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Chapter 2: Further Resources Aske, Jon. In progress. Spanish-English Cognates: An Introduction to Spanish Linguistics. Open Access eBook (Open Textbook): CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Source: http://lrc.salemstate.edu/aske/cognates/ (2017-01-28) Chapter 2: Further resources 2.1. Descriptivism and prescriptivism If you want to explore the topic of descriptivism vs. prescriptivism, the following are some good sources to get started. At the end of chapters in this book and sometimes at the end of sections inside chapters, you will find recommended resources to learn more about the topic. Fry, Stephen. “Language (Kinetic Typography on Vimeo).” Web. 27 July 2014. http://vimeo.com/15412319 Using the wonderful words of acclaimed writer, actor and all-round know-it-all Stephen Fry, Matthew Rogers has created this kinetic typography animation. The audio is an excerpt from an audio file from Mr. Fry's website, stephenfry.com. (Adapted from the webside) Pinker, Steven. 2012. Steven Pinker: Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain. (22 November, 2014) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-B_ONJIEcE Steven Pinker - Psychologist, Cognitive Scientist, and Linguist at Harvard University. How did humans acquire language? In this lecture, best-selling author Steven Pinker introduces you to linguistics, the evolution of spoken language, and the debate over the existence of an innate universal grammar. He also explores why language is such a fundamental part of social relationships, human biology, and human evolution. Finally, Pinker touches on the wide variety of applications for linguistics, from improving how we teach reading and writing to how we interpret law, politics, and literature. The Floating University. Originally released September, 2011. Shea, Ammon. Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation. New York: Perigee/Penguin, 2014. Print. English is a glorious mess of a language, cobbled together from a wide variety of sources and syntaxes, and changing over time with popular usage. Many of the words and usages we embrace as standard and correct today were at first considered slang, impolite, or just plain wrong. Whether you consider yourself a stickler, a nitpicker, or a rule-breaker in the know, Bad English is sure to enlighten, enrage, and perhaps even inspire. Filled with historic and contemporary examples, the book chronicles the long and entertaining history of language mistakes, and features some of our most common words and phrases, including: Decimate, Hopefully, Enormity, That/which, Enervate/energize, Bemuse/amuse, Literally/figuratively, Ain't, Irregardless, Socialist, OMG, Stupider p. 1 of 7 Aske, Jon. In progress. Spanish-English Cognates: An Introduction to Spanish Linguistics. Open Access eBook (Open Textbook): CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Source: http://lrc.salemstate.edu/aske/cognates/ (2017-01-28) Hitchings, Henry. The Language Wars: A History of Proper English. London: John Murray, 2011. Print. The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been bitter, and have always really been about contesting values—morality, politics, and class. The Language Wars examines the present state of the conflict, its history, and its future. Above all, it uses the past as a way of illuminating the present. Moving chronologically, the book explores the most persis•tent issues to do with English and unpacks the history of “proper” us•age. Where did these ideas spring from? Who has been on the front lines in the language wars? The Language Wars examines grammar rules, regional accents, swearing, spelling, dictionaries, political correctness, and the role of electronic media in reshaping language. It also takes a look at such de•tails as the split infinitive, elocution, and text messaging. Peopled with intriguing characters such as Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, and Lenny Bruce, The Language Wars is an essential volume for anyone interested in the state of the English language today or its future. Andersson, Lars-Gunnar, and Peter Trudgill. Bad Language. Oxford, UK; Cambridge, Mass., USA: Basil Blackwell, 1990. Print. Generations of school teachers have railed bitterly against the bad grammar and slovenly pronunciation of their pupils. Parents have for decades bemoaned the swearing and sloppy diction of their children. Public figures become enraged about jargon and linguistic corruption in the nation's press. Employers deplore the inarticulacy and limited vocabularies of their staff. And everyone knows that spelling and punctuation are not what they were. What is all this complaining about? Why do otherwise sane people become so apoplectic about other people's language? What are the roots of this linuistic prejudice? The authors of this book take a dispassionate look at negative attitudes to language use and try to account for the various types of hostility. They argue that most types of "bad" language have their place, and should be seen as valuable parts of the nation's linguistic repertoire. Linguistic discrimination, they suggest, should be no more acceptable in an enlightened and tolerant society than discrimination on grounds of race or sex. The work is aimed at undergraduates and specialists in English language and linguistics and the general reader. Battistella, Edwin L. Bad Language: Are Some Words Better than Others? Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Examining grammar and style, cursing, slang, political correctness, regional and ethnic dialects, and foreign accents and language mixing, Battistella discusses the strong feelings evoked by language variation, from objections to the pronunciation NU-cu-lar to complaints about bilingual education. He explains the natural desire for uniformity in writing and speaking and traces the association of mainstream norms to ideas about refinement, intelligence, education, character, national unity, and political values. Battistella argues that none of these qualities is inherently connected to language. (From the book jacket) McWhorter, John H. Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care. New York: Gotham Books, 2003. Print. Encourages readers to establish a boundary between an acceptable evolution of language and outright language misuse, predicting the consequences of the overuse of street English in contemporary writing, music, and society. p. 2 of 7 Aske, Jon. In progress. Spanish-English Cognates: An Introduction to Spanish Linguistics. Open Access eBook (Open Textbook): CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Source: http://lrc.salemstate.edu/aske/cognates/ (2017-01-28) Lynch, Jack. The Lexicographer’s Dilemma: The Evolution of “Proper” English, from Shakespeare to South Park. New York: Walker & Co., 2009. Print. What does proper English mean, and who gets to say what's right? Lynch has discovered every rule of English usage has a human history, and makes sense only in a historical context. They're more like rules of etiquette, made by fallible people and subject to change. Kamm, Oliver. 2015. Accidence will happen: the non-pedantic guide to English usage. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Are standards of English alright - or should that be all right? To knowingly split an infinitive or not to? And what about ending a sentence with preposition, or for that matter beginning one with 'and'? We learn language by instinct, but good English, the pedants tell us, requires rules. Yet, as Oliver Kamm demonstrates, many of the purists' prohibitions are bogus and can be cheerfully disregarded. Accidence Will Happen is an authoritative and deeply reassuring guide to grammar, style and the linguistic conundrums we all face. 2.2. Introduction to linguistics Pinker, Steven. 2012. Linguistics as a Window to Understanding the Brain. Big Think lecture. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-B_ONJIEcE Steven Pinker - Psychologist, Cognitive Scientist, and Linguist at Harvard University. How did humans acquire language? In this lecture, best-selling author Steven Pinker introduces you to linguistics, the evolution of spoken language, and the debate over the existence of an innate universal grammar. He also explores why language is such a fundamental part of social relationships, human biology, and human evolution. Finally, Pinker touches on the wide variety of applications for linguistics, from improving how we teach reading and writing to how we interpret law, politics, and literature. The Floating University. Originally released September, 2011. Handke, Jürgen. 2014. What is Linguistics (not)?. (22 November, 2014) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzz1pFWAtMo On 1 August 2014, the VLC started two more MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) with almost a thousand participants from all over the world. Some of them might be totally unaware of what linguistics could be. Here is a brief answer: A video about what linguistics is, and, what it is not. Handke, Jürgen. 2013. Introduction to Linguistics - The Study of Language. (23 November, 2014) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goq_qIKojTU This E-Lecture, which is meant as a repetition, discusses the term language and summarizes the goals of the central branches of linguistics before it eventually deals with the main principles of collecting data in linguistics. p. 3 of 7 Aske, Jon. In progress. Spanish-English Cognates: An Introduction to Spanish Linguistics. Open Access eBook (Open Textbook): CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 US. Source: http://lrc.salemstate.edu/aske/cognates/ (2017-01-28) Rickerson, E. M, and Barry Hilton. The Five-Minute Linguist: Bite-Sized Essays on Language and Languages. London; Oakville, CT: Equinox
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