Cognitive Foundations of Grammar
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc
Published:22nd Jan '98
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
This hardback is available in another edition too:
- Paperback£80.00(9780195102529)
The main function of language is to convey meaning. Therefore, argues Bernd Heine in these pages, the question of why language is structured the way it is must first of all be answered with reference to this function. Linguistic explanations offered in terms of other exponents of language structure (for example, syntax) are likely to highlight peripheral or epi-phenomenal--rather than central--characteristics of language structure. Heine provides a solid introductory treatment of the ways in which language structure (that is, grammar) and language usage can be explained with reference to the processes underlying human conceptualization and communication. Exploring and area of linguistics that has developed only recently and is rapidly expanding, Cognitive Foundations of Grammar will appeal to students of linguistics, psychology, and anthropology, especially those interested in grammaticalization processess.
an interesting and informative study that should appeal to linguistic and cognitive anthropologists, cognitive and historical linguists, and laypersons interested in languages ... Heine presents a plausible explanatory framework and lucid descriptions of a variety of lexical patterns and grammatical constructions in several domains of meaning. * Gary B. Palmer, Cognitive Linguistics, 10-2, 1999. *
Wide-ranging the book indeed is ... and its lucid style, coherent focus, and wealth of examples make it an excellent intoduction to the topic and the method that it reprents ... richly informative book ... It can unreservedly be recommended as an introduction to contemporary grammaticalization theory, but it will also be useful and illuminating reading for researchers and students in all areas of cognitive-functional linguistics, and anyone interested in the cognitive foundations of language. * Chris Sinha, Linguistics 37-3 1999 *
ISBN: 9780195102512
Dimensions: 239mm x 185mm x 23mm
Weight: 227g
200 pages