English : meaning and culture / Anna Wierzbicka.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wierzbicka, Anna.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

English language--Semantics.

English language.

English language--Foreign countries.

Language and languages--Philosophy.

Language and languages.

Great Britain--Civilization.

Great Britain.

English-speaking countries--Civilization.

English-speaking countries.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (363 p.)

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book argues that rather than denying the existence and continued relevance of the cultural 'baggage' embedded in English ('Anglo' English), it is important to explore the contents of that baggage - important for practical, as well as intellectual, reasons.

Contents:

Contents; Part I. Meaning, History and Culture; 1. English as a Cultural Universe; 1.1. English-the most widely used language in the world; 1.2. English and Englishes; 1.3. An illustration: Words, scripts, and human lives; 1.4. ""Anglo English" as a historical formation; 1.5. The tendency to mistake ""Anglo English"" for the human norm; 1.6. The cultural underpinnings of (Anglo) English; 1.7. A framework for studying and describing meaning; 2. Anglo Cultural Scripts Seen through Middle Eastern Eyes; 2.1. Linguistics and intercultural Communication; 2.2. The theory of cultural scripts

2.3. The Anglo ideal of ""accuracy" and the practice of ""understatement"2.4. "To the best of my knowledge . . ."; 2.5. Anglo respect for "facts"; 2.6. "Cool reason": to think vs. to feel; 2.7. To compel or not to compel? The value of autonomy; 2.8. Conclusion; Part II. English Words: From Philosophy to Everyday Discourse; 3. The Story of RIGHT and WRONG and Its Cultural Implications; 3.1. Introduction; 3.2. "Right" and "wrong": A basis for ethics?; 3.3. The link between "right" and "reason"; 3.4. "That's right"; 3.5. An illustration: English vs. Italian

3.6. "Right" as a neutral ground between "good" and "true"3.7. Procedural morality; 3.8. "Right" and "wrong": Increasingly asymmetrical; 3.9. The changing frequencies of true, truth, right, and wrong; 3.10. "Right" as a response in dialogue; 3.11. "Right" and cultural scripts; 3.12. Retrospect and conclusion: The Puritans, the Enlightenment, the growth of democracy; 4. Being REASONABLE: A Key Anglo Value and Its Cultural Roots; 4.1. Introduction; 4.2. The pre-Enlightenment uses of "reasonable"; 4.3. The main themes in the modern meanings of the word reasonable; 4.4. "A reasonable man"

4.5. "It is reasonable to" think (say, do) . . .4.6. "Reasonable doubt"; 4.7. "Reasonable force" and "reasonable care"; 4.8. "A reasonable time," "A reasonable amount"; 4.9. "Reasonable" as "reasonably good"; 4.10. "Reasonable" and "unreasonable"; 4.11. An internal reconstruction of the semantic history of "reasonable"; 4.12. "Reasonable" and Anglo cultural scripts; 4.13. Is the Anglo value of "reasonable" unique? English vs. French; 5. Being FAIR: Another Key Anglo Value and Its Cultural Underpinnings; 5.1. The importance of "fairness" in modern Anglo culture

5.2. The meaning of fair and not fair5.3. "Fairness" and Anglo political philosophy; 5.4. "Fairness" vs. "justice"; 5.5. The illusion of universality; 5.6. "Fairness" and "fair play": A historical perspective; 5.7. "Fairness" and "procedural morality"; Part III. Anglo Culture Reflected in English Grammar; 6. The English Causatives: Causation and Interpersonal Relations; 6.1. The cultural elaboration of causation; 6.2. The English "let"-constructions and the cultural ideal of "noninterference"; 7. I THINK: The Rise of Epistemic Phrases in Modern English; 7.1. Introduction; 7.2. I think

7.3. I suppose

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 325-339) and index.

ISBN:

0-19-988404-8

0-19-517475-5

0-19-803897-6

1-280-84487-6

1-4294-2093-6

9786610844876

OCLC:

77515527