LINGUIST List 7.318

Thu Feb 29 1996

Books: Creative Writing, Phonetics & Phonology, Isolate lgs

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselinemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Ande Ciecierski, New Books: Writing

CREATIVE WRITING

 Roy Harris, SIGNS OF WRITING
 SIGNS OF WRITING is the first book to provide a new general theory of
 writing in over forty years. Harris disputes the supposition that
 writing is peripheral to linguistic study and provides a unique
 argument for its vitality to our understanding of language,
 communication and cognition. Addressing the nature of writing and
 discussing how it differs from all other forms of human communication,
 he shows how musical, mathematical and other forms of writing obey the
 same principles as verbal writing--principles which govern texts of
 all kinds.
 Routledge: 1996: 352 pp
 HB: 0 415 10088 7: #C0165: $55.00: L40.00
 Available for Discussion

 Paul Mills, WRITING IN ACTION
 A Resource Book for Writers
 WRITING IN ACTION provides a step-by-step, practical guide to the
 process of writing. Although the emphasis is on creative writing such
 as fiction, poetry and drama, it also covers autobiographical writing
 and the writing of reports and essays. Because this is a book about
 process rather than product, WRITING IN ACTION also looks at the
 practice of adaptation and editing. It shows new writers how to get
 started, develops the confidence of more experienced writers,
 encourages experimentation and creativity, stimulates critical
 awareness through inclusion of illustrative texts and encourages
 writing as a skill as well as an art form. The book offers many
 practical suggestions and self-evaluation exercises, as well as
 invaluable tips on style, sentence
 structure, punctuation and vocabulary.
 Routledge: 1995: 240 pp
 HB: 0 415 11988 X: #C0715: $49.95: L30.00
 PB: 0 415 11988 8: #C0716: $15.95: L9.99

For more information on these and other titles from:
 ROUTLEDGE London * New York
 http://www.routledge.com/routledge.html
 info.linguisticsroutledge.com


PHONOLOGY AND PHONETICS

Spencer, Andrew (University of Essex)
PHONOLOGY: THEORY AND DESCRIPTION
January 1996	6 3/4 x 9 3/4	288 pages	560 pages
0-631-19232-8	paperback	$24.95		12.99 GBP
0-631-19232-6	hardcover	$54.95		50.00 GBP

Aimed principally at the undergraduate student, this new textbook
provides a compact presentation of the fundamental concepts of
phonological analysis, and at the same time shows how the phonological
system of English can be illuminated by such concepts. It bridges the
gap between purely theoretical accounts and purely descriptive
accounts of English. The topics covered include syllable structure,
distinctive features, phonological processes and domains, stress and
rhythm, and lexical (morphophonemic) alternations. Each chapter is
based largely on English, or is followed by a chapter on the relevant
aspects of English phonology. No previous knowledge of contemporary
phonological theory or the structure of English is assumed beyond that
found in a typical first year course. Each chapter is provided with
exercises. BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS: phone: (800) 216-2522 fax:
(617)547-0789 email:blkwellworld.std.com

Vihman, Marilyn May (Southeastern Louisiana University)
PHONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT: THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE IN THE CHILD
January 1996	6 x 9		272 pages
0-631-16354-9	paperback	$24.95		16.99 GBP
0-631-16353-0	hardcover	$59.95		45.00 GBP
This is the first book length survey of and introduction to the study of
the child's acquisition of phonology.

It contrasts data-based interactionist, cognitive models of
phonological development with earlier deductive behaviourist and
structuralist accounts. Setting these models in current
neurophysiological perspectives, it integrates the flourishing
independent research areas of infant speech perception and vocal
production. The book traces the nature and timing of prosodic and
segmental development with due attention to evidence of individual
differences and from cross-linguistic studies. It describes the
emergence of first words and the first phonological system against the
background of the child's social and cognitive development in the
first eighteen months. BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS: phone: (800) 216-2522
fax: (617)547-0789 email:blkwellworld.std.com

ISOLATE LANGUAGES

Tsujimura, Natsuko
AN INTRODUCTION TO JAPANESE LINGUISTICS
January 1996	6 3/4 x 9 3/4	400 pages
0-631-19856-3	paperback	$34.95	
0-631-19855-5	hardcover	$64.95

This is the first textbook on the structure of Japanese written in the
framework of generative linguistics. It serves both as an introduction
to Japanese linguistics for those who have no prior knowledge of
linguistics, and as a reference book on Japanese for linguists in
general. The book gives a comprehensive account of Japanese
linguistics covering phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax,
semantics, language change, dialect variation and gender
differences. The author introduces linguistic notions and terminology
and discusses theoretical analyzes for linguistic phenomena in the
language. A major focus is on phonology and syntax, where the formal
approach of generative grammar is adopted. BLACKWELL PUBLISHERS:
phone: (800) 216-2522 fax: (617)547-0789 email:blkwellworld.std.com