The dynamics of language use : functional and contrastive perspectives / edited by Christopher S. Butler, Mar?ia de los Angeles G?omez Gonz?alez, Susana M. Doval-Su?arez.

Selection of papers presented at the 3rd International Contrastive Linguistics Conference held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, 23rd-26th Sept. 2003.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

The Dynamics of Language Use -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC data -- Table of contents -- Foreword -- Contributors -- Introduction -- Functional approaches to language -- 1. Introduction: Functionalism within the spectrum of linguistic theories -- 2. The main tenets of functionalism -- 3. Some further characteristics of functional approaches -- 4. Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Resource list -- On contrastive linguistics -- 1. Some terminological issues -- 2. The revival of Contrastive Linguistics (CL) -- 3. Looking ahead: Challenges and problems -- Note -- References.

Resource list -- The present book -- 1. Form and function in a cognitive perspective -- 2. Information structure -- 3. Collocations and formulaic language -- 4. Language learning -- 5. Discourse and culture -- 6. Concluding remarks -- Form and function in a cognitive perspective -- The relation of grammar to thought -- 1. Introduction -- 2. From thoughts to semantics -- 2.1. Selection -- 2.2. Categorization -- 2.3. Orientation -- 2.4. Combination -- 3. Differentiating semantics from grammar -- 4. Lexicalization and grammaticalization -- 5. Concluding remarks: Grammar and thought -- References.

Communicative constructions in English and Spanish -- 1. Introduction -- 2. The communicative process -- 3. The communicative construction -- 3.1. The participants -- 3.2. The process: Communication as transfer -- 4. Constructions with verba dicendi -- 5. Constructions without verba dicendi -- 5.1. Discharge verbs -- 5.2. Cognitive verbs -- 5.3. Manner of speaking verbs -- 5.4. Instrumental verbs -- 5.5. Verbs of gesture -- 6. Concluding remarks -- Notes -- References -- Information structure -- Incremental Functional Grammar and the language of football commentary -- 1. Introduction.

2. Functional Grammar -- 3. Functional Discourse Grammar -- 4. Incremental Functional Grammar -- 5. Application to data -- 6. Discussion of the results -- 7. Conclusion -- Note -- References -- The role of Theme and Rheme in contrasting methods of organization in texts -- 1. Background and aims -- 2. Towards a procedure for a quantitative interpretation of method of development -- 2.1. The method of development and the point in an expository text -- 2.2. Quantitative interpretation of the method of development and the point -- 3. Comparison of texts -- 3.1. Textual analysis of narrative.

3.2. Textual analysis of exposition -- 3.3. Extremely variant texts -- 4. Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- On clefting in English and Spanish -- 1. Aims and background -- 2. The corpora and data -- 3. Formal properties -- 3.1. Do clefts exist in Spanish? -- 3.2. Clefts in English and Spanish -- 4. Semantic properties -- 4.1. Identifying constructions -- 4.2. Existential presupposition -- 4.3. The exhaustiveness implicature -- 5. Discourse-cognitive functions -- 5.1. Thematic flexibility -- 5.2. Newness-orientation -- 5.3. Interpersonal flavour -- 6. Conclusion -- Notes -- References.

This book brings together a collection of articles characterized by two main themes: the contrastive study of parallel phenomena in two or more languages, and an essentially functional approach in which language is regarded, first and foremost, as a rich and complex communication system, inextricably embedded in sociocultural and psychological contexts of use. The majority of the studies reported is empirical in nature, many making use of corpora or other textual materials in the language(s) under investigation. The book begins with an introductory section in which the editors provide surveys.

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