Overview

This volume provides a contrastive analysis of two unrelated languages, English and Hebrew, based on the semiotic concepts of invariance, markedness and distinctive feature theory. It concentrates on linguistic forms and constructions which are remarkably different in both languages despite the fact that they share the same familiar classifications and labels. Tobin demonstrates how and why traditional and modern syntactic categories such as grammatical number; verb tense, aspect, mood and voice; and conditionals and interrogatives are not equivalent across languages. It is argued that these so-called universal concepts function differently in each language system because they belong to distinct language-specific semantic domains which are marked by different sets of semantic features. The data used in this volume have been taken from a wide range of both spoken and written discourse and texts reflecting people's actual use of language presented in their relevant linguistic and situational contexts.

Full Product Details

Author:   Yishai Tobin
Publisher:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Imprint:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Volume:   111
Weight:   0.670kg
ISBN:  

9789027236142

ISBN 10:   9027236143
Pages:   406
Publication Date:   15 December 1994
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1. List of figures; 2. List of tables; 3. Preface; 4. Part I: Theoretical and Methodological Background; 5. 1. The sign-oriented approach; 6. 2. The sign-oriented model; 7. Part II: Semantic Integrality; 8. 3. Semantic Integrality; 9. 4. Possessive constructions in English and Hebrew; 10. 5. Contractions in English; 11. Part III: Process and Result in Language; 12. 6. Troublesome lexical pairs in English; 13. 7. Troublesome lexical pairs in Hebrew; 14. 8. The Hebrew root and conjugation (binyan) systems; 15. Part IV: Specification in Language; 16. 9. Here, now and where in English and Hebrew; 17. 10. Interrogatives in English and Hebrew; 18. Notes; 19. List of references; 20. Name Index; 21. Subject Index

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