Why is ‘Why’ Unique? PDF Download

Author: Gabriela Soare
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110675218
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 439

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Book Description
Why is ‘Why’ Unique? Its Syntactic and Semantic Properties considers the behaviour of this peculiar wh-element across many different languages, including Ewe, Trevisan, Italian, Basque, German, Dutch, Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Hebrew. In ten original chapters, the authors explore various aspects of why-questions, such as the way why interacts with V2 constructions in Basque, with a subject clitic in Trevisan or how its morpho-syntactic make-up determines its merge position in Ewe, to mention but a few. Furthermore, a clear-cut distinction is established between high and low reason adverbials which are subsequently examined in why-stripping environments in Dutch. Beyond why proper, the book explores a special class of wh-expressions in some in-situ languages which give rise to unexpected why-construals with a touch of whining force. The objective is to explain the unusual syntactic position of these wh-expressions as well as their association with peculiar pragmatics. The questions are addressed for Cantonese: are what-initial sentences genuine questions? To what extent are Cantonese what-initial sentences similar to how-initial sentences in Mandarin? Beside these what-as-why questions, a special class of rhetorical questions, the doubly-marked interrogatives in Hebrew, come under scrutiny. Why is ‘why’ unique also concerns the interface with prosody and several experimental studies investigate precisely this aspect.

Author: Jacques Moeschler
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110723387
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
There is, at present, no book introducing the general issue of why language is specific to human beings, how it works, why language is not communication and communication is not language, why languages vary and how they evolved. Based on the most recent works in linguistics and pragmatics, Why Language? addresses many questions that everyone has about language. Starting from false claims about language and languages, showing that language is not communication and communication is not language, the first part (Language and Communication) ends by proposing a difference between linguistic rules and communicative principles. The second part (Language, Society, Discourse) includes domains of language and language uses which are generally taken as extrinsic to language, such as language variety, discourse and non-ordinary (literary) usages. Special attention is given to figures of discourse (metaphor, metonymy, irony) and literary usages such as narration and free indirect style. The reader, either specialist or amateur in language science, will find a first and unique synthesis about what we know today about language and what we have yet to learn, sketching what could be the future of linguistics in the next decades.

Author: Rachel Caine
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006257101X
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Meet your new favorite kickass heroine in this daring YA series by New York Times bestselling authors Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre, a thrilling yet romantic futuristic adventure perfect for fans of Claudia Gray’s A Thousand Pieces of You. Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that’s made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell. Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers. Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

Author: Robert C. Berwick
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262533499
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
Berwick and Chomsky draw on recent developments in linguistic theory to offer an evolutionary account of language and humans' remarkable, species-specific ability to acquire it. “A loosely connected collection of four essays that will fascinate anyone interested in the extraordinary phenomenon of language.” —New York Review of Books We are born crying, but those cries signal the first stirring of language. Within a year or so, infants master the sound system of their language; a few years after that, they are engaging in conversations. This remarkable, species-specific ability to acquire any human language—“the language faculty”—raises important biological questions about language, including how it has evolved. This book by two distinguished scholars—a computer scientist and a linguist—addresses the enduring question of the evolution of language. Robert Berwick and Noam Chomsky explain that until recently the evolutionary question could not be properly posed, because we did not have a clear idea of how to define “language” and therefore what it was that had evolved. But since the Minimalist Program, developed by Chomsky and others, we know the key ingredients of language and can put together an account of the evolution of human language and what distinguishes us from all other animals. Berwick and Chomsky discuss the biolinguistic perspective on language, which views language as a particular object of the biological world; the computational efficiency of language as a system of thought and understanding; the tension between Darwin's idea of gradual change and our contemporary understanding about evolutionary change and language; and evidence from nonhuman animals, in particular vocal learning in songbirds.

Author: Bethany N. Sollereder
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310109035
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
Your journey begins. The road before you is smooth and straight. You walk for some time, recalling your experiences that call into question the deep realities of life. Up ahead, you can see the road branching in three directions. . . In Why Is There Suffering? you, reader, control the route you take through its "choose-your-own-path" chapters, asking questions and exploring different theological possibilities on the big topics of: God's existence God's nature The nature of suffering Evil Pain Final destiny Taking an intentionally light-hearted approach to a heavy topic this book presents an illustrative introduction to the problem of suffering and the most commonly offered responses to it. Along the road, you'll face multiple possibilities regarding suffering and its theological explanations, and you'll make choices about which one you find most plausible, skipping to that section of the book. Each decision you make leads to further complexities and new choices that reveal how theological beliefs lead to certain conclusions. This book does not offer final answers. Instead, it introduces the "theological" possibilities—both Christian and non-Christian—that you can explore and wrestle with to make informed decisions about your beliefs and clearly see the road you've taken to reach such beliefs. You are, of course, in control of the paths you take through these pages. You decide which explanations work. You can always go back and see what would change if you'd taken a different path. And, who knows. . .you may find that certain pathways resonate with your experiences in ways you didn't expect.

Author: Geoffrey K. Pullum
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509530789
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
Language is the medium in which we humans compose our thoughts, explain our thinking, construct our arguments, and create works of literature. Without language, societies as complex as ours could not exist. Geoffrey Pullum offers a stimulating introduction to the many ways in which linguistics, as the scientific study of language, matters. With its close relationships to psychology, education, philosophy, and computer science, the subject has a compelling human story to tell about the ways in which different societies see and describe the world, and its far-reaching applications range from law to medicine and from developmental psychology to artificial intelligence. Introducing Polity’s Why It Matters series: In these short and lively books, world-leading thinkers make the case for the importance of their subjects and aim to inspire a new generation of students.

Author: Gilad James, PhD
Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School
ISBN: 5611229409
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
Introduction to Pitcairn is a book that provides an overview of the history, culture, and geography of Pitcairn Island. The book begins by describing how the island was discovered by Europeans in 1767 and subsequently settled by a group of British mutineers and Tahitian women in 1790. It then goes on to detail how the Pitcairn Islanders built a society on the island, despite facing significant challenges such as shortages of food and water, disease, and isolation. The book also covers the island's natural environment, wildlife, and attractions, such as its tropical climate and pristine beaches. The second paragraph of the book offers insight into the culture and way of life on Pitcairn Island. The book describes how the Pitcairn Islanders have developed a unique culture, blending elements of British and Polynesian cultures, and have also maintained a strong sense of community, despite their small population of approximately 50 people. The book also details the economy of the island, which is primarily focused on fishing and handicrafts, and explains how the Pitcairn Islanders have managed to preserve their traditional way of life while also integrating modern technologies and practices. Overall, Introduction to Pitcairn is a fascinating introduction to a remote and little-known island that has managed to develop a distinctive culture and way of life despite its many challenges.

Author: Geraldine Woods
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119376610
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Get the last word on English grammar Grasping the intricacies of the English language doesn't need to be tricky, and this down-to-earth guide breaks everything down in ways that make sense—Revealing rules, tips, and tricks to eliminate confusion and gain clarity, English Grammar For Dummies gives you everything you need to communicate with confidence! Good grammar lays the foundation for speaking and writing clearly. This easy-to-follow book will help you become a more articulate, effective communicator. Covering everything from the building blocks of a sentence to those pesky rules of punctuation, it offers the practical guidance you need to communicate in a way that would make any English teacher proud. Improve your speaking skills Clearly compose written communications Get the latest techniques for continuous improvement Write a winning college entrance exam or compelling business presentation Stop worrying about the grammar police and become more confident with your words!

Author: Clay Morton
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
ISBN: 1784501905
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Johnny is different. He is never exactly on time, he can't seem to stick to a routine and he often speaks in cryptic idioms. Johnny is neurotypical, but that's ok. A picture book with a difference, Why Johnny Doesn't Flap turns the tables on common depictions of neurological difference by drolly revealing how people who are not on the autistic spectrum are perceived by those who are. The autistic narrator's bafflement at his neurotypical friend's quirks shows that 'normal' is simply a matter of perspective.

Author:
Publisher: Smocot Ionut Mihai
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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