Rational English


Book Description

The book is a critique of the structure of the English language. English lacks neutral causative expressions. 'Eat' has a causative in 'feed', but other verbs do not have corresponding causative forms. That a need for a genuine causative construction is real can be shown by the various processes at work in the present-day English to express causation. 'learn, sit, stand', etc. are joining the ranks of verbs like 'grow, wake', etc. to be used both intransitively and causatively in informal English, though. ' help, make, and have', without the infinitive marker 'to' are being used to convey causation, but they do not sound authentic. In Indian languages, causative verbs are being formed morphologically. All these prove that grammar is constantly changing and evolving and not wired into the brain of a human being before birth. The book enunciates a program for direct well-meaning interventions to simplify and rationalize English, particularly its spelling. It also engages learners in cultivating rational thinking through short stories, episodes, and skits, written in a simple style, as exercises at the end of chapters. There is a wrong notion in the minds of most Indians that everything ancient is good and should be blindly followed, which creates an altogether avoidable tension in the minds of the young people exposed to scientific methods of studying natural phenomena.










The Rational Mind


Book Description

Scott Sturgeon presents an original account of mental states and their dynamics. He develops a detailed story of coarse- and fine-grained mental states, a novel perspective on how they fit together, an engaging theory of the rational transitions between them, and a fresh view of how formal methods can advance our understanding in this area. In doing so, he addresses a deep four-way divide in literature on epistemic rationality. Formal epistemology is done in specialized languages—often seeming a lot more like mathematics than Plato—and so can alienate philosophers who are drawn to more traditional work on thought experiments in epistemic rationality. Conversely, informal epistemology appears to be a lot more like Plato than mathematics and, as such, it tends to deter philosophers drawn to formal models of the phenomena. Similarly, the epistemology of coarse-grained states boils down everything to a discussion of rational belief—making the area appear a lot more like foundations of knowledge than anything useful for the theory rational decision, such as decision-making under uncertainty. The Rational Mind unifies work in all of these areas for the first time.




American English


Book Description

This book is a cultural-historical (rather than purely linguistic) introduction to American English. The first part consists of a general account of variation in American English. It offers concise but comprehensive coverage of such topics as the history of American English; regional, social and ethnic variation; variation in style (including slang); and British and American differences. The second part of the book puts forward an account of how American English has developed into a dominant variety of the English language. It focuses on the ways in which intellectual traditions such as puritanism and republicanism, in shaping the American world view, have also contributed to the distinctiveness of American English.













ENGLISH - ENGLISH DICTIONARY (POCKET SIZE)


Book Description

This English-English Dictionary will completely fulfil the academic and writing requirements of students, aspirants of competitive examinations, researchers, scholars, translators, educationists, and writers. This dictionary is unique in the sense that the 'Words or Terms' have been drawn from literature, science, geography, commerce & business etc to give it a touch of completeness. 'Words or Terms' come complete with grammatical details, syntax, and meaning and a sentence to improve writing or speaking. 'Words or Terms' have been serialized in alphabetical order, i.e., A-Z for ease in making searches. To the extent possible, Terms used in common parlance have only been included, avoiding less frequent ones. In the Appendices section, body parts, common ailments, apparel, cereals, fruit & vegetables, herbs & spices, household items and other useful information have been included for added utility. This dictionary will be found useful by student community besides others such as, educationists, writers, translators, aspirants of competitive exams.