Synopses & Reviews
The genome projects have now entered a rapid production phase with complete genome sequences and complete gene catalogues already available for a number of organisms and an increasing number expected shortly. In addition the new DNA and protein chip technologies can produce functional data
about genes such as gene expression profiles at a rapid rate. There is therefore a large and ever increasing amount of data about genes and molecules. However there is still a huge gap between information at the molecular level and information at the level of integrated biological systems. It is
this gap that is addressed in Post-genome Informatics. Post-genome informatics is the analysis of biological functions in terms of the network of interacting molecules and genes with the aim of understanding how a biological system is organized from its individual building blocks. As well as
containing a comprehensive survey of the database and computational technologies relevant to molecular sequence analysis, Post-genome Informatics will provide the reader with a conceptual framework and practical methods for the representation and computation of molecular networks.
Synopsis
The main function of language is to convey meaning. Therefore, argues Bernd Heine in these pages, the question of why language is structured the way it is must first of all be answered with reference to this function. Linguistic explanations offered in terms of other exponents of language structure (for example, syntax) are likely to highlight peripheral or epi-phenomenal--rather than central--characteristics of language structure. Heine provides a solid introductory treatment of the ways in which language structure (that is, grammar) and language usage can be explained with reference to the processes underlying human conceptualization and communication.
Exploring an area of linguistics that has developed only recently and is rapidly expanding, Cognitive Foundations of Grammar will appeal to students of linguistics, psychology, and anthropology, especially those interested in grammaticalization processess.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-173) and indexes.
About the Author
Bernd heine is Professor of African Studies (Afrikanistik) and Director of the Institute for African Studies at the University of Cologne in Germany. He has published thirty books, including
Possession: Cognitive Sources, Forces, and Grammaticalization (1997),
The Mukogodo Maasai: An Ethnobotanical Survey (co-author, 1994),
Auxiliaries: Cognitive Forces and Grammaticalization (Oxford, 1993), and
Grammaticalization: A Conceptual Framework (co-author, 1991).