The Polyglot: a Collection of Many Languages, Nine Thousand in General Use, Or Most Custom Words
Author :
Publisher :
Page : 590 pages
File Size : 48,23 MB
Release : 1841
Category :
ISBN :
Babel No More
Author : Michael Erard
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 309 pages
File Size : 25,10 MB
Release : 2012-01-10
Category : History
ISBN : 1451628277
Book Description
A “fascinating” (The Economist) dive into the world of linguistics that is “part travelogue, part science lesson, part intellectual investigation…an entertaining, informative survey of some of the most fascinating polyglots of our time” (The New York Times Book Review). In Babel No More, Michael Erard, “a monolingual with benefits,” sets out on a quest to meet language superlearners and make sense of their mental powers. On the way he uncovers the secrets of historical figures like the nineteenth-century Italian cardinal Joseph Mezzofanti, who was said to speak seventy-two languages, as well as those of living language-superlearners such as Alexander Arguelles, a modern-day polyglot who knows dozens of languages and shows Erard the tricks of the trade to give him a dark glimpse into the life of obsessive language acquisition. With his ambitious examination of what language is, where it lives in the brain, and the cultural implications of polyglots’ pursuits, Erard explores the upper limits of our ability to learn and use languages and illuminates the intellectual potential in everyone. How do some people escape the curse of Babel—and what might the gods have demanded of them in return?
Is That a Fish in Your Ear?
Author : David Bellos
Publisher : Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 17,3 MB
Release : 2011-10-11
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0865478724
Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year People speak different languages, and always have. The Ancient Greeks took no notice of anything unless it was said in Greek; the Romans made everyone speak Latin; and in India, people learned their neighbors' languages—as did many ordinary Europeans in times past (Christopher Columbus knew Italian, Portuguese, and Castilian Spanish as well as the classical languages). But today, we all use translation to cope with the diversity of languages. Without translation there would be no world news, not much of a reading list in any subject at college, no repair manuals for cars or planes; we wouldn't even be able to put together flat-pack furniture. Is That a Fish in Your Ear? ranges across the whole of human experience, from foreign films to philosophy, to show why translation is at the heart of what we do and who we are. Among many other things, David Bellos asks: What's the difference between translating unprepared natural speech and translating Madame Bovary? How do you translate a joke? What's the difference between a native tongue and a learned one? Can you translate between any pair of languages, or only between some? What really goes on when world leaders speak at the UN? Can machines ever replace human translators, and if not, why? But the biggest question Bellos asks is this: How do we ever really know that we've understood what anybody else says—in our own language or in another? Surprising, witty, and written with great joie de vivre, this book is all about how we comprehend other people and shows us how, ultimately, translation is another name for the human condition.
Polyglot: How I Learn Languages
Author : Kat— Lomb
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 50,79 MB
Release : 2008-01-01
Category : Education
ISBN : 1606437062
Book Description
KAT LOMB (1909-2003) was one of the great polyglots of the 20th century. A translator and one of the first simultaneous interpreters in the world, Lomb worked in 16 languages for state and business concerns in her native Hungary. She achieved further fame by writing books on languages, interpreting, and polyglots. Polyglot: How I Learn Languages, first published in 1970, is a collection of anecdotes and reflections on language learning. Because Dr. Lomb learned her languages as an adult, after getting a PhD in chemistry, the methods she used will be of particular interest to adult learners who want to master a foreign language.
Pedagogical Translanguaging
Author : Jasone Cenoz
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 47,18 MB
Release : 2022-01-27
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1009033794
Book Description
Learning through the medium of a second or additional language is becoming very common in different parts of the world because of the increasing use of English as the language of instruction and the mobility of populations. This situation demands a specific approach that considers multilingualism as its core. Pedagogical translanguaging is a theoretical and instructional approach that aims at improving language and content competences in school contexts by using resources from the learner's whole linguistic repertoire. Pedagogical translanguaging is learner-centred and endorses the support and development of all the languages used by learners. It fosters the development of metalinguistic awareness by softening of boundaries between languages when learning languages and content. This Element looks at the way pedagogical translanguaging can be applied in language and content classes and how it can be valuable for the protection and promotion of minority languages. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Complete Esperanto
Author : Tim Owen
Publisher : Hachette UK
Page : 502 pages
File Size : 18,74 MB
Release : 2019-01-10
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 1473669227
Book Description
Do you want to develop a solid understanding of Esperanto and communicate confidently with others? Through authentic conversations, vocabulary building, grammar explanations, and extensive practice and review, Complete Esperanto will equip you with the practical skills you need to use modern Esperanto in a variety of realistic settings and situations, developing your cultural awareness along the way. What will I achieve by the end of the course? By the end of Complete Esperanto you will have a solid intermediate-level grounding in the four key skills - reading, writing, speaking, and listening - and be able to communicate with confidence and accuracy. Is this course for me? If you want to move confidently from beginner to intermediate level, this is the course for you. It's perfect for the self-study learner, with a one-on-one tutor, or for the beginner classroom. It can also be used as a refresher course. What do I get? -18 learning units plus verbs reference and word glossary and revision section -Discovery Method - figure out rules and patterns to make the language stick -Teaches the key skills - reading, writing, listening, and speaking -Learn to learn - tips and skills on how to be a better language learner -Culture notes - learn about modern Esperanto culture -Outcome-based learning - focus your studies with clear aims -Authentic listening activities - everyday conversations give you a flavor of real spoken Esperanto -Test Yourself - see and track your own progress *Complete Esperanto maps from Novice Low to Advanced Low level proficiency of ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) and from A1 Beginner to B1/B2 Upper Intermediate level of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) guidelines. Please note not all devices support the audio/video component of enhanced ebooks. We recommend you download a sample to check compatibility with your device. Alternatively, you can find the audio for this course for free on our website https://library.teachyourself.com. You will be able to stream it online or download it to the Teach Yourself Library app. Rely on Teach Yourself, trusted by language learners for over 85 years.
Language and Linguistics
Author : Robert Lawrence Trask
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 393 pages
File Size : 15,41 MB
Release : 2007
Category : Language and languages
ISBN : 0415413591
Book Description
"The new edition of this A-Z guide explores the main concepts and terms used in the study of language and linguistics. Containing over 300 entries, thoroughly updated to reflect the latest developments in the field, this book includes entires in: cognitive linguistics; discourse analysis; phonology and phonetics; psycholinguistics; sociolinguistics; and syntax and semantics." "Beginning with brief definition, each entry is followed by a comprehensive explanation of the origin and usage of the term. The book is cross-referenced throughout and includes further reading for academics and students alike."--BOOK JACKET.
Elements of Structural Syntax
Author : Lucien Tesnière
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 782 pages
File Size : 30,7 MB
Release : 2015-02-11
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9027269998
Book Description
This volume appears now finally in English, sixty years after the death of its author, Lucien Tesnière. It has been translated from the French original into German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian, and now at long last into English as well. The volume contains a comprehensive approach to the syntax of natural languages, an approach that is foundational for an entire stream in the modern study of syntax and grammar. This stream is known today as dependency grammar (DG). Drawing examples from dozens of languages, many of which he was proficient in, Tesnière presents insightful analyses of numerous phenomena of syntax. Among the highlights are the concepts of valency and head-initial vs. head-final languages. These concepts are now taken for granted by most modern theories of syntax, even by phrase structure grammars, which represent, in a sense, the opposite sort of approach to syntax from what Tesnière was advocating. Now Open Access as part of the Knowledge Unlatched 2017 Backlist Collection.
Signs and Symbols
Author : Adrian Frutiger
Publisher :
Page : 372 pages
File Size : 34,37 MB
Release : 1998
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN :
Book Description
Discusses the elements of a sign, and looks at pictograms, alphabets, calligraphy, monograms, text type, numerical signs, symbols, and trademarks.
The World Republic of Letters
Author : Pascale Casanova
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 446 pages
File Size : 45,48 MB
Release : 2004
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780674013452
Book Description
The "world of letters" has always seemed a matter more of metaphor than of global reality. In this book, Pascale Casanova shows us the state of world literature behind the stylistic refinements--a world of letters relatively independent from economic and political realms, and in which language systems, aesthetic orders, and genres struggle for dominance. Rejecting facile talk of globalization, with its suggestion of a happy literary "melting pot," Casanova exposes an emerging regime of inequality in the world of letters, where minor languages and literatures are subject to the invisible but implacable violence of their dominant counterparts. Inspired by the writings of Fernand Braudel and Pierre Bourdieu, this ambitious book develops the first systematic model for understanding the production, circulation, and valuing of literature worldwide. Casanova proposes a baseline from which we might measure the newness and modernity of the world of letters--the literary equivalent of the meridian at Greenwich. She argues for the importance of literary capital and its role in giving value and legitimacy to nations in their incessant struggle for international power. Within her overarching theory, Casanova locates three main periods in the genesis of world literature--Latin, French, and German--and closely examines three towering figures in the world republic of letters--Kafka, Joyce, and Faulkner. Her work provides a rich and surprising view of the political struggles of our modern world--one framed by sites of publication, circulation, translation, and efforts at literary annexation.
