Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics

by R.L. Trask, Peter Stockwell (Editor)

Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics is an A-Z guide to the main terms and concepts used in the study of language and linguistics. The book includes definitions of terms used in grammatical analysis from phoneme to componential analysis; branches of

linguistics from semantics to neurolinguistics; approaches used in studying language from discourse analysis to systemic linguistics; linguistic phenomena from code-switching to conversational implicature; and language varieties from pidgin to standard language. Each entry begins with a

brief definition of the term followed by a more detailed description. Entries trace the origin of the concept, mention the key associated individuals, provide a guide to further reading and are extensively cross- referenced.

his homework but convincingly demonstrates his extensive knowledge of Indo-European languages. This is a work that is both affordable and essential for anyone interested in the science of liguistics and in how language operates on a day-to-day basis. (American Reference Books

Annual)

Genres: Linguistics, Language, Nonfiction

392 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 1998

About the author

Robert Lawrence "Larry" Trask was Professor of Linguistics at the University of Sussex in England. He was an authority on the Basque language: his book The History of Basque (1997) is an essential reference on diachronic Basque linguistics and probably the best introduction to Basque linguistics as a whole. He was also an authority on historical linguistics, and had written about the problem of the origin of language. He also published two introductory books to linguistics: Language: The basics (1995) and Introducing Linguistics (coauthored with Bill Mayblin) (2000), and several dictionaries on different topics of this science: A dictionary of grammatical terms in linguistics (1993), A dictionary of phonetics and phonology (1996), A student's dictionary of language and linguistics (1997), Key concepts in language and linguistics (1999), The dictionary of historical and comparative linguistics (2000) and The Penguin dictionary of English grammar (2000).

He was at work compiling an etymological dictionary of Basque when he died, posthumously published by Max W. Wheeler (Etymological Dictionary of Basque, 2008).

Reviews

[Tomislav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mogu se iznijeti određene zamjerke i propusti, što zbog prijevoda, što zbog originala.

Primjerice, u natuknici o jezičnoj nesposobnosti specific language impairment prevedeno je kao specifične jezične nespobnosti, iako se u hrvatskoj logopedsko-lingvističkoj tradiciji SLI ne prevodi od jučer kao posebne jezične teškoće. Nadalje, u govorne poremećaje ubrojeni su mucanje i sigmatizam, što stoji, međutim, ne stoji tvrdnja da su to "isključivo mehanički problemi živaca i mišića koji upravljaju govornim organima". Doista, sigmatizam može imati i organsku etiologiju, ali klinički, ona je često funkcionalna i to je razlog zašto dotična kategorička tvrdnja ne stoji.
Zatim, englesko-latinski termin arcuate fasciculus "preveden" je upravo tako, no u hrvatskoj se za anatomiju koristi latinski, a ne engleska verzija latinskoga pa bi o tome trebalo voditi računa pri prijevodu; dakle fasciculus arcuatus.

U natuknici o dvojnosti uzrokovanja navodi se kako su "znakovni jezici možda manjkavi s obzirom na dvojnost (...). Nema sumnje da se znakovni jezici mogu segmentirati na manje jedinice bez značenja, ali nije jasno tvore li te jedinice sustav koji odgovara nizu fonema u govorenom jeziku." Znak u znakovnome jeziku može se raščlaniti na najmanje razlikovne jedinice - manualne foneme ili parametre. Npr. u hrvatskom znakovnom jeziku parametri su oblik šake, vrsta pokreta, lokacija, orijentacija dlana i nemanualna obilježja. Promjenom jednoga od parametara (tj. manjih jedinica unutar parametra), dobiva se novi znak, odnosno značenje. Dodajmo još da sami "Temeljni lingvistički pojmovi" navode minimalan par kao potvrdu postojanja različitih fonema (=parametara).