|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewLinguists have standardly assumed that grammar is about identifying all and only the 'good' sentences of a language, which implies that there must be other, 'bad' sentences - but in practice most linguists know that it is hard to pin those down. The standard assumption is no more than an assumption. A century ago, grammarians did not think about their subject that way, and our book shows that the older idea was right: linguists can and should dispense with the concept 'starred sentence'. We draw on corpus data in order to support a different model of grammar, in which individuals refine positive grammatical habits to greater or lesser extents in diverse and unpredictable directions, but nothing is ever ruled out. Languages are not merely alternative methods of verbalizing universal logical forms. We use empirical evidence to shed light on the routes by which school-age children gradually expand their battery of grammatical resources, which turn out to be sometimes counter-intuitive. Our rejection of the 'starred sentence' concept has attracted considerable discussion, and we summarize the reactions and respond to our critics. The contrasting models of grammar described in this book entail contrasting pictures of human nature; our closing chapter shows that grammatical theory is not value-neutral but has an ethical dimension. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Geoffrey Sampson , Anna BabarczyPublisher: De Gruyter Imprint: De Gruyter Mouton Volume: 254 Dimensions: Width: 15.50cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.00cm Weight: 0.660kg ISBN: 9783110289770ISBN 10: 3110289776 Pages: 358 Publication Date: 12 December 2013 Recommended Age: College Graduate Student Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , Professional & Vocational Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: Manufactured on demand We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier. Table of ContentsReviewsOverall, this is an important work that all linguists should read (even/especially if they are generative grammarians). Helen Aristar-Dry in: LINGUIST List 25.4363 Overall, this is an important work that all linguists should read (even/especially if they are generative grammarians). Helen Aristar-Dry in: LINGUIST List 25.4363 Overall, this is an important work that all linguists should read (even/especially if they are generative grammarians). Helen Aristar-Dry in: LINGUIST List 25.4363 """Overall, this is an important work that all linguists should read (even/especially if they are generative grammarians)."" Helen Aristar-Dry in: LINGUIST List 25.4363" Author InformationGeoffrey Sampson, University of South Africa and Sussex University; Anna Babarczy, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |