This volume consists of an introduction and two groups of essays by Paul M. Postal, each with a connecting theme. The first, positive group of papers, contains five previously unpublished studies of English syntax. These include a long study of so-called "locative inversion," two investigations related to raising to non-subject status, an argument for the existence of a hitherto ignored nominal grammatical category and a study of vulgar negative polarity items. Each investigation of specific English details is argued to have significant theoretical consequences. The second, negative group of papers, contains seven essays each of which seeks to show that aspects of contemporary linguistic activity are in part contaminated by elements of what is called "junk linguistics." Postal uses the term to denote work which advances proposals, puts forward claims and asserts deep results which, he argues, can only be accepted by ignoring serious standards of inquiry and scholarship. Postal claims that much of this work is nonetheless currently considered not only serious but prestigious reveals the problem to exist at the core of the field, not its periphery. These chapters include documentation of "junk linguistic" aspects in National Science Foundation refereeing, work on the foundations of linguistics, and even in widespread terminological usages. The final chapter briefly lists personal suggestions for dealing with this problem.

Antony Flew is one of the most well-known and respected philosophers alive today. In Philosophical Essays, twelve of Flew's most significant works are gathered together for the first time, creating a unique and valuable collection. The book begins with a new autobiographical sketch of Flew's life and career. In addition to some of the distinguished scholar's most influential and famous articles, Philosophical Essays includes a number of rare works that have not been available to a wide audience until now. This important book will be an essential addition to the library of any philosopher.

"This book chronicles the history of linguistics from the 1950s rise of Noam Chomsky's Transformational Grammar, in alliance with cognitive psychology and Artificial Intelligence, to the current day. It centers on a highly consequential dispute at a key moment of that rise, the relative importance of structure and meaning. The dispute marks a rupture between what looked to be an approaching Chomskyan hegemony in theory and a flowering of alternate approaches that complement but do not replace his approach, as well as some that advance it in various ways. The rupture was between the theory of Generative Semantics, pushing to include more and more meaning into linguistic theory, and Interpretive Semantics, which resisted that push, putting more and more focus on linguistic structure. But in many ways the dispute can be reduced to George Lakoff, the most prominent voice on the more-meaning side, and Noam Chomsky on the more-structure side. Chomsky is a big personality, quiet and understated but always gesturing at monumental and revolutionary implications for his ideas, never failing to mobilize great numbers of linguists, often with large contingents of psychologists, philosophers, computer scientists, or biologists sharing the enthusiasm as well. Lakoff is also big personality, anything but quiet or understated, equally comfortable gesturing at grand revolutions. So, personalities are central to the dispute and its aftermath, alongside the theories, the data, and the technical developments, with other social currents playing various additional roles, from military and educational funding to the counter-culture movement of the 1960s to the growth of computational technologies, and all of these factors show up in the chronicle, along with a cast of other remarkable and influential characters. Noam Chomsky is unquestionably the most influential linguist of the twentieth century-many people claim of any century-whose work and personal imprint remains powerfully relevant today, so the book ends by an analysis of Chomsky's influence and legacy"--

This Handbook offers students and more advanced readers a valuable resource for understanding linguistic reference; the relation between an expression (word, phrase, sentence) and what that expression is about. The volume’s forty-one original chapters, written by many of today’s leading philosophers of language, are organized into ten parts: I Early Descriptive Theories II Causal Theories of Reference III Causal Theories and Cognitive Significance IV Alternate Theories V Two-Dimensional Semantics VI Natural Kind Terms and Rigidity VII The Empty Case VIII Singular (De Re) Thoughts IX Indexicals X Epistemology of Reference Contributions consider what kinds of expressions actually refer (names, general terms, indexicals, empty terms, sentences), what referring expressions refer to, what makes an expression refer to whatever it does, connections between meaning and reference, and how we know facts about reference. Many contributions also develop connections between linguistic reference and issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.

This formidable selection of papers reflects the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic underpinnings of the interface between language and education. Following an introduction that positions the field of educational linguistics historically and conceptually, the volume presents 15 contributions by leading scholars that cover the four areas most central to the field: - Language teaching, language learning and literacy (Widdowson, Bialistok, Cohen & Allison); - Language testing (Bachman, Davies, and Shohamy); - Multilingualism, minority languages and language planning (Bratt-Paulston, Fishman, Lambert, Amara, de Bot & van Els); - Language policy (Clyne, Tucker, Donato & Murday, McNamara & Lo Bianco, and Hornberger). New Perspectives and Issues in Educational Language Policy is published in honour of Bernard Dov Spolsky and reflects his impact on applied linguistics in general and educational linguistics in particular. The breadth and coverage makes this an indispensable title for future research in the field of educational linguistics.

The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology is a broad survey of linguistic anthropology, featuring contributions from prominent scholars in the field. Each chapter presents a brief historical summary of research in the field and discusses topics and issues of current concern to people doing research in linguistic anthropology. The handbook is organized into four parts – Language and Cultural Productions; Language Ideologies and Practices of Learning; Language and the Communication of Identities; and Language and Local/Global Power – and covers current topics of interest at the intersection of the two fields, while also contextualizing them within discussions of fieldwork practice. Featuring 30 contributions from leading scholars in the field, The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology is an essential overview for students and researchers interested in understanding core concepts and key issues in linguistic anthropology.

Covers significant aspects of important traditions and perspectives in the history of linguistics, including recent history.