The first comprehensive critique of the critical and cultural theories after postmodernism by a Chinese scholar in a international and comparative manner. Offers a panoramic overview of the critical and cultural theories in the 20th century in a theoretical way. Offers non-EuroAmerican perspectives on Western literary theories and cultural trends.

Explores the whole writing system, from vocabulary to discourse Demonstrates the dynamical development of L2 Covers dense data collection Combines analysis of central trend and local variability in Chinese setting

This book presents a complementary study of lexicalist approaches and constructionist approaches in Linguistics. Specific topics discussed include different versions of semantic roles, predicate decomposition, event structures, argument realizations, and cognitive construction grammars. For decades, the relationship between certain concepts and constructions along with related issues of verb-construction associations have been perennially taxing issues for both lexicalist and constructionist approaches alike. Indeed, in Chinese, unmatched verb-construction associations and the much richer alternate realizations pose very difficult problems. Based on a comparative study, the authors make an attempt to account for the possible correspondence between the delicacy of argument setting and the principles of their realization. They also account for the integration of construction with verbs in terms of their coherent conceptual contents. The resultant newly developed model throws new light on the thorny Chinese problems. The book will appeal to scholars and students studying cognitive linguistics, cognitive semantics, computational linguistics, and also natural language processing. The book also brings up some new analysis of Chinese data for both researchers and learners of Modern Chinese.

The study of text cohesion and coherence has been a topic of heated discussion in Linguistics since the 1990s. Western linguists have developed two major theoretical frameworks to describe the relationship between the two concepts: one posits that cohesive devices are important means to ensure cohesion; the other argues that coherence does not rely on cohesion. Yet neither has complete explanatory power over reality; nor can they solve real-life problems. This title proposes a creative, concrete, and highly operational theoretical model that unites cohesion and coherence using authentic English or Chinese examples. The authors clarify the concepts of coherence and expand the scope of the research by focusing on a variety of internal and external factors, such as psycho-cognitive and socio-cultural factors. Moreover, the authors propose that the new theoretical paradigm can be applied to a range of other disciplines, including translation and foreign language teaching. This title has been one of the most cited works on cohesion and coherence in China. Students and scholars of discourse analysis, linguistics, and language education will find this an invaluable reference.

Reported speech is a universal form across human languages. However, previous studies have tended to be limited because they mostly emphasize on the form and authenticity of reported speech, while its discourse and pragmatic functions have largely been ignored. Meanwhile, the studies mainly focus on English, with a comparative perspective with other languages largely missing. Acknowledging these limitations, this book analyzes the textual and pragmatic functions of reported speech in Chinese and English. The authors build a corpus comprising of twelve Chinese and English newspapers, including China Daily and The New York Times. They examine the classification and distribution of reported speech, the form and function in different news genres and contexts, and the socio-pragmatic interpretation of reported speech in news and other issues. This title can enrich comparative linguistic research, verify the feasibility of combining critical linguistics and corpus technology, and help improve the production and understanding of news reports. Students and scholars of critical discourse analysis, comparative linguistics, corpus linguistics, as well as communication studies will find this to be an essential guide.

i) It is the first monograph concentrating on the study of semantic rhetoric, especially that in Mandarin Chinese. The Chinese semantic rhetoric examples may provide a channel to touch Chinese culture and thinking. ii) Published in 2019, the Chinese version sold about 800 copies. iii) This book has important theoretical reference value for the study of semantic rhetoric, can provide practical guidance for language teaching, especially for the teaching of rhetorical discourse, and is suitable for college and graduate students, foreign language teachers and related social workers who are interested in language and language studies.

Focusing on the poetry and cultural practice of Frank O'Hara, the great urban poet of the New York School during the 1950s and 1960s, this books explores the interwoven relationship between his urban poetics and the urban culture of New York, seeking to shed light on poetic concept and its cultural relevance. The poetry of Frank O'Hara is deeply rooted in and nourished by his urban experience as a metropolitan and an active participant in the vibrant cultural scene of New York. Therefore, an investigation into the interactive dynamics between his poetry and the urban culture he helped shape serves as a starting point for further study on the literary representation of European and American urban culture. Across eight chapters, the authors look into the genesis, theoretical constitution, the interface with culture and aesthetics of O'Hara's urban poetics and also their philosophical foundations, literary ethics, special expression and representation as well as his reception of modernity and postmodernity. The title will appeal to scholars, students and general readers interested in American literature, poetry and urban culture, especially Frank O'Hara and the New York School.

Appraisal is the way language users express their attitude towards things, people, behaviour or ideas. In the last few decades, significant achievements have been made in Appraisal Theory research, yet little attention has been paid to appraisal in scientific texts, especially in relation to the contrast to how it is applied in English and Chinese. This title examines the similarities and differences of Appraisal systems in English and Chinese scientific research articles. Using a self-constructed corpus of scientific research articles, the authors make cross-linguistic comparisons in terms of the quantity and distribution patterns of categories of appraisals. They creatively categorise articles into theoretical scientific research articles and applied studies and discover that for both languages, each genre can have its own favorite mode of distribution for the realization of appraisal systems. In addition, this research helps appraisal theory systems to become more explicit, specific, and more applicable for the analysis of scientific research articles. Students and scholars of applied linguistics, comparative linguistics and corpus linguistics will find this an essential reference.

i) This title combines qualitative and quantitative methods to study the new field, multimodal pragmatics. ii) The author offers practical guide of building multimodal corpus and gives new attempt of integrating Simulative Modelling into linguistic study iii) The Chinese version was a bestseller in China.

The study of text cohesion and coherence has been a topic of heated discussion in Linguistics since the 1990s. Western linguists have developed two major theoretical frameworks to describe the relationship between the two concepts: one posits that cohesive devices are important means to ensure cohesion; the other argues that coherence does not rely on cohesion. Yet neither has complete explanatory power over reality; nor can they solve real-life problems. This title proposes a creative, concrete, and highly operational theoretical model that unites cohesion and coherence using authentic English or Chinese examples. The authors clarify the concepts of coherence and expand the scope of the research by focusing on a variety of internal and external factors, such as psycho-cognitive and socio-cultural factors. Moreover, the authors propose that the new theoretical paradigm can be applied to a range of other disciplines, including translation and foreign language teaching. This title has been one of the most cited works on cohesion and coherence in China. Students and scholars of discourse analysis, linguistics, and language education will find this an invaluable reference.

Reported speech is a universal form across human languages. However, previous studies have tended to be limited because they mostly emphasize on the form and authenticity of reported speech, while its discourse and pragmatic functions have largely been ignored. Meanwhile, the studies mainly focus on English, with a comparative perspective with other languages largely missing. Acknowledging these limitations, this book analyzes the textual and pragmatic functions of reported speech in Chinese and English. The authors build a corpus comprising of twelve Chinese and English newspapers, including China Daily and The New York Times. They examine the classification and distribution of reported speech, the form and function in different news genres and contexts, and the socio-pragmatic interpretation of reported speech in news and other issues. This title can enrich comparative linguistic research, verify the feasibility of combining critical linguistics and corpus technology, and help improve the production and understanding of news reports. Students and scholars of critical discourse analysis, comparative linguistics, corpus linguistics, as well as communication studies will find this to be an essential guide.

Public discourse constitutes the language environment of a town or a city, which forms part of the social environment of a country or a region. Based on extensive first-hand data collected from public places, mass media and the Internet, this monograph attempts critical pragmatic studies of public discourse in the contemporary Chinese context. By applying pragmatic theories and analytical instruments to the analysis of the data, including business names, advertisements, public signs and notices, and news, the book showcases such discursive practices as personalization and subjectivization and reveals such social problems as unhealthy social mentalities, "pragmatic traps", suspect discrimination, and vulgarity. It exemplifies a way of combining the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and the pragmatic approach with a clear focus on the pragmatic issues. This book will not only be a necessary addition to the academic discipline of pragmatics in general, and critical pragmatics in particular, but also lay bare the problems existing in the use of public discourse and suggest several ways to improve such use. While it addresses the Chinese data only, the proposed analyses may contribute to international readers' understanding of public discourse in contemporary China and serve as a reference for similar researches worldwide.

i) The book offers a panoramic view on how the Chinese novel San Guo Yan Yi was introduced to the English world. ii) The book offers readers a lens to look at intertextuality in a different and macro way, beyond the linear relations between texts. iii) The book presents translations in diversified forms, including novella, drama, poetry, inserted article, fairy tale, and textbook.

Public discourse constitutes the language environment of a town or a city, which forms part of the social environment of a country or a region. Based on extensive first-hand data collected from public places, mass media and the Internet, this monograph attempts critical pragmatic studies of public discourse in the contemporary Chinese context. By applying pragmatic theories and analytical instruments to the analysis of the data, including business names, advertisements, public signs and notices, and news, the book showcases such discursive practices as personalization and subjectivization and reveals such social problems as unhealthy social mentalities, "pragmatic traps", suspect discrimination, and vulgarity. It exemplifies a way of combining the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach and the pragmatic approach with a clear focus on the pragmatic issues. This book will not only be a necessary addition to the academic discipline of pragmatics in general, and critical pragmatics in particular, but also lay bare the problems existing in the use of public discourse and suggest several ways to improve such use. While it addresses the Chinese data only, the proposed analyses may contribute to international readers' understanding of public discourse in contemporary China and serve as a reference for similar researches worldwide.