LINGUIST List 4.818

Mon 11 Oct 1993

All: Books available for discussion (4)

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. I, Books available for discussion (4)

Moderators' note:

Once again, we are posting notices of new books and
software which are available for discussion. We thought
the first book discussion--of Harris's _The Linguistic Wars_--
went well and sparked considerable interest in the book, as
well as in the issues it raises. So we're pleased that U. of
Chicago Press has, as you will see below, now made several
books available for discussion.

If you would like to lead a LINGUIST discussion on one of
the available works, you should contact Barbara Johnstone
to receive the review copy (address & details at the end of
this posting.) We expect--as happened with the Harris book--that
commentary will be informal and interactive. As discussion leader,
you could simply summarize one or two interesting points in the
work and then respond to subscriber questions and comments.
And the author is encouraged to respond as well.

So please sign up to lead book discussions. I [Helen] think talking
about new books is one of the useful ways we could use the net,
since it should not only keep us abreast of new publications
but also produce _focused_ discussions, perhaps about linguistic
issues that otherwise would not arise.

Anthony & Helen

New books follow, then a summary of book discussion procedures.

_______________________________________________________________________

DIALECTOLOGY

Kretzschmar, Jr., William A., et. al. HANDBOOK OF THE LINGUISTIC ATLAS OF
 THE MIDDLE AND SOUTH ATLANTIC STATES, 1993, 470 pages, US$22.50 paper,
 US$45.00 library cloth edition. The U. of Chicago Press (see UCP
 Listserv for ordering information). Dialectology
This volume explores the history and methodology of _LAMSAS_, the largest
single survey of regional and social differences in spoken American English.
It offers biographical information about the informants and social histories
of the communities in which they lived, including primary settlement areas
of the original colonies.
 Available for review


DICTIONARIES

Levin, Beth ENGLISH VERB CLASSES AND ALTERNATIONS, 1993, 364 pages,
 US$16.95 paper, US$39.95 library cloth edition. The U. of Chicago
 Press (see UCP Listserv for ordering information). Dictionaries
Levin classifies over 3,000 English verbs according to shared meaning and
behavior. Levin set out alternate ways in which verbs can express their
arguments and then draws on these alternations to present classes of verbs
that share a kernel of meaning, exploring the behavior of each class.
 Available for review


LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Solan, Lawrence M. THE LANGUAGE OF JUDGES, 1993, 232 pages, US$16.95
 paper, US$45.00 library cloth edition. The U. of Chicago Press
 (see UCP Listserv for ordering information). Lang & Culture
This book examines the linguistic analysis that judges sometimes engage in
when they write opinions. Solan shows that judges sometimes inaccurately
portray the way we use language, creating inconsistencies in their
decisions and threatening the fairness of the judicial system.
 Available for review


PHONOLOGY

Goldsmith, John (Ed.) THE LAST PHONOLOGICAL RULE, 1993, 240 pages,
 US$21.95 paper, US$55.95 library cloth edition. The U. of Chicago
 Press (see UCP Listserv for ordering information). Phonology &
 Phonetics, Cognitive Ling
Linguists and computer scientists consider the challenges that
computational innovations pose to current rule-based phonological
theories and speculate about the advantages of phonological models based on
artificial neural networks and other computer designs.
 Available for review

---------------------------------------------

Book discussion procedures:


1. Publishers who wish their book discussed in the Discussion
 Forum will send a copy of the book to:

 Prof. Barbara Johnstone
 Dept. of English
 Texas A&M University
 College Station, TX 77843
 USA

 They will then send LINGUIST a new book notice in the usual form,
 mentioning that they have sent us the work. We will publish this
 under the heading "Available for discussion" in one of our "New
 Books" issues.

2. If you wish to lead the discussion on such a work, you will have
 to contact Prof. Johnstone at:
 bcjtamuts.tamu.edu
 A copy of the work will be sent to you. And you, in return,
 must agree to post to Prof. Johnstone your opening
 statement and/or summary judgment about the work BEFORE
 it is posted to the net. We ask this because, even though
 these discussions are intended to be informal, we'd like them
 to be as balanced and thoughtful as possible.

3. When you have posted your summary, the work will be considered open
 to discussion. Any subscriber--including the authors of the work
 in question--may now comment on the work and on the summary.