhetoric, political science, and American studies and history. Lois J. Einhorn presents a rhetorical analysis of Abraham Lincoln's speaking, defining his view toward public speaking, characteristics of his rhetoric, his use of humor, and the development of his various addresses while president. Texts of nine selected speeches are printed exactly. A short chronology of speeches, a selected bibliography of Lincoln as a speaker, and a general index complete this important new reference work.

Benoit, Blaney, and Pier apply the functional theory of political campaign discourse to the 1996 presidential campaign. When a citizen casts a vote, he or she makes a decision about which candidate is preferable. There are only three types of rhetorical strategies for persuading voters to believe a candidate is the better choice: acclaiming or self-praise, attacking or criticizing an opponent, and defending or responding to attacks. As they illustrate, acclaims, if accepted by the audience, make the candidate appear better. Attacks can make the opponent seem worse, improving the source's apparent preferability. If attacked, a candidate can attempt to restore-or prevent-lost credibility by defending against that attack. As Benoit, Blaney, and Pier point out, the functional theory of political communication is relatively new, and their book illustrates it with a detailed analysis of the most recent presidential campaign. One of the major strengths of the study is the variety of message forms examined: television spots, debates, talk radio appearances, keynote speeches, acceptance speeches, speeches by spouses, radio addresses, and free television time remarks. It also examines all three parts of the campaign-primary, nominating conventions, and general campaign. This comprehensive analysis of the '96 presidential campaign will be of considerable use to students, scholars, and other researchers dealing with contemporary American electioneering.

How should we analyse the meaning of proper names, indexicals, demonstratives and definite descriptions? What relation do such expressions stand to the objects they designate or to mental representations of those objects? George Powell casts new light on these and other questions by approaching them from within a cognitive framework.

This second edition of the best-selling textbook "Working with Discourse" has been revised and updated throughout. The book builds an accessible set of analytic tools that can be used to explore how speakers and writers construe meaning through discourse. These techniques are introduced in clear steps, through analyses of spoken, written and visual texts that focus on truth and reconciliation in post-apartheid South Africa. The new edition includes a chapter on Negotiation, clear definitions of key terms, chapter summaries and revised suggestions for further reading. Accessibly written and presupposing no prior knowledge of discourse or functional linguistics, this is the ideal textbook for students encountering discourse analysis for the first time at advanced undergraduate or postgraduate level.

A provoking new approach to how we understand metaphors thoroughly comparing and contrasting the claims made by relevance theorists and cognitive linguists. The resulting hybrid theory shows the complementarity of many positions as well as the need and possibility of achieving a broader and more realistic theory of our understanding.

This book investigates the historical evolution of figurative language within the framework of cognitive linguistics. It examines how and why metaphors evolve through the ages, and it discusses the role of culture, the patterns of metaphor evolution, and how many people use particular expressions.

An important new volume based on the results of research in language typology, and motivated by the need for a theory to explain them. Professor Croft puts forward a new approach to syntactic

representation and a new model of how language and languages work. He covers a wide range of syntactic phenomena, illustrating these with examples that show the varied grammatical structures of the

world's languages.

The first international volume on the topic of biosemiotics and linguistics. It aims to establish a new relationship between linguistics and biology as based on shared semiotic foundation.

Through an analysis of the discourse practices of populist Far Right groups in France, Italy and Belgian Flanders, this book makes a ground-breaking contribution to our understanding of the ways in which homophobic discourse functions. It proposes an innovative heuristic for the conceiving of the interplay of language, context and culture: discourse ecology. The author brings linguistic theories, methods and ways of understanding and thinking about language to a study of the overt and covert homophobic discourses of three non-Anglophone populist movements, and grounds the interpretation of such practices in observable data. In doing so the book encourages us all to reconsider the power we give language in our activism and scholarship, as well as in our private lives.

Through an analysis of the discourse practices of populist Far Right groups in France, Italy and Belgian Flanders, this book makes a ground-breaking contribution to our understanding of the ways in which homophobic discourse functions. It proposes an innovative heuristic for the conceiving of the interplay of language, context and culture: discourse ecology. The author brings linguistic theories, methods and ways of understanding and thinking about language to a study of the overt and covert homophobic discourses of three non-Anglophone populist movements, and grounds the interpretation of such practices in observable data. In doing so the book encourages us all to reconsider the power we give language in our activism and scholarship, as well as in our private lives.

Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics is a comprehensive new reference work aiming to systematically describe all aspects of the study of meaning in language. It synthesizes in one volume the latest scholarly positions on the construction, interpretation, clarification, obscurity, illustration, amplification, simplification, negotiation, contradiction, contraction and paraphrasing of meaning, and the various concepts, analyses, methodologies and technologies that underpin their study. It examines not only semantics but the impact of semantic study on related fields such as morphology, syntax, and typologically oriented studies such as grammatical semantics, where semantics has made a considerable contribution to our understanding of verbal categories like tense or aspect, nominal categories like case or possession, clausal categories like causatives, comparatives, or conditionals, and discourse phenomena like reference and anaphora. COSE also examines lexical semantics and its relation to syntax, pragmatics, and cognitive linguistics; and the study of how logical semantics develops and thrives, often in interaction with computational linguistics.
As a derivative volume from Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics 2nd edition, it comprises contributions from 150 of the foremost scholars of semantics in their various specializations and draws on 20+ years of development in the parent work in a compact and affordable format. Principally intended for tertiary level inquiry and research, this will be invaluable as a reference work for undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as academics inquiring into the study of meaning and meaning relations within languages. As semantics is a centrally important and inherently cross-cutting area within linguistics it will therefore be relevant not just for semantics specialists, but for most linguistic audiences.
* The first encyclopedia ever published in this fascinating and diverse field
* Combines the talents of the world s leading semantics specialists
* The latest trends in the field authoritatively reviewed and interpreted in context of related disciplines.
* Drawn from the richest, most authoritative, comprehensive and internationally acclaimed reference resource in the linguistics area
* Compact and affordable single volume reference format"