Actor and musician Ian Roberts is something of a South African icon, renowned for his roles as the rugged Boer fighter Sloet Steenkamp in the TV series Arende and as Boet in the immortal and immensely popular Castrol advertisements. In Free Spirit he looks back on his long and illustrious career in which he became known for having a flair for languages and acting from the gut.

As a boy, young Ian ran wild on his family’s citrus farm in the Eastern Cape, preferring the company of the local farm boys (and Kees the baboon). It was here that he first learnt the art of communicating with an audience through song and story.

A master storyteller with a wicked sense of humour, Ian offers a highly entertaining glimpse of how actors make the magic happen, whether on a theatre stage or before the TV cameras. Drawing on a career that runs from Long Street to Los Angeles, and from Shakespeare to Tsotsi, Ian provides a masterclass on the art of acting, making his life story a vital guide to aspiring actors.

His no-nonsense and fearless approach to life means he has never hesitated to tackle challenging roles and to do things in his own, unconventional way. Today, as frontman for Die Radio Kalahari Orkes, he continues to follow his heart.

As ’n jong seun wat kaalvoet en vry grootgeword het op sy ouers se sitrusplaas in die Oos-Kaap, sou Ian Roberts nooit kon dink dat hy eendag ’n ikoon van die silwerskerm sou word nie. Vandag nog herken mense hom as die taai Bittereinder Sloet Steenkamp van
Arende of as Boet van die gewilde Castrol-advertensies.

Ian se loopbaan strek van Langstraat in Kaapstad tot Los Angeles en van Shakespeare-produksies in die teater tot die Oscarwenner Tsotsi. In sy outobiografie verklap hierdie briljante storieverteller met ’n stoute sin vir humour meer oor wat alles agter die skerms op televisie- en rolprentstelle gebeur.

Hy beskryf ook die hoogbloei van Afrikaanse televisie- en rolprentvervaardiging toe hy saam met legendariese regisseurs soos Manie van Rensburg en Dirk de Villiers gewerk het. Sy lewensverhaal is ’n meesterklas in die kuns van toneelspel.

So outentiek, vreesloos en onkonvensioneel soos wat talle van sy karakters was, só is Ian ook in die regte lewe. Hy trap sy eie paadjie en was nog nooit ’n tropbok nie. Hy deel sy lewensverhaal met soveel humor, patos en insig dat dit nie anders kan as om die leser te ontroer nie.

The study of comparative grammar has long been a concern of linguistic theory. To the extent that, by studying the aspects of grammar which vary, we might arrive at an idea of what does not vary, this study can be seen as one way of studying universals of grammar. Although it has antecedents in the Middle Ages, comparative grammar was not systematically studied until the nineteenth century, and then purely from a historical perspective. In the past forty years, however, two important approaches have emerged: Greenbergian language typology and the Chomskyan programme based on the idea of the interaction of the principles and parameters of universal grammar. In recent years, these two approaches have to a degree converged. Our notion of how grammatical systems vary and our ability to provide detailed, sophisticated analyses of this variation across a range of languages and grammatical phenomena is probably greater than it has been at any time in the past. Concentrating on principles-and-parameters theory, this new Routledge Major Work presents a general, detailed and critical overview of what has been achieved. Aside from the first and last volumes, each one is devoted to a particular aspect of grammatical variation which has been identified as underlying important differences among languages. The first volume presents some of the most important work prior to the formulation of the principles-and-parameters approach in approximately 1980, including Greenberg's seminal early paper on language typology, while the last volume, in addition to considering further aspects of variation, briefly illustrates how the principles-and-parameters approach has been applied to first-language acquisition and syntactic change. With comprehensive introductions to each volume, newly written by the editor, which place the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Comparative Grammar is an essential work of reference and is destined to be valued by linguistics scholars and students as a vital research resource.

Locality is a key concept not only in linguistic theorizing, but in explaining pattern of acquisition and patterns of recovery in garden path sentences, as well. If syntax relates sound and meaning over an infinite domain, syntactic dependencies and operations must be restricted in such a way to apply over limited, finite domains in order to be detectable at all (although of course they may be allowed to iterate indefinitely). The theory of what these finite domains are and how they relate to the fundamentally unbounded nature of syntax is the theory of locality. The papers in this collection all deal with the concept of locality in syntactic theory, and, more specifically, describe and analyze the various contributions Luigi Rizzi has made to this area over the past three and a half decades. The authors are all eminent linguists in generative syntax who have collaborated with Rizzi closely, and in eleven chapters, they explore locality in both pure syntax and psycholinguistics. This collection is essential reading for students and scholars of linguistic theory, generative syntax, and comparative syntax.

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

This book will support children as they:

* Write a school report for a Victorian pupil

* Compile the biography of a real-life circus performer- "The Human Canon Ball"

* Produce a letter to complain about the after-effects of the Victorian remedy carbolic smoke balls

This inspiring new series, with authentic historical documents, will fire children's interest in the past. Fun activities for literacy an drama cover fascinating periods in history. Include; Fully photocopiable resources throughout such as Victorian newspaper clippings and recipes from the Second World War; Activities that children can work through on their own; Key teaching points on which practitioners can focus; Double-page spreads: historical resource on the left, related activities on the right

There are no men so dull and stupid, not even idiots, as to be incapable of joining together different words, and thereby constructing a declaration by which to make their thoughts understood...On the other hand, there is no other animal, however perfect or happily circumstanced which can do the like.-Descartes Language is more like a snowflake than a giraffe's neck. Its specific properties are determined by laws of nature, they have not developed through the accumulation of historical accidents.-Noam Chomsky In I Speak, Therefore I Am, the Italian linguist and neuroscientist Andrea Moro composes an album of his favorite quotations from the history of linguistics, beginning with the Book of Genesis and the power of naming and concluding with Noam Chomsky's metaphor that language is a snowflake. Moro's seventeen linguistic thoughts and his commentary on them display the humanness of language: our need to name and interpret this world and create imaginary ones, to express and understand ourselves. This book is sure to delight anyone who enjoys the ineffable paradox that is human language.

This 1996 volume brings together ten chapters on the Celtic languages using the insights of principles-and-parameters theory. The leading researchers in the field examine Welsh, Irish, Breton and Scots Gaelic in comparative perspective, making reference to recent work on English, French, Arabic, German and other languages. The editors have provided a substantial introduction which seeks to make the volume accessible to theoreticians unfamiliar with the Celtic languages and also to Celtic specialists who are less familiar with the theoretical framework underpinning the work. The Syntax of the Celtic Languages makes a substantial contribution both to linguistic theory and to our understanding of the Celtic languages.

This book brings together for the first time a series of previously published papers featuring Ian Roberts' pioneering work on diachronic and comparative syntax over the last thirty years in one comprehensive volume. Divided into two parts, the volume engages in recent key topics in empirical studies of syntactic theory, with the eight papers on diachronic syntax addressing major changes in the history of English as well as broader aspects of syntactic change, including the introduction to the formal approach to grammaticalisation, and the eight papers on comparative syntax exploring head-movement, the nature and distribution of clitics, and the nature of parametric variation and change. This comprehensive collection of the author's body of research on diachronic and comparative syntax is an essential resource for scholars and researchers in theoretical, comparative, and historical linguistics.

This second edition of Ian Gordon's A Preface to Pope places the poet within the social, cultural and intellectual context of his time. It throws new light on the theoretical and imaginative structures of Pope's poetry focusing on the linguistic complexity at its centre. It offers a critical survey of his work and also contains introductory essays. The book concludes with a reference section which includes indispensible information on places and people in Pope's poetry, together with a glossary of technical terms and a guide to further reading.

This second edition of Ian Gordon's A Preface to Pope places the poet within the social, cultural and intellectual context of his time. It throws new light on the theoretical and imaginative structures of Pope's poetry focusing on the linguistic complexity at its centre. It offers a critical survey of his work and also contains introductory essays. The book concludes with a reference section which includes indispensible information on places and people in Pope's poetry, together with a glossary of technical terms and a guide to further reading.

This book will support children as they: * Find out about wartime phrases and use them to write a dialogue * Write a letter home from a P.O.W. camp * Read wartime adverts and slogans and decide how effective they are

This book will support children as they: * Write a school report for a Victorian pupil * Compile the biography of a real-life circus performer- "The Human Canon Ball" * Produce a letter to complain about the after-effects of the Victorian remedy carbolic smoke balls!

A coherent introduction to generative syntax by a leader in the field, this textbook leads students through the theory from the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. Introducing the central concepts in a systematic and engaging way, it covers the goals of generative grammar, tacit native-speaker knowledge, categories and constituents, phrase structure, movement, binding, syntax beyond English, and the architecture of grammar. The theory is built slowly, showing in a step-by-step fashion how different versions of generative theory relate to one-another. Examples are carefully chosen to be easily understood, and a comprehensive glossary provides clear definitions of all the key terms introduced. With end of chapter exercises, broader discussion questions, and annotated further reading lists, 'Beginning Syntax' is the ideal resource for instructors and beginning undergraduate students of syntax alike. Two further textbooks by Ian Roberts, 'Continuing Syntax' and 'Comparing Syntax', will take students to intermediate and advanced level.

A coherent introduction to generative syntax by a leader in the field, this textbook leads students through the theory from the very beginning, assuming no prior knowledge. Introducing the central concepts in a systematic and engaging way, it covers the goals of generative grammar, tacit native-speaker knowledge, categories and constituents, phrase structure, movement, binding, syntax beyond English, and the architecture of grammar. The theory is built slowly, showing in a step-by-step fashion how different versions of generative theory relate to one-another. Examples are carefully chosen to be easily understood, and a comprehensive glossary provides clear definitions of all the key terms introduced. With end of chapter exercises, broader discussion questions, and annotated further reading lists, 'Beginning Syntax' is the ideal resource for instructors and beginning undergraduate students of syntax alike. Two further textbooks by Ian Roberts, 'Continuing Syntax' and 'Comparing Syntax', will take students to intermediate and advanced level.

Change is an inherent feature of all aspects of language, and syntax is no exception. While the synchronic study of syntax allows us to make discoveries about the nature of syntactic structure, the study of historical syntax offers even greater possibilities. Over recent decades, the study of historical syntax has proven to be a powerful scientific tool of enquiry with which to challenge and reassess hypotheses and ideas about the nature of syntactic structure which go beyond the observed limits of the study of the synchronic syntax of individual languages or language families. In this timely Handbook, the editors bring together the best of recent international scholarship on historical syntax. Each chapter is focused on a theme rather than an individual language, allowing readers to discover how systematic descriptions of historical data can profitably inform and challenge highly diverse sets of theoretical assumptions.

Change is an inherent feature of all aspects of language, and syntax is no exception. While the synchronic study of syntax allows us to make discoveries about the nature of syntactic structure, the study of historical syntax offers even greater possibilities. Over recent decades, the study of historical syntax has proven to be a powerful scientific tool of enquiry with which to challenge and reassess hypotheses and ideas about the nature of syntactic structure which go beyond the observed limits of the study of the synchronic syntax of individual languages or language families. In this timely Handbook, the editors bring together the best of recent international scholarship on historical syntax. Each chapter is focused on a theme rather than an individual language, allowing readers to discover how systematic descriptions of historical data can profitably inform and challenge highly diverse sets of theoretical assumptions.

Ian Roberts offers a stimulating introduction to our greatest gift as a species: our capacity for articulate language. We are mostly as blissfully unaware of the intricacies of the structure of language as fish are of the water they swim in. We live in a mental ocean of nouns, verbs, quantifiers, morphemes, vowels and other rich, strange and deeply fascinating linguistic objects. This book introduces the reader to this amazing world. Offering a thought-provoking and accessible introduction to the main discoveries and theories about language, the book is aimed at general readers and undergraduates who are curious about linguistics and language. Written in a lively and direct style, technical terms are carefully introduced and explained and the book includes a full glossary. The book covers all the central areas of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, as well as historical linguistics, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

This book was first published in 2010. The study of Romance languages can tell us a great deal about sentence structure and its variation in general. Focusing on the dialects of Italy - including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily - the authors explore three thematic areas: the nominal domain, the verbal domain and the left periphery of the clause. The book gives fresh attention to the dialects, arguing that they offer an unprecedented degree of variation (not found, for example, in Germanic languages). Analysing a host of data, the authors show how the dialects can be used as a test-bed for investigating and challenging received ideas about language structure and change. Coherent and wide-ranging, this is a vital resource for those working in syntactic theory, historical linguistics and Romance languages.

Parametric variation in linguistic theory refers to the systematic grammatical variation permitted by the human language faculty. Although still widely assumed, the parametric theory of variation has in recent years been subject to re-evaluation and critique. The Null Subject Parameter, which determines among other things whether or not a language allows the suppression of subject pronouns, is one of the best-known and most widely discussed examples of a parameter. Nevertheless its status in current syntactic theory is highly controversial. This book is a defence of the parametric approach to linguistic variation, set within the framework of the Minimalist Program. It discusses syntactic variation in the light of recent developments in linguistic theory, focusing on issues such as the formal nature of minimalist parameters, the typology of null-subject language systems and the way in which parametric choices can be seen to underlie the synchronic and diachronic patterns observed in natural languages.

The phenomenon of grammaticalization - the historical process whereby new grammatical material is created - has attracted a great deal of attention within linguistics. This is an attempt to provide a general account of this phenomenon in terms of a formal theory of syntax. Using Chomsky's Minimalist Program for linguistic theory, Roberts and Roussou show how this approach gives rise to a number of important conceptual and theoretical issues concerning the nature of functional categories and the form of parameters, as well as the relation of both of these to language change. Drawing on examples from a wide range of languages, they construct a general account of grammaticalization with implications for linguistic theory and language acquisition.