This book tries to answer the question posed by Minsky at the beginning of "The Society of Mind: " "to explain the mind, we have to show how minds are built from mindless stuff, from parts that are much smaller and simpler than anything we'd considered smart." The author believes that cognition should not be rooted in innate rules and primitives, but rather grounded in human memory. More specifically, he suggests viewing linguistic comprehension as a time-constrained process -- a race for building an interpretation in short term memory.
After reviewing existing psychological and computational approaches to text understanding and concluding that they generally rely on self-validating primitives, the author abandons this objectivist and normative approach to meaning and develops a set of requirements for a grounded cognitive architecture. He then goes on to explain how this architecture must avoid all epistemological commitments, be tractable both with respect to space and time, and, most importantly, account for the diachronic and non-deterministic nature of comprehension. In other words, a text may or may not lead to an interpretation for a specific reader, and may be associated with several interpretations over time by one reader.
Throughout the remainder of the book, the author demonstrates that rules for all major facets of comprehension -- syntax, reference resolution, quantification, lexical and structural disambiguation, inference and subject matter -- can be expressed in terms of the simple mechanistic computing elements of a massively parallel network modeling memory. These elements, called knowledge units, work in a limited amount of time and have the ability not only to recognize but also to build the structures that make up an interpretation.
Designed as a main text for graduate courses, this volume is essential to the fields of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, memory modeling, text understanding, computational linguistics and natural language understanding. Other areas of application are schema-matching, hermeneutics, local connectionism, and text linguistics. With its extensive bibliography, the book is also valuable as supplemental reading for introductory undergraduate courses in cognitive science and computational linguistics.

'Combining postmodern critiques with whole language hopes, Alan Block routs the psychologists and pedagogues who have occupied American reading instruction for nearly a century and points out a way in which we can come to know ourselves and the world through reading.'--Patrick Shannon, Professor

During the last 20 years, there has been an enormous amount of research examining sources of coherence in reading. A major tenet of this work has been the distinction between two major sources of coherence. "Text-based" sources of coherence are contained within the text itself -- use of headings to indicate aspects of a text's macrostructure; "reader-based" sources of coherence encompass the information and strategies that the reader brings to the comprehension process. Many early models of reading comprehension emphasized text-based sources of coherence as a way of understanding how a representation of the text is constructed in memory. However, during the last decade, there has been a clear shift of theoretical perspective away from viewing reading comprehension as a process of representing a text to viewing comprehension as a process of representing what a text is about. This has led to a greater emphasis on reader-based sources of coherence. The purpose of this book is to bring together the large body of evidence addressing the roles of text-based and reader-based sources of coherence in reading comprehension. The contributors present the current state of cognitive theory and research on comprehension of discourse.

Explains and describes the ways that language use in the legal system can create inequality and disadvantage. It examines the three main areas where the two intersect: the central issue of the language of the law; the disadvantage which language can impose before the law, and forensic linguistics - the use of linguistic evidence in legal processes. Each section of the book is preceded by an introduction by the editor which sets the paper within a conceptual framework. Lawyer's opinions are not neglected even though the collection is written mainly by linguists. The section concludes with a lawyer's response, in which a prominent lawyer with a particular interest in the content of the section responds to the papers.

How does good writing stand out?

If its purpose is to convey facts, findings, or instructions, it need be read only once for its content to be clear. If its purpose is to entertain or to provoke thought, it makes readers want to come back for more.

Revised and updated, this guide covers four essential aspects of good writing:

• Individual words - spelling variations, hyphenation, frequently confused homonyms, frequently misused words and phrases, irregular plurals and negatives, and uses of capitalization and type style to add special meanings
• Punctuation - the role of each mark in achieving clarity and affecting tone, and demonstration of how misuses can lead to ambiguity
• Syntax and structure - agreement of subject and verb, parallel construction, modifiers, tenses, pronouns, active versus passive voice, and more
• Style - advice on the less hard-and-fast areas of clarity and tone, including sentence length and order, conciseness, simplification, reading level, jargon and cliches, and subtlety
• Filled with self-test exercises and whimsical literary quotations, "Grammatically Correct" steers clear of academic stuffiness, focusing instead on practical strategies and intuitive explanations.

  Discussions are designed to get to the heart of a concept and provide a sufficient sense of when and how to use it, along with examples that show what ambiguities or misinterpretations might result if the rules are not followed. In cases where there is more than one acceptable way to do something, the approach is not to prescribe one over another but simply to describe the options.

  Readers of this book will never break the rules of language again - unintentionally."

Modern language classrooms are currently dominated by the communicative method of language teaching. This reader draws together recent and newly commissioned papers to show the origins of communicative methodology, how it has developed, what its research justification is and how it can most effectively be used in the classroom. Various chapters examine the particular challenges of differentiation, teaching grammar, encouraging pupils to use the target language together and teaching a foreign language to children with special educational needs. The final section discusses ways of developing creativity in the modern languages classroom through the use of drama, creative writing and role play. Anyone involved in teaching modern languages will find this reader a rich source for reflection and good practice.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203060016

The new, updated edition of the handbook that should be on every copyeditor's desk. Unstuffy, hip, and often funny, The Copyeditor's Handbook has become an indispensable resource both for new editors and for experienced hands who want to refresh their skills and broaden their understanding of the craft of copyediting. This fourth edition incorporates the latest advice from language authorities, usage guides, and new editions of major style manuals, including The Chicago Manual of Style. It registers the tectonic shifts in twenty-first-century copyediting: preparing text for digital formats, using new technologies, addressing global audiences, complying with plain language mandates, ensuring accessibility, and serving self-publishing authors and authors writing in English as a second language. The new edition also adds an extensive annotated list of editorial tools and references and includes a bit of light entertainment for language lovers, such as a brief history of punctuation marks that didn't make the grade, the strange case of razbliuto, and a few Easter eggs awaiting discovery by keen-eyed readers. The fourth edition features updates on the transformation of editorial roles in today's publishing environment new applications, processes, and protocols for on-screen editing major changes in editorial resources, such as online dictionaries and language corpora, new grammar and usage authorities, online editorial communities, and web-based research tools When you're ready to test your mettle, pick up The Copyeditor's Workbook: Exercises and Tips for Honing Your Editorial Judgment, the essential new companion to the handbook.

This systematic overview of the grammatical features of the Portuguese language is geared to the specific needs and problems of German-speaking students of Portuguese. Taking into account the recent Portuguese spelling reform, the new edition offers updated as well as additional linguistic examples and explanations.

Most English legal texts before 1600, and many from the seventeenth century are written in law French, a dialect which differs considerably both from current French and from old Norman French. Only two guides to law French were published , one in 1701 and the other in 1779: both were full of errors and omissions. This current manual is a revised and considerably enlarged version of the first edition which was published in 1779, the first law French manual to appear since the eighteenth century. The manual is the only current guide to the law French used in English law books between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, an essential reference tool for law libraries, students and practitioners of English legal history. This manual is a revised and considerably enlarged version of the 1979 edition. It is the only current guide to the law French used in English law books between the thirteenth and seventeenth centuries, and is an essential reference tool for law libraries, students and practitioners of English legal history.

This is the International Edition of Understanding and Using English Grammar , Fifth Edition. This book is NOT to be sold in the United States. For nearly forty years, Understanding and Using English Grammar has been the go-to grammar resource for students and teachers alike. Its time-tested approach blends direct grammar instruction with carefully sequenced practice to develop all language skills. New to This Edition Pretests at the start of each chapter enable learners to check what they already know. Updated grammar charts reflect current usage and highlight differences between written and spoken English. A new chapter on article usage. A variety of high-interest readings include reviews, articles on current topics, and blogs that focus on student success. Additional incremental practice helps learners better grasp concepts, while thematic exercises and integrated tasks offer more contextualized language use. Step-by-step writing activities are supported by writing tips and pre-writing and editing tasks. MyEnglishLab (access code provided in the book) Rich online practice for all skill areas: grammar, reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Instant feedback and remediation. Grammar videos. Bonus material not included in the Student Book, including additional expanded practice of gerunds and infinitives. Robust assessments. Gradebook and diagnostic tools.

Focusing on how teachers can improve the ways in which they plan their lessons, this book demonstrates how careful planning allows the further development of learning approaches. The author presents a clear understanding of how these approaches can be used by the teacher to assess themselves and their students learning through: careful consideration of how certain approaches to learning can improve a student's grasp of reading, writing, speaking and listening discussions on how theories and research from leading experts can be applied in the classroom advice on how to use government strategies and ultimately work beyond them to develop learning in the classroom an examination of learning for children of different abilities. Helping teachers to develop good practice and understanding of learning in a familiar subject context, this book is essential for all those concerned in the teaching of secondary English.

Are you grappling with grammar? Are you perplexed by punctuation? Do you find it a constant challenge to keep your pupils engaged while teaching grammar effectively? Focusing on what you need to know in the classroom, Grammar Survival for Primary Teachers provides you with all of the knowledge and practical advice you'll need to teach grammar and punctuation effectively. Based on a successful, tried-and-tested format, this new book is designed especially for primary teachers and focuses on the requirements of the English National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2. This book includes: clear explanations and examples of a range of different aspects of grammar and punctuation practical advice and teaching ideas for use in the classroom a strong focus on building knowledge and applying it to writing. Accessible and engaging, this new book will be essential reading for busy trainee, newly qualified and practising teachers alike. It is the perfect guide for those looking to improve both their pupils' and their own understanding of grammar.

The ten contributions in this volume focus on a range of linearization challenges, all of which aim to shed new light on the central, still largely mysterious question of how the abundant evidence that linguistic structures are hierarchically organised can plausibly be reconciled with the fact that actually realised linguistic strings are typically sequentially ordered. Some of the contributions present particularly challenging data, those on the mixed spoken and signed output of bimodal Italian children, Quechua nominal morphology, Kannada reduplication and Taqbaylit of Chemini "floating prepositions" all being cases in point. Others have a typological focus, highlighting and attempting to explain striking patterns like the Final-over-Final Constraint or considering the predictions of particular theoretical approacesh (the movement theory of Control, multidominance, Distributed Morphology) in relation to structures that we do and don't expect to be "possible linguistic structures". Broader architectural questions also receive attention from various perspectives. This volume will be of interest to advanced students and researchers with interests in the externalisation of ling

An essential tool for every serious student of French as well as a source of endless fun and fascination, the book gives comprehensive and unexpurgated coverage of French slang - the real language of France.

First published in 1986. This comprehensive guide to written and spoken English offers details of usage in all countries where English used. The writer's, speaker's and reader's handy companion; the student's source. A book for browsing, for rules and for reference.

The main goal of this study, first published in 1994, is to present a substantial part of the grammar of French. This goal is achieved by bringing together two aspects of syntactic investigation. First, the study focuses on a vast range of French clausal phenomena, including Object Raising constructions, Causative constructions of various types, Impersonal constructions, amongst many others. Second, the investigation is conducted within the framework of Relational Grammar. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.

A handy cheat sheet of key Japanese grammar in a at-a-glance, easy-to-carry format! The Japanese Grammar Language Study Card is the perfect resource for reviewing the main grammar that frequently appears in the N5 or N4 Level Japanese Language Proficiency Exam or the AP Exam. The compact, portable format is invaluable for anyone wanting to quickly review or expand their knowledge of everyday Japanese sentence and verb forms. This study card includes: Overview of basic sentence structure Key verb forms including plain and polite forms How to use sentence particles correctly How to make questions How to use pronouns The grammar points are clearly organized into color-coded sections. Each section has a concise explanation in English followed by examples given in Japanese script and romanized Japanese with English translation. Free online audio recordings by native speakers provide clear and accurate pronunciations for all the Japanese words and sentences, and Hiragana and Katakana alphabet charts are also included! Designed for convenience, this study card is: Laminated: to hold up over time and avoid being ruined by coffee spills 3 hole punched: giving the option to put it in a binder 8.5x11 inches: to easily fit into a folder or notebook alongside other study materials

Useful to both students of Standard English in schools and colleges as well as learners of English as a foreign language. This book explains common mistakes in English and how to correct your use of the language. Useful to both students of Standard English in schools and colleges as well as learners of English as a foreign language. This book explains English in contemporary use.

This work is a comprehensive description of the grammar of Sierra Popoluca, a Mixe-Zoquean language spoken by approximately 28,000 people in Veracruz, Mexico. This detailed description and analysis includes an overview of the language and its family, its typological features and its phonology. The grammar also provides an overview of the word classes, including verbs, nouns, relational nouns/postpositions, adjectives, adverbs, numbers, and formative types. The bulk of this grammar is devoted to the morphosyntax of Sierra Popoluca, including nouns and nominal morphology, verbs and verbal morphology, and the mechanisms for expressing tense, aspect, mood, and modality. An agglutinating, polysynthetic, head-marking language with ergative-absolutive alignment and sensitivity to animacy and saliency hierarchies, Sierra Popoluca has a number of strategies to form complex predicates, which include verb serialization, noun incorporation, and dependent verb constructions. These complex predicate formation strategies and sentence-level syntax are also described here. A compilation of interlinearized texts appears in the appendix. There is no competing work that provides the breadth and depth of coverage of the Sierra Popoluca grammar.

How often teachers of speech must long to discover some fresh exercises - here is a book of exercises which have been proved in the author's classes.

Do you commit apostrophe atrocities?

Are you tormented by the lie/lay conundrum?

Do you find yourself stuck between floaters and danglers?

Do your subjects and your verbs refuse to agree?

If so, you’re not alone. Some of the most prominent professionals in TV broadcasting and at major newspapers and magazines–people who really should know better–are guilty of making all-too-common grammatical errors. In this delightfully amusing, clever guide, Thomas Parrish points out real-life grammar gaffes from top-notch publications such as the New York Times and the New Yorker to illustrate just how widespread these errors are. With red pen in hand, Parrish’s fictional friend the Grouchy Grammarian leads the charge, examining the forty-seven most common mistakes in English and imparting the basics of good grammar with a charming mixture of fussiness and common sense. All of which makes The Grouchy Grammarian the most entertaining, accessible how-not-to guide you’ll ever read.