Download or read book Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue written by John McWhorter and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2009-10-27 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar Why do we say “I am reading a catalog” instead of “I read a catalog”? Why do we say “do” at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history. Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English— and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it’s not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition).
Download or read book Pidgin Grammar written by Kent Sakoda and published by Bess Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Devoted to a serious description of Pidgin origins and grammar, this work on Pidgin grammar does not require knowledge of linguistics. This reference is useful for anyone wanting to know more about this unique language of the Hawaiian Islands.
Download or read book Dictionary of the English Creole of Trinidad Tobago written by Lise Winer and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2009-01-16 with total page 1064 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using the historical principles of the Oxford English Dictionary, Lise Winer presents the first scholarly dictionary of this unique language. The dictionary comprises over 12,200 entries, including over 4500 for flora and fauna alone, with numerous cross-references. Entries include definitions, alternative spellings, pronunciations, etymologies, grammatical information, and illustrative citations of usage. Winer draws from a wide range of sources - newspapers, literature, scientific reports, sound recordings of songs and interviews, spoken language - to provide a wealth and depth of language, clearly situated within a historical, cultural, and social context.
Download or read book Creole and Dialect Continua written by Geneviève Escure and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 319 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although there is a substantial amount of linguistic research on standard language acquisition, little attention has been given to the mechanisms underlying second dialect acquisition. Using a combination of function-based grammar and sociolinguistic methodology to analyze topic marking strategies, the unguided acquisition of a standard by speakers of nonstandard varieties is examined in two distinct linguistic and geographical situations: in a Caribbean creole situation (Belize), with special attention to the acquisition of acrolects by native speakers of basilects, and in a noncreole situation (PRC), documenting the acquisition of standard Chinese (Putonghua) by speakers of nonstandard varieties represented in Cultural Revolution literature, Wuhan Chinese, and Suzhou Wu story-telling style. In both cases psychosocial factors, linguistic bias toward nonnative renderings of the standard varieties, the social status of their speakers, and related political and educational consequences play an important role in the development of second dialects. The broad-ranging analysis of a single feature of oral discourse leads to the formulation of cross-linguistic generalizations in acquisition studies and results in an evaluation of the putative uniqueness of creole languages. Related issues addressed include the effect of linguistic bias on the development and use of language varieties by marginalized groups; the interaction of three major language components semantics, syntax, and pragmatics in spontaneous communication; and the development of methods to identify discourse units. The ultimate goal underlying the comparison of specific discourse variables in Belizean and Chinese standard acquisition is to evaluate the relative merits of substratal, superstratal, and universal explanations in language development.
Download or read book Pidgins and Creoles written by Jacques Arends and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1994-12-20 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introduction to the linguistic study of pidgin and creole languages is clearly designed as an introductory course book. It does not demand a high level of previous linguistic knowledge. Part I: General Aspects and Part II: Theories of Genesis constitute the core for presentation and discussion in the classroom, while Part III: Sketches of Individual Languages (such as Eskimo Pidgin, Haitian, Saramaccan, Shaba Swahili, Fa d'Ambu, Papiamentu, Sranan, Berbice Dutch) and Part IV: Grammatical Features (such as TMA particles and auxiliaries, noun phrases, reflexives, serial verbs, fronting) can form the basis for further exploration. A concluding chapter draws together the different strands of argumentation, and the annotated list provides the background information on several hundred pidgins, creoles and mixed languages. Diversity rather than unity is taken to be the central theme, and for the first time in an introduction to pidgins and creoles, the Atlantic creoles receive the attention they deserve. Pidgins are not treated as necessarily an intermediate step on the way to creoles, but as linguistic entities in their own right with their own characteristics. In addition to pidgins, mixed languages are treated in a separate chapter. Research on pidgin and creole languages during the past decade has yielded an abundance of uncovered material and new insights. This introduction, written jointly by the creolists of the University of Amsterdam, could not have been written without recourse to this new material.
Download or read book Dialects Englishes Creoles and Education written by Shondel J. Nero and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brings together a multiplicity of voices on the complex politics, challenges, and strategies of educating students - in North America and worldwide - who are speakers of diverse or nonstandard varieties of English, and hybrid varieties of English, such as African American Vernacular English, Caribbean Creole English, Tex Mex, among others.
Download or read book From Jamaican Creole to Standard English written by Velma Pollard and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guide indicates the ways in which Jamaican Creole differs from Standard Jamaican English. It is organized into four sections: words that look alike but mean different thing; words that are different but mean the same things; grammatical structures that are different but convey the same information; and idiomatic Speech or writing.
Download or read book Agency in the Emergence of Creole Languages written by Nicholas Faraclas and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2012 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suitable for those who are looking for fresh perspectives on the process of creolization of language, this book demonstrates how enterprising women, rebellious slaves, insubordinate sailors, and a host of other renegades and maroons had a major impact on the creolized societies, cultures, and languages of the colonial era Atlantic and Pacific.
Download or read book An Introduction to Pidgins and Creoles written by John Holm and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A clear and concise introduction to the study of how new languages come into being.
Download or read book Linguistics across Historical and Geographical Boundaries written by Dieter Kastovsky and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2011-06-03 with total page 1596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.
Download or read book Handbook of Categorization in Cognitive Science written by Henri Cohen and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2017-06-03 with total page 1277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Handbook of Categorization in Cognitive Science, Second Edition presents the study of categories and the process of categorization as viewed through the lens of the founding disciplines of the cognitive sciences, and how the study of categorization has long been at the core of each of these disciplines. The literature on categorization reveals there is a plethora of definitions, theories, models and methods to apprehend this central object of study. The contributions in this handbook reflect this diversity. For example, the notion of category is not uniform across these contributions, and there are multiple definitions of the notion of concept. Furthermore, the study of category and categorization is approached differently within each discipline. For some authors, the categories themselves constitute the object of study, whereas for others, it is the process of categorization, and for others still, it is the technical manipulation of large chunks of information. Finally, yet another contrast has to do with the biological versus artificial nature of agents or categorizers. - Defines notions of category and categorization - Discusses the nature of categories: discrete, vague, or other - Explores the modality effects on categories - Bridges the category divide - calling attention to the bridges that have already been built, and avenues for further cross-fertilization between disciplines
Download or read book The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures written by Susanne Maria Michaelis and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Atlas presents commentaries and colour maps showing how 130 linguistic features - phonological, syntactic, morphological, and lexical - are distributed among the world's pidgins and creoles. Designed and written by the world's leading experts, it is a unique resource of outstanding value for linguists of all persuasions throughout the world.
Download or read book Creole Meets English Kreglish The Easiest Way to Learn Creole written by Jacques Julmice Mba and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make Learning, Understanding, and Speaking Creole Easy & Fast! The Smart Way with Kreglish! If you're one of the people who thinks learning a new language is hard and time consuming then this is the book for you. Kreglish is a new way to learn Creole that makes mastering the language a quick and simple process. This Creole language learning book will help you recognize Creole alphabets, identify the words and teach you to pronounce them with confidence. Kreglish isn't just a book, it's a new methodology that will help you learn Creole in the shortest time so you can keep up with most conversations while laying a solid foundation for the future. Teach Yourself Creole Anytime & Anywhere! Whether you're on a flight and only have a couple of hours to learn Creole or simply planning a vacation, this book will allow you to easily teach yourself Creole without taking up all your time. You can bring Creole Meets English along and learn enough during the flight to be able to communicate when you get there. It's filled with most words, phrases, and examples you need to know to get through your trip. Coupled with the unique self-instruction resources, it allows you to hold a conversation with a native speaker under various situations in less than 24 hours! It's the perfect choice for travelers or anyone else who wants to expand their skill set. It can also be used to teach kids Creole from an early age. Key Features of Kreglish: Build a Foundation Allows you to start speaking Creole immediately using essential words and phrases. Learn with Confidence Helps you learn phrases and words to formulate full sentences and actual conversations. Achieve Your Goals Helps you develop practical language skills instead of simply memorizing vocabulary. Learn from what You Know We use hundreds of words that are spelled the same way in English and Creole to help you understand faster and better. Made for Everyone Filled with sentences and mocked conversations for adoptive parents, adopted children, vacationers, business travelers, and medical professionals Start learning Creole today and begin speaking like a native. Meet Your Goals With Creole Meets English
Download or read book The Haitian Creole Language written by Arthur K. Spears and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Haitian Creole Language is the first book that deals broadly with a language that has too long lived in the shadow of French. With chapters contributed by the leading scholars in the study of Creole, it provides information on this language's history; structure; and use in education, literature, and social interaction. Although spoken by virtually all Haitians, Creole was recognized as the co-official language of Haiti only a little over twenty years ago. The Haitian Creole Language provides essential information for professionals, other service providers, and Creole speakers who are interested in furthering the use of Creole in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Increased language competencies would greatly promote the education of Creole speakers and their participation in the social and political life of their countries of residence. This book is an indispensable tool for those seeking knowledge about the centrality of language in the affairs of Haiti, its people, and its diaspora.
Download or read book Central American English written by John A. Holm and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 1983 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is about the Anglophone creoles to be found on the Caribbean coast of Central America (Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama), and its offshore islands (Providencia, San Andrés and the Caymans) . The study of these Anglophone varieties is comparatively recent and based on current field work from Belize to Panama. One of the interesting features that emerges is the tentative map of diachronic and synchronic relationsships among the Anglophone creoles of the Caribbean, as illustrated partly by the lexicon and partly by grammatical constructions. The studies in this book are based on phonetic transcriptions of speech acts in their social and linguistic context.
Download or read book Pidgin and Creole Languages written by Suzanne Romaine and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book defines and describes the linguistic features of these languages and considers the dynamic developments that bring them into being and lead to changes in their structure.
Download or read book The Lesser Known Varieties of English written by Daniel Schreier and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-03-04 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first ever volume to compile sociolinguistic and historical information on lesser-known, and relatively ignored, native varieties of English around the world. Exploring areas as diverse as the Pacific, South America, the South Atlantic and West Africa, it shows how these varieties are as much part of the big picture as major varieties and that their analysis is essential for addressing some truly important issues in linguistic theory, such as dialect obsolescence and death, language birth, dialect typology and genetic classification, patterns of diffusion and transplantation and contact-induced language change. It also shows how close interwoven fields such as social history, contact linguistics and variationist sociolinguistics are in accounting for their formation and maintenance, providing a thorough description of the lesser-known varieties of English and their relevance for language spread and change.
