LINGUIST List 12.1993

Thu Aug 9 2001

Books: Formulaic Language, Theoretical Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Joyce Reid, Formulaic Language and the Lexicon by Alison Wray
2. Joyce Reid, Theoretical Linguistics: A Thematic Guide to Optimality Theory

Formulaic Language and the Lexicon

Alison Wray, Cardiff University, Wales

A considerable proportion of our everyday language is "formulaic". It
is predictable in form and idiomatic--apparently stored in fixed or
semi-y"ixed chunks. This book explores the nature and purposes of
formulaic language, �nd looks for patterns across the research
findings from the fields of �iscourse analysis, first language
acquisition, language pathology and applied linguistics. It gradually
builds up a unified description and explanation y"f formulaic language
as a linguistic solution to a larger, non-linguistic, problem, the
promotion of self.

Contents:

I. What Formulaic Sequences Are; 1. The Whole and the Parts;
2. Detecting Formulaicity; 3. Pinning Down Formulaicity; II. A
Reference Point; 4. Patterns of Formulaicity in Normal Adult Language;
5. The Function of Formulaic Sequences: A Model; III. Formulaic
Sequences in First Language Acquisition; 6. Patterns of Formulaicity
in Child Language; 7. Formulaic Sequences in the First Language
Acquisition; IV. Formulaic Sequences in a Second Language; 8.
Non-native Language: Overview; 9. Patterns of Formulaicity in Children
Using a Second Language; 10. Patterns of Formulaicity in Adults and
Teenagers Using a Second Language; 11. Formulaic Sequences in Second
Language Acquisition: A Model; V. Formulaic Sequences in Language
Loss; 12. Patterns of Formulaicity in Aphasic Language; 13. Formulaic
Sequences in Aphasia: A Model; VI. An Integrated Model; 14. The
Variable Unit Distributed Lexicon.

2001/c. 352 pp./26 line diagrams/5 tables
0-521- 77309-1/Hb/List: $64.95*

A Thematic Guide to Optimality Theory

John J. McCarthy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

This book describes Optimality Theory from the top down, explaining
and exploring the central premises of OT and the results of their
praxis. Examples are drawn from phonology, morphology, and syntax,
but the emphasis throughout is on the theory rather than the examples,
on understanding what is special about OT and on equipping readers to
apply it, extend it, and critique it in their own areas of interest.
The book's coverage extends to work on first- and second-language
acquisition, phonetics and functional phonology, computational
linguistics, historical linguistics, and sociolinguistics. Chapters
conclude with extensive suggestions for further reading, classified by
topic, and are supplemented by a massive bibliography (over 800
items).

Contents:

An Overview of Optimality Theory; 1: Core; Basic Architecture;
Constraint Typology; Modes of Interaction; Illustration; 2: Context;
Classic Generative Phonology; Conspiracies; Representations and
Constraints on Representations; Other Constraint Theories (TCRS, DP,
etc.); 3: Results; Endogenous Constraints; Consequences of
Markedness/Faithfulness Interaction; Consequences of Constraint
Violability; Consequences of Parallelism; 4: Connections; Learnability
and Acquisition; Parsing; Morphology and the Lexicon; Syntax and
Semantics; Language Variation and Change; 5: Issues and Prospects;
Functionalism; Opacity; Serial OT; Local Conjunction; "Overkill";
Other Topics.

Research Surveys in Linguistics 1

2001/328 pp./127 line diagrams
0-521-79194-4/Hb/List: $54.95*
0-521-79644-X/Pb/List: $21.95*