Language Networks: The New Word Grammar

by Richard A. Hudson

Overview

This book argues that language is a network of concepts which in turn is part of the general cognitive network of the mind. It challenges the widely-held view that language is an innate mental module with its own special internal organization. It shows that language has the same internal organization as other areas of knowledge such as social relations and action schemas, and reveals the rich links between linguistic elements and contextual categories.

Professor Hudson presents a new theory of how we learn and use our knowledge of language. He puts this to work in a series of extended explorations of morphology, syntax, semantics, and sociolinguistics. Every step of his argument and exposition is illustrated with examples, including the kind mainstream theory finds it hard to analyse. He introduces the latest version of his influential theory of Word Grammar and shows how it can be used to explain the operations of language and as a key to understanding the associated operations of the mind.

Networks of Language will interest all those concerned with the acquisition and everyday operations of language, in particular scholars and advanced students in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199298389
Publisher:	Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date:	01/08/2007
Series:	Oxford Linguistics Ser.
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Richard Hudson spent all his working life researching and teaching linguistics at University College London. His School of Oriental and African Studies PhD project was a grammar of the Cushitic language Beja, and his subsequent work has focussed innovative and original work in linguistic theory, mostly with reference to Modern English. His previous books include Sociolinguistics (1980, second edition 1996), English Word Grammar (1990), Word Meaning (1995), and English Grammar (1998).

Table of Contents

Preface     vii
Introduction     1
Conceptual Networks     1
Classification and the Isa Relation     10
Quantity, Optionality, and 'Variables'     18
Multiple Default Inheritance     21
Logic     31
Spreading Activation     36
Processing     41
Learning     52
Evaluating the Theory     59
Morphology     63
Outline     63
Lexemes, Inflections, and Features     68
Words, Forms, Phonology, and Realization     72
Variants and Syncretism     81
Derivation and Inflection     87
Compounding     93
Morphological Structure     96
Fused Words     100
Clitics     104
A Summary of Morphological Categories     115
Syntax     117
Dependency Structure, not Phrase Structure     117
Word Order, Landmarks, Precedence Agreement     130
Selection and Constructions     151
Agreement and Features     157
Dependency Types and Constructions     160
Mixed Categories     167
Unrealized Words and Ellipsis     172
A Summary of Syntactic Categories     181
Gerunds     183
Introduction     183
The Challenge of English Gerunds     184
Previous Analyses     188
Noun Classes and Noun Phrases     190
Gerunds as Nouns     197
Gerunds as Verbs     199
The Debris of History: Possessives and No/Any     202
The Route from Old English     206
Conclusion     210
Meaning: Semantics and Sociolinguistics     211
Meaning     211
Language, Ontology, Signals and Symbols     214
Evolution and Meaning     219
Referents, Definiteness, Binding, Negation, and Tense     224
Plurals, Quantifiers, and Sets     228
Semantic Relations and Recycling     232
Power and Solidarity     236
Languages, Stereotypes, and Code-Mixing     239
Acts of Identity and Inherent Variability     246
References     249
Index     265