Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Landmarks in Linguistic Thought II introduces the major issues and themes that have determined the development of Western thinking about language, meaning and communication in the twentieth century.
Each chapter contains an extract from a 'landmark' text followed by a commentary, which places the ideas in their social and intellectual context. The book is written in an accessible and non-technical manner.
The book summarizes the contribution of the key thinkers who have shaped modern linguistics: Austin, Chomsky, Derrida, Firth, Goffman, Harris, Jakobson, Labov, Orwell, Sapir, Whorf and Wittgenstein.
This second volume follows on from Landmarks in Linguistic Thought I, which introduces the key thinkers up to the twentieth century.
The series is ideal for anyone with an interest in the history of linguistics or of ideas.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [237]-260) and index.
Table of Contents
Spair on language, culture, and personality -- Jakobson and structuralism -- Orwell on language and politics -- Whorf on language and thought -- Firth on language and context -- Wittgenstein on grammatical investigations -- Austin on language as action -- Skinner on verbal behavior -- Chomsky on language as biology -- Labov on linguistic variation -- Goffman on the communicating self -- Bruner on the child's passport into language -- Derrida on the linguistic sign and writing -- Harris on linguistics without languages -- Kanzi on human language.