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Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Semantics (meaning) > Lexicography
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Language Interrupted - Signs of Non-Native Acquisition in Standard Language Grammars (Hardcover, New)
Loot Price: R2,689
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Language Interrupted - Signs of Non-Native Acquisition in Standard Language Grammars (Hardcover, New)
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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Foreigners often say that English language is "easy." A language
like Spanish is challenging in its variety of verb endings (the
verb speak is conjugated hablo, hablas, hablamos), and gender for
nouns, whereas English is more straight forward (I speak, you
speak, we speak). But linguists generally swat down claims that
certain languages are "easier" than others, since it is assumed all
languages are complex to the same degree. For example, they will
point to English's use of the word "do" -- Do you know French? This
usage is counter-intuitive and difficult for non-native speakers.
Linguist John McWhorter agrees that all languages are complex, but
questions whether or not they are all equally complex. The topic of
complexity has become a hot issue in recent years, particularly in
creole studies, historical linguistics, and language contact. As
McWhorter describes, when languages came into contact over the
years (when French speakers ruled the English for a few centuries,
or the vikings invaded England), a large number of speakers are
forced to learn a new language quickly, and this came up with a
simplified version, a pidgin. When this ultimately turns into a
"real" language, a creole, the result is still simpler and less
complex than a "non-interrupted" language that has been around for
a long time. McWhorter makes the case that this kind of
simplification happens in degrees, and criticizes linguists who are
reluctant to say that, for example, English is simply simpler than
Spanish for socio-historical reasons. He analyzes how various
languages that seem simple but are not creoles, actually are
simpler than they would be if they had not been broken down by
large numbers of adult learners. In addition to English, he looks
at Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Malay, and some Arabic varieties. His
work will interest not just experts in creole studies and
historical linguistics, but the wider community interested in
language complexity.
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