The latest of John Sinclair: Linear Unit Grammar

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The latest book by Sinclair -

Linear Unit Grammar: Integrating speech and writing

John McH. sinclair, Anna Mauranen

Amsterdam: John Benjamins

2006
 
回复: The latest of John Sinclair: Linear Unit Grammar

Linear Unit Grammar
Integrating speech and writing


John McH. Sinclair and Anna Mauranen
Tuscan Word Centre / University of Helsinki

People have a natural propensity to understand language text as a succession of smallish chunks, whether they are reading, writing, speaking or listening. Linguists have found that this propensity can shed light on the nature and structure of language, and there are many studies which attempt to harness the potential of natural chunking.

This book explores the role of chunking in the description of discourse, especially spoken discourse. It appears that chunking offers a sound but flexible platform on which can be built a descriptive model which is more open and comprehensive than more familiar approaches to structural description. The model remains linear, in that it avoids hierarchies, and it concentrates on the combinatorial patterns of text.

The linear approach turns out to have many advantages, bringing together under one descriptive method a wide variety of different styles of speech and writing. It is complementary to established grammars, but it raises pertinent questions about many of their assumptions.



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Table of contents

Dedication vii
Acknowledgements ix
Preamble xi–xiii
Introduction xv–xxi

Section A: Preliminaries 1
Setting the scene 3–22
Background 23–40
Data description 41–45

Section B: Analysis 47
System of analysis 49–54
Provisional Unit Boundaries 55–58
Types of chunks 59–70
Types of organisational elements 71–78
Types of increments to shared experience 79–89
Synthesis 91–103

Section C: Theory and follow-up 105
The example texts analysed 107–127
Theoretical synopsis 129–144
Looking ahead 145–166

Appendix 167–173
Bibliography 175–179
Index of names 181–182
Index of subjects 183–185
 
回复: The latest of John Sinclair: Linear Unit Grammar

A old concept ("chunking") packaged in a fancy term.

Plus, the integration of speech and writing via chunking is only a very weak scheme. The two registers vary in many ways.
 
回复: The latest of John Sinclair: Linear Unit Grammar

这可是Sinclair的最后一本著作?我看了他的OSTI Report,可惜以后估计也没有什么他的著作看了。
 
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