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Language matters : a guide to everyday questions about language / Donna Jo Napoli, Vera Lee-Schoenfeld.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Napoli, Donna Jo, 1948-
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Language and languages--Miscellanea.
- Language and languages.
- Sociolinguistics.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (248 p.)
- Edition:
- 2nd ed.
- Place of Publication:
- Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- Is Ebonics really a dialect or simply bad English? Do women and men speak differently? Will computers ever really learn human language? Does offensive language harm children? These are only a few of the issues surrounding language that crop up every day. Most of us have very definite opinions on these questions one way or another. Yet as linguists Donna Jo Napoli and Vera Lee-Schoenfeld point out in this short and thoroughly readable volume, many of our most deeply held ideas about the nature of language and its role in our lives are either misconceived or influenced by myths and stereotypes.
- Contents:
- Contents; Part I: Language: The Human Ability; 1 How do we acquire language?; 2 What is linguistics?; 3 From one language to the next: Why is it hard to learn a second language? Why is translation so difficult?; 4 Does language equal thought?; 5 Are sign languages real languages?; 6 Do animals have language?; 7 Can computers learn language?; Part II: Language in Society; 8 Can one person's speech be better than another's?; 9 Why do dialects and creoles differ from standard language?; 10 Do men and women talk differently? And who cares?
- 11 English spelling is hard, and it makes learning to read hard. Should we do anything about it?12 Should the United States adopt English as the official language and overhaul the educational system accordingly?; 13 How does language wield power over us? Can it overpower us?; 14 Does exposure to and use of offensive language harm children?; 15 What do we lose when a language dies? And who cares?; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; U; V; W; Z
- Notes:
- Includes index.
- ISBN:
- 0-19-988992-9
- 1-282-66135-3
- 9786612661358
- 0-19-975067-X
- OCLC:
- 646788771
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