The volume is collection of articles treating the topic of human improvement/enhancement from a variety of perspectives - philosophical, literary, medical, genetic, sociological, legal etc. The chapters in this volume treat not only those aspects that most immediately come to mind when one thinks of 'human enhancement', such as genetic engineering, cloning, artificial implants and artificial intelligence etc. Somewhat less obvious aspects include evolutionary perspectives in connection with the prolongation of the human lifespan, plastic surgery since its beginnings, and questions such as whether the distinction between 'natural' and 'artificial' can really be drawn at all and how it has been conceived across the ages, or what the legal implications are of recent developments and techniques. Many papers make links to the representation of these developments in popular culture, from Jules Verne through Aldous Huxley to the movie Gattaca, address the hopes and fears that come with them as well as the question how realistic these are. While all chapters are written by scientists at the international top of their respective fields, all are accessible to a non-specialist audience and eminently readable. We believe that they represent a state-of-the art overview of questions that are of interest to a large audience. The book thus targets a non-specialist audience with an interest in philosophical, sociological, scientific and legal issues involved in both traditional and recent matters concerning the desire of mankind to improve itself, the human body, the human mind and the human condition. It is unique in that it brings together all these aspects within a coherent and cohesive collection.

This comprehensive, up-to-date volume reports on current practices and use of Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO). Readers will find chapters on how it is done, where it is used, how it is used, and learn about recent developments on the use of LADO reports in judicial practice, and current controversies in the field. LADO is a highly controversial topic, and a relatively new branch of forensic linguistics that is used by most European and some non-European governments. When asylum seekers cannot submit documentary proof of their origin, their language can be analysed in order to assess whether their linguistic profile is in accordance with their stated origin. Around 10,000 such language analyses take place annually. This volume is based on the series of meetings of the Language and Asylum Research Group held between 2010 and 2012 and convened by the editors, and offers a state-of-the art perspective from researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders working on or with LADO.

This volume is the first handbook dedicated to language attrition, the study of how a speaker's language may be affected by crosslinguistic interference and non-use. The effects of language attrition can be felt in all aspects of language knowledge, processing, and production, and can offer unique insights into the mind of bilingual language users. In this book, international experts in the field explore a comprehensive range of topics in language attrition, examining its theoretical implications, psycho- and neurolinguistic approaches, linguistic and extralinguistic factors, L2 attrition, and heritage languages. The chapters summarize current research and draw on insights from related fields such as child language development, language contact, language change, pathological developments, and second language acquisition.

This volume offers an in-depth description and discussion of research design for a large-scale investigation of bilingual development. It introduces and justifies a range of theoretical and methodological innovations, discusses some of the problems that come with these and proposes practical solutions. The present volume introduces a research design intended to capture a wide range of linguistic data, elicited by means of behavioral tasks, neuroimageing data and free speech from both second language learners and first language attriters of two languages (Dutch and German) representing a wide range of language combinations and ages of onset. Gathering and analyzing such a range of data comes with a multiplicity of problems, many of them linked to the fact that similar tests have to be designed across a range of languages and measurements will have to occur in various locations. The current volume presents a research design appropriate to these questions, discussing the methodological challenges of such a study. It offers advice on how to construct experimental materials which are parallel across different languages set up a protocol for additional measures which can be applied across a wide range of participants combine data from different labs when using different ERP equipment and different eyetrackers.

The volume is collection of articles treating the topic of human improvement/enhancement from a variety of perspectives - philosophical, literary, medical, genetic, sociological, legal etc. The chapters in this volume treat not only those aspects that most immediately come to mind when one thinks of 'human enhancement', such as genetic engineering, cloning, artificial implants and artificial intelligence etc. Somewhat less obvious aspects include evolutionary perspectives in connection with the prolongation of the human lifespan, plastic surgery since its beginnings, and questions such as whether the distinction between 'natural' and 'artificial' can really be drawn at all and how it has been conceived across the ages, or what the legal implications are of recent developments and techniques. Many papers make links to the representation of these developments in popular culture, from Jules Verne through Aldous Huxley to the movie Gattaca, address the hopes and fears that come with them as well as the question how realistic these are. While all chapters are written by scientists at the international top of their respective fields, all are accessible to a non-specialist audience and eminently readable. We believe that they represent a state-of-the art overview of questions that are of interest to a large audience. The book thus targets a non-specialist audience with an interest in philosophical, sociological, scientific and legal issues involved in both traditional and recent matters concerning the desire of mankind to improve itself, the human body, the human mind and the human condition. It is unique in that it brings together all these aspects within a coherent and cohesive collection.

This volume is the first handbook dedicated to language attrition, the study of how a speaker's language may be affected by crosslinguistic interference and non-use. The effects of language attrition can be felt in all aspects of language knowledge, processing, and production, and can offer unique insights into the mind of bilingual language users. In this book, international experts in the field explore a comprehensive range of topics in language attrition, examining its theoretical implications, psycho- and neurolinguistic approaches, linguistic and extralinguistic factors, L2 attrition, and heritage languages. The chapters summarize current research and draw on insights from related fields such as child language development, language contact, language change, pathological developments, and second language acquisition.

This comprehensive, up-to-date volume reports on current practices and use of Language Analysis for the Determination of Origin (LADO). Readers will find chapters on how it is done, where it is used, how it is used, and learn about recent developments on the use of LADO reports in judicial practice, and current controversies in the field. LADO is a highly controversial topic, and a relatively new branch of forensic linguistics that is used by most European and some non-European governments. When asylum seekers cannot submit documentary proof of their origin, their language can be analysed in order to assess whether their linguistic profile is in accordance with their stated origin. Around 10,000 such language analyses take place annually. This volume is based on the series of meetings of the Language and Asylum Research Group held between 2010 and 2012 and convened by the editors, and offers a state-of-the art perspective from researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders working on or with LADO.

'Language attrition' describes the loss of, or changes to, grammatical and other features of a language as a result of declining use by speakers who have changed their linguistic environment and language habits. In such a situation there may, for example, be simplification in the tense system or in certain properties of subordinate clauses; some vocabulary items might fall into disuse and phonetic features may be restructured. These changes can be affected by features of the speaker's environment, but also by his or her attitudes and processes of identification. This book provides a detailed and up-to-date introduction to the way in which language attrition can affect language, as well as to the extra- and sociolinguistic features involved. It also familiarizes the reader with experimental approaches to attrition and data analysis techniques and provides hands-on guidelines on how to apply them.

'Language attrition' describes the loss of, or changes to, grammatical and other features of a language as a result of declining use by speakers who have changed their linguistic environment and language habits. In such a situation there may, for example, be simplification in the tense system or in certain properties of subordinate clauses; some vocabulary items might fall into disuse and phonetic features may be restructured. These changes can be affected by features of the speaker's environment, but also by his or her attitudes and processes of identification. This book provides a detailed and up-to-date introduction to the way in which language attrition can affect language, as well as to the extra- and sociolinguistic features involved. It also familiarizes the reader with experimental approaches to attrition and data analysis techniques and provides hands-on guidelines on how to apply them.