The chapters in this volume, all written by experts in the field, present an array of new research on second language acquisition (SLA) that touches on several current theoretical debates in the field and present a rich range of new empirical data and a number of innovative findings. The studies address questions relating to ultimate attainment,…

This book traces the development of speech from a time when the spiritual roots of words were still experienced, down to the present day when words are in danger of being little else than 'bits' of information. The book illustrates the origins of everyday words and names and traces the use of words through history. It shows how certain sounds…

The present work is divided into two parts. Part I provides a general orientation to the material for both linguists and non-linguists. Part II contains information about 700 of the world's languages. Chapter 1 presents a few of the essentials about language and languages for non-linguists. Chapter 2 provides a brief explanation of how the data…

This text provides a linguistic analysis of discourse register in English, Nukulaelae Tuvaluan, Korean, and Somali, using a multi-dimensional analytical framework and including sociocultural descriptions. Methodology included a description of the text corpora, linguistic features, and computational/statistical techniques used; theoretical issues…

This book is intended for use in conjunction with an introductory text on linguistics and language study, for beginning students of linguistics, or as a source of information for more advanced students who wish to become familiar with many of the issues that have concerned linguists in recent years. The variety of issues covered in this volume are…

The study of native language influence in Second Language Acquisition has undergone significant changes over the past few decades. This book, which includes 12 chapters by distinguished researchers in the field of second language acquisition, traces the conceptual history of language transfer from its early role within a Contrastive Analysis…

Attention to the language practices of school-age children and teenagers is essential for a complete understanding of how language use can vary in the social construction of everyday activity across the life span. This book examines a wide variety of language practices using data from naturally occurring recorded talk and careful observation of…