Grammar, Meaning, and Concepts


Book Description

Grammar, Meaning, and Concepts: A Discourse-Based Approach to English Grammar is a book for language teachers and learners that focuses on the meanings of grammatical constructions within discourse, rather than on language as structure governed by rigid rules. This text emphasizes the ways in which users of language construct meaning, express viewpoints, and depict imageries using the conceptual, meaning-filled categories that underlie all of grammar. Written by a team of authors with years of experience teaching grammar to future teachers of English, this book puts grammar in the context of real language and illustrates grammar in use through an abundance of authentic data examples. Each chapter also provides a variety of activities that focus on grammar, genre, discourse, and meaning, which can be used as they are or can be adapted for classroom practice. The activities are also designed to raise awareness about discourse, grammar, and meaning in all facets of everyday life, and can be used as springboards for upper high school, undergraduate, and graduate level research projects and inquiry-based grammatical analysis. Grammar, Meaning, and Concepts is an ideal textbook for those in the areas of teacher education, discourse analysis, applied linguistics, second language teaching, ESL, EFL, and communications who are looking to teach and learn grammar from a dynamic perspective.




Introduction to the Grammar of English


Book Description

Written for students without knowledge of linguistics and unfamiliar with "traditional" grammar, this text concentrates on providing a much needed foundation in Standard English in preparation for more advanced work in theoretical linguistics.




Focus on Grammar and Meaning


Book Description

Focus on Grammar and Meaning explores how to teach grammar effectively to second or foreign language learners aged 5–18. It provides teachers with research insights that will help them to reflect on their classroom practice and enable them to experiment with different ways of teaching grammar. Taking a ‘systemic-functional’ approach, the authors emphasize the importance of linking language and meaning in teaching. Key research studies on grammar instruction are featured, examples from real classroom practice are examined, and activities are provided to help teachers relate the content to their own teaching context. Additional online resources at www.oup.com/elt/teacher/fogm Luciana C. de Oliveira is Associate Professor of TESOL and Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. Mary J. Schleppegrell is Professor of Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.




Defining Language


Book Description

Definition is a basic activity of language, of particular importance to linguists because of its use of language to describe itself. Beyond this inherent significance as a crucial element of language study, definitions also provide a rich potential source of the information needed for Natural Language Processing systems. This book describes an investigation of the subset of general language used in definition sentences and the development of a taxonomy of definition types, a grammar of definition sentences and parsing software which can extract their functional components. The work is based on definition sentences used in one of the dictionaries from the Cobuild range, and the book includes a brief history of the development of monolingual English dictionaries, an assessment of the concepts of sublanguages and local grammars and a full exploration of the results of the analysis and of the present and future applications of the taxonomy, grammar and parser.




Grammar, Meaning and Pragmatics


Book Description

The ten volumes of Handbook of Pragmatics Highlights focus on the most salient topics in the field of pragmatics, thus dividing its wide interdisciplinary spectrum in a transparent and manageable way. While other volumes select philosophical, cognitive, cultural, social, variational, interactional, or discursive points of view, this fifth volume looks at the field of linguistic pragmatics from a primarily grammatical angle. That is, it asks in which particular sense a variety of older and more recent functional (rather than generative) models of grammar relate to the study of language in use: how this affects their general outlook on language structure, whether issues of language use inform the very makeup of these models or are merely included as possible research themes, and how far the actual integration of pragmatics ultimately goes (is it a module/layer or is the model truly “usage-based”?). Each of the authors presenting these models has taken systematic care to highlight the relevant problems and focus on the implications of considering pragmatic phenomena from the point of view of grammar. Furthermore, a limited number of chapters deal with traditional topics in the grammatical literature, and specifically those which are called pragmatic because they either are not strictly concerned with truth (semantics), or receive their (truth) value only from an interaction with context. In the introduction, these theories and topics are set up against the historical background of a gradually changing attitude, on the part of grammarians, towards questions of linguistic knowledge and behavior, and the role of learning in their relationship.




The Building Blocks of Meaning


Book Description

The shaping of complex meanings depends on punctual and relational coding and inferencing. Coding is viewed as a vector which can run either from expression to content or from concepts to (linguistic) forms to mark independent conceptual relations. While coding relies on systematic resources internal to language, inferencing essentially depends on a layered system of autonomous shared conceptual structures, which include both cognitive models and consistency criteria grounded in a natural ontology. Inference guided by coding is not a residual pragmatic device but it is a direct way to long-term conceptual structures that guide the connection of meanings. The interaction of linguistic forms and concepts is particularly clear in conceptual conflict where conflictual complex meanings provide insights into the roots of significance and the linguistic structure of metaphors. Complementing a formal analysis of linguistic structures with a substantive analysis of conceptual structures, a philosophical grammar provides insights from both formal and functional approaches toward a more profound understanding of how language works in constructing and communicating complex meanings. This monograph is ideally addressed to linguists, philosophers and psychologists interested in language as symbolic form and as an instrument of human action rooted in a complex conceptual and cognitive landscape.




Grammar and Conceptualization


Book Description

Grammar and Conceptualization documents some major developments in the theory of cognitive grammar during the last decade. By further articulating the framework and showing its application to numerous domains of linguistic structure, this book substantiates the claim that lexicon, morphology, and syntax form a gradation consisting of assemblies of symbolic structures (form-meaning pairings).




Grammar for Teachers


Book Description

The purpose of Grammar for Teachers is to encourage readers to develop a solid understanding of the use and function of grammatical structures in American English. It approaches grammar from a descriptive rather than a prescriptive approach; however, throughout the book differences between formal and informal language, and spoken and written English are discussed. The book avoids jargon or excessive use of technical terminology. It makes the study of grammar interesting and relevant by presenting grammar in context and by using authentic material from a wide variety of sources.




Construction Grammar and its Application to English


Book Description

Construction Grammar explains how knowledge of language is organized in speakers' minds. The central and radical claim of Construction Grammar is that linguistic knowledge can be fully described as knowledge of constructions, which are defined as symbolic units that connect a linguistic form with meaning.




Real Grammar


Book Description

Real Grammar takes a fresh approach to English grammar. Real Grammar gives you freedom to communicate effectively in English with clarity and confidence.Traditional grammar books tell you what people say.Real Grammar explains why we say it.Learning why will allow you to truly understand English. You will discover the core concepts of English and gain a deeper understanding of how English works. Once you understand the simple connected core concepts of English, you can use them in a variety of situations to express a wide range of ideas. Real Grammar explores English grammar in a logical way, connecting what you learn with what you already know.Real Grammar features:- Simple explanations- Clear diagrams- Real life examples- Meaningful practiceReal Grammar as a teaching resource:As teachers, we want our students to use what they learn in class when they communicate in English. Knowing grammatical structures is one thing, but being able to use them in a natural way can prove challenging. The key is to get the student to understand why.This is done by:- Presenting grammar concepts clearly.- Comparing the new grammar concept to similar grammar concepts the student is already aware of. This helps the students understand the similarities and differences, developing their ability to apply grammar in a way that communicates their thoughts clearly.- Expanding into uses in other situations. We present other contexts that a part of speech is used in, guiding the student to reason, come to their own conclusions, and discover why.Real Grammar includes explanations and practice activities that can be taught as grammar lessons or can be easily integrated into other English classes.www.realgrammar.com