On the Subject of English: The Linguistics of Language Use and Learning

Henry Widdowson

Book

On the Subject of English

The Linguistics of Language Use and Learning

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2020

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This book is in the series

Volume 330 | Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs [TiLSM]

About this book

The globalized use of language calls into question conventional ways of thinking in linguistics,applied linguistics and language pedagogy.
This book critically examines this thinking from an historical, at times satirical, perspective and proposes an alternative conceptualization.
The first section defines a number of key concepts about communication which are taken up in subsequent sections and shown to be relevant to the different but related areas of language study. Issues about the relationship between linguistics and applied linguistics set the scene for a discussion of the nature of discourse, and then how this bears on the understanding of the globalised use of English as a lingua franca.The final section considers the implications of this perspective on communication for how the subject of English language teaching might be redefined.
The book is relevant for anyone who sees the need for a critical consideration of established concepts in linguistics and language pedagogy.

Author / Editor information

Henry Widdowson,University of Vienna, Austria

Topics

Publicly Available

Frontmatter
I

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Acknowledgements
VII

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Contents
IX

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Introduction: Only connect!
1

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Section 1: Theoretical bearings
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Preamble
6

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Section 2: Linguistics and applied linguistics
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Preamble
18

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1. Contextual meaning and the legacy of J. R. Firth
19

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2. Linguistic creativity and Jakobson’s poetic function
31

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3. Applied linguistics, interdisciplinarity and disparate realities
37

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4. On the applicability of empirical findings
51

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Section 3: The analysis and interpretation of language use
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Preamble
66

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5. The pretext of interpretation
67

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6. Interpersonal positioning and genre conventions
82

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7. “So the meaning escapes”. On literature and the representation of linguistic realities
96

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8. Critical practices: On representation and the interpretation of text
103

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9. The novel features of text. Corpus analysis and stylistics
118

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10. The unrecoverable context
129

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11. Macbeth and the third murderer. An exercise in forensic stylistics
139

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Section 4: English as a lingua franca
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Preamble
150

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12. ELF and the inconvenience of established concepts
152

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13. ELF and the pragmatics of language variation
171

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14. ELF, adaptive variability and virtual language
183

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15. The cultural and creative use of English as a lingua franca
189

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16. Creative incompetence
196

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Section 5: Linguistics in language learning and teaching
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Preamble
206

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17. The role of translation in language learning and teaching
207

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18. Bilingual competence and lingual capability
222

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19. Competence and capability: rethinking the subject English
233

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20. Reversions
244

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References
256

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Name Index
267

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Subject Index
269

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

November 18, 2019

eBook ISBN:

9783110619669

Hardcover published on:

November 18, 2019

Hardcover ISBN:

9783110616866

Paperback published on:

September 20, 2021

Paperback ISBN:

9783110764307

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

10

Main content:

272

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110619669

eBook ISBN: 9783110619669

Hardcover ISBN: 9783110616866

Paperback ISBN: 9783110764307

Keywords for this book

Discourse Interpretation; Communicative Capability; English as a Lingua Franca; Language User-Learners

Audience(s) for this book

Researchers and Students in Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Language Teacher Education

Safety & product resources

Manufacturer information:: Walter de Gruyter GmbH
Genthiner Straße 13
10785 Berlin; productsafety@degruyterbrill.com

On the Subject of English

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introduction: Only connect!

Preamble

Preamble

1. Contextual meaning and the legacy of J. R. Firth

2. Linguistic creativity and Jakobson’s poetic function

3. Applied linguistics, interdisciplinarity and disparate realities

4. On the applicability of empirical findings

Preamble

5. The pretext of interpretation

6. Interpersonal positioning and genre conventions

7. “So the meaning escapes”. On literature and the representation of linguistic realities

8. Critical practices: On representation and the interpretation of text

9. The novel features of text. Corpus analysis and stylistics

10. The unrecoverable context

11. Macbeth and the third murderer. An exercise in forensic stylistics

Preamble

12. ELF and the inconvenience of established concepts

13. ELF and the pragmatics of language variation

14. ELF, adaptive variability and virtual language

15. The cultural and creative use of English as a lingua franca

16. Creative incompetence

Preamble

17. The role of translation in language learning and teaching

18. Bilingual competence and lingual capability

19. Competence and capability: rethinking the subject English

20. Reversions

References

Name Index

Subject Index

Bibliographic data