Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2010
I have had the pleasure of reading this work, the editors being language specialists who seek to make the seemingly imcomprehensible comprehensible. That, alone, as well as the student-friendly structure under- lying each chapter, could, quite conceivably, encourage a considerable ammount of people to enter into the ongoing dialogue--which addresses the various facets of language (e.g., syntax, semantics, and pragmatic use) and how it affects all types of relationships (e.g., teacher-student, supervisor-trainee.
This writer, for one, feels a special affinity for the research, as conducted by one of the editors of the above work, Dr. Susan J. Behrens. This inquiry addresses, specifically, supervisor-trainee relationships within what are termed "the helping professions" (e.g., nursing, speech-language pathology). Within both fields, clinicians steeped in a holistic (all encompassing) approach to the care of patients/clients are required for many reasons. In order to achieve this objective, optimal supervisor-trainee relations, steeped in a mixture of a Socratic and a gently didactic approach, is required. Dr. Behrens' research is directly geared toward achieving that objective, making use of both subjective (i.e., input from people in the field), and objective (i.e., employing the scientific method). Hopefully, the exposition of both anecdotal data and formalized research results within published journal articles will become the norm within the evolution of the dialogue dealing with many applied-science subjects.
More About This Textbook
Overview
Language in the Real World: An introduction to linguistics challenges the traditional approaches taken to linguistics to provide an innovative introduction to the subject. By first examining the real world applications of core areas of linguistics and then addressing the theory behind these applications, this text offers an inductive, illustrative, and interactive overview for students.
Key areas covered include animal communication, phonology, language variation, gender and power, lexicography, translation, forensic linguistics, language, acquisition, American Sign Language, and language disorders. Each chapter, written by an expert in the field, is introduced by boxed notes listing the key points covered and features an author's note to readers that situates the chapter in its real world context. Activities and pointers for further study and reading are also integrated into the chapters and an end of text glossary is provided to aid study.
Language in the Real World shows that linguistics can be appreciated, studied, and enjoyed by actively engaging real world applications of linguistic knowledge and principles and will be essential reading for students with an interest in language.
Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
"Language in the Real World offers students in various courses a novel and accessible introduction to linguistics as a multidiscipline. Written by practitioners of the applications it represents, Language in the Real World engages it audience by demonstrating how the study of language illuminates questions of social, clinical, and intellectual moment." -Mark Letourneau, Weber State University, USA"This collection of timely chapters with interactive exercises will inspire students to think broadly about the application of linguistics in a variety of fields. It can help students decide on careers and better appreciate the richness of language in the world around them." - William F. Katz, University of Texas at Dallas, USA
"More than other introductory texts, the book will help students see which careers linguistic knowledge can make possible and furthermore, for introductory students, how their linguistic knowledge can help them in their other academic and social pursuits."
— LANGUAGE (Journal of the Linguistic Society of America)
"(T)his volume has managed to show how language intersects with the world and with disciplines as varied as anthropology, forensics, law, psychology, social justice and women's studies. The authors' notes to the reader personalise the beginning of each chapter as they share their relationship with language and/or linguistics…While the collection does indeed live up to its claim of being ‘a different kind of book’, it has not lost any of the useful features of a more traditional undergraduate linguistics textbook. For example, each chapter begins with a list of key points to be covered, and contains interesting and interactive exercises and resources, as well as references to and examples from languages other than English. In addition, the book is well laid out, easy to follow and for the most part (with the exception of two chapters), written clearly and accessibly. There is also a comprehensive glossary which includes chapter references to where the term is discussed in depth. The companion website with student and teacher resources is an innovative addition, with chapter comments, flash cards and multiple choice questions for revision, weblinks…and videos…As a practising linguist, this volume refreshed and broadened my own knowledge of linguistics, and provided me with ideas for teaching. Readers from other disciplines will also enjoy this volume, and potential or beginning students of linguistics will find much of interest here, in particular how language and linguistics affects their lives in many more ways than they would have imagined."- Kerry Mullan, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Product Details
Related Subjects
Meet the Author
Susan J. Behrens is Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Marymount Manhattan College, New York City, USA.
Judith A. Parker is Professor of English and Linguistics at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA.
Table of Contents
Alternate Contents vii
Acknowledgments xi
Contributors xii
Introduction 1
I Language, Education, and Cultural Change 9
1 Language Variation: Students and Teachers Reflect on Accents and Dialects Susan J. Behrens Rebecca L. Sperling 11
2 Speech Communities: Language as a Mediator of Messages and Perceptions Miriam Eisenstein Ebsworth 27
3 Teaching Pronunciation: Using Phonology in the ESL and Foreign Language Classroom Joanna Labov 43
II Literature, Translation, and Computers 65
4 Lexicography: What Dictionaries Reveal about Language and Dictionary Makers Paul D. Fallon 67
5 Text Translation: Approaching Otherness Mary Boldt Esperanza Roncero 89
6 Machine Translation: The Challenge of Ambiguity Nan Decker 107
7 The N-Word, the F-Word, and All that Jazz: Race, Sex, and Transgressive Language in Contemporary American Literature and Popular Culture Carmen Gillespie 123
III Language, Power, and Identity 137
8 Language, Power, and Sexual Assault: Women's Voices on Rape and Social Change Judith A. Parker Deborah Mahlstedt 139
9 Gender, Language, and Power: Surname or Surname? Diana Boxer 164
10 Linguistics as a Forensic Science: The Case of Author Identification Carole E. Chaski 180
IV Forms of Language and Communication 205
11 First Language Acquisition: Developing Native Linguistic Competence Janine Graziano-King Helen Smith Cairns 207
12 ASL: A Visual Language Miako Villanueva Deanna Twain Laura Leigh Wood 226
13 Animal Communication: The "Language" of Honey Bees Wyatt A. Mangum 225
V Language and Communication Science 275
14 Communication Disorders: A Personal Perspective Ann D. Jablon 277
15 Analyzing Narratives: An Example of Cross-Cultural Research Methods Cecile L. Stein 297
16 Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics: Contributions to Understanding Healthy Aging and Dementia Yael Neumann Linda Carozza Anastasia Georgiou 314
17 Language of Children with Autism: The Two Worlds Underlying Verbal Communication Marion Blank Mary Beth Cull 331
Glossary 349
Index 367